2 Leadership Lessons from Seventh US President

I read a book last week on the military career of Andrew Jackson, our nation's seventh President.  "Old Hickory" as an army general provides two lessons--one about what leaders should do, and one about what leaders should avoid.

The first is that a leader MUST show genuine care and concern for those being led.  Throughout his military career, the soldiers he commanded were very devoted to Jackson.  So, you as a leader must do everything you can to show that you really do care about your employees.  That means understanding their perspectives, their concerns, their hopes and dreams.

The best way to develop this understanding is to spend time with your employees, on their turf.  Even as a general, Jackson spent time with his troops.  And, his interactions with them showed he cared.  He didn't have special privileges--he ate the same food, slept in the same awful conditions, and often gave up his own horse to carry wounded soldiers. 

That's leading by example.  But, it starts with spending time with your employees.

The second lesson is to avoid rash decisions.  Jackson often reacted quickly, without thinking things through.  And two examples contradict his genuine concern for the troops:  In the field, he had an 18-year old soldier EXECUTED for mutiny.  I won't bore you with all the facts, but trust me, it was a rash decision.  Later, in another rash decision, he had two British nationals executed, again in the field, for spying.

Sort of like work-place violence in reverse. 

So, avoid rash decisions, and take the time to think things over carefully.  And do what you can to understand your employees.  Gain that understanding by spending time with them, and then lead by example.

Why Are People A Pain in the Neck? Three Reasons...

I get this question frequently, in one form or another, usually with a tone of utter exasperation.  And the question really is about why "dealing with people" or "managing people" is the most difficult aspect of their jobs.

One reason is the sheer complexity of the human being.  A person is an incredibly intricate organism, with all sorts of systems (physical, neurological, etc.) working at the same time, and trying to operate in an environment (everything outside the person) that is even MORE complex. 

With all these systems pulling and tugging, a person is bound to be difficult at some point.

Another reason is emotion.  We're capable of many emotions, but they all stem from three primary emotions:  Anger, fear, and joy.  Whatever emotion you name, it will be a variant of one of the Big Three.  When we get emotional, we throw rationality out the window. 

If we took emotions out of the equation, we'd have a lot of logical, rational thought, and although we wouldn't have as many people problems, the world would be pretty boring.

The third reason is all the baggage we carry around inside our heads.  That baggage, most of it emotional, stays with us, even when we don't realize it's there.  Because of the emotional baggage, we do things that make us a pain in the neck at times.

And there's a lot of baggage, going all the way back to our childhoods.

Someone can probably come up with more reasons people are a pain in the neck.  Heck, I'll probably think of some.  But for right now, three reasons will have to do.