The Moralist

I want to continue to share wisdom coming from Admiral Stockdale.?His ideas come from his lessons learned as a prisoner of war for 7.5 years in North Vietnam.?As a persistent leadership learner, I find his ideas profound, authentic and most importantly well tested.?His views come from his book, Thoughts of a Philosophical Fighter Pilot.?

In his words regarding Hanoi, “”In that atmosphere of death and hopelessness, stripped of the niceties, the amenities of civilization, my ideas of life and leadership have crystalized.?I returned home with a simple almost sparse concept of what qualities a leaders should have.?And I believe with the utmost conviction that these traits are right.””

Stockdale believes there are five key leadership traits and I want to share each one over the next few letters.?As I reflect on everything I have learned / experienced in my leadership journey over the past 30 years, he is exactly right.??He also writes that these are the traits he sees in leaders who may or may not have been in charge in “calm waters,” but the are the traits of natural leaders who rise to the top in “times of peril.”?For many companies that time is now.?

The first trait/role is that a leader must be a moralist. By this he does not mean simply a “do-gooder,” he writes that, ““He must be a thinker. He must have the wisdom, the courage, indeed the audacity to make clear just what, under the circumstances the good is.””?This idea is huge.?Considering our world today, how prophetic he was.?In this day and age of ‘isms and out of hand political correctness, the concept of “courage and audacity” is such an understatement.?Few critical leadership decisions are black and white, most are very grey and can have significant negative impacts on key stakeholders. How does a leader know what the good is? The answer lies in the heart of a leader.?You must have a deep knowledge of right and wrong in accordance with your purpose and your core values.?Love, humility, empathy, trust and courage are emotions and feelings that guide us on determining the good.?Most really difficult decisions involve people to some degree or another.?We all know that sometimes blessings come from our people and many times challenges come from our people.?Your love and your compassion for your people and who will be hurt by your decisions should and are the major consideration in determining the good.?Empathy for those impacted negatively by challenging decisions, and humility for those impacted positively and courage to accept the outcomes.?Outcomes that also are likely to have a negative impact on the leader.?Many times, the good, is for the majority, not the leader.?When the good is communicated with love and compassion, leaders build trust.?Great cultures have trust, and I like to emphasize—radical trust.?

Leaders will inevitably have to make unpopular decisions but with a relentless effort to determine the good and communicate why in your heart you believe it is the good, we are filling the trust bucket, strengthening connections and creating Will.