Revisting Colin Powell’s 13 Rules of Leadership

Tim Sheehy, combat veteran, aerial firefighter, entrepreneur, and avid historian, shares his thoughts on why these 13 rules are so important in his life.

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Revisiting Colin Powell’s 13 Rules of Leadership

I'm Tim Sheehy and this is the TimSaid podcast.

Today's topic is 13 Rules of Leadership and Colin Powell on the second anniversary of his passing.

Colin Powell was one of America's greatest leaders.

Sometimes I'm disappointed how many people actually don't know who he was. You know, he's been dead now for two years. He was kind of out of the public eye for about a decade after he was secretary of state. Prior to that being one of our greatest generals. And unfortunately, he's faded from popular memory for most people. But, you know, he's seared in my memory because as a young child, wanting to join the military. He was one of our senior generals during the Gulf War, which was the first military conflict, really, that I remembered as a young child. In fact, during the Gulf War, I was about five years old, you know, sitting on the living room floor. And I saw a picture of an American soldier running across the desert with night vision with his M-16. And I remember seeing that. And although I had already had an interest in the military, the idea that there was someone halfway around the world that was fighting for me and for my safety and for our country, really was a strong image. And to this day, I remember looking at that TV and seeing that image. And really, that was the first CNN war. The Gulf War. Desert Storm was the first war that was televised so that you could see what was happening.

From the minute it started until the minute it ended. And it's fitting that as a young child during that war, my sharpest memory of the war was, in fact, an image on the television.

But in any event, during that time, Colin Powell was our chairman of the Joint Chiefs. So, a four-star Army general. I think it was several years later, he released a book called My American Journey. And it was one of the first books I'd read at that point as a teenager, getting ready to go into the military. I was going to the Naval Academy, and I was getting ready to go to the Naval Academy and was reading his book and really fell in love with his story. What really inspired me about General Powell at the time was how humble he was and his approach to leadership and his and his view of himself and his ability to lead and how he got to where he was. It was so selfless, and he was really the archetype of a selfless leader and an emergent leader, somebody who truly started at the bottom, worked his way up and at each level of command in the army exemplified himself. From the battlefields of Vietnam to battalion command to, of course, leading the entire army and then obviously eventually becoming secretary of state. But we can talk for hours about Colin Powell and his life and the impact it's had on this nation. But what I use as a touchstone for my leadership, one of the most important things about leadership is constantly learning, constantly be listening. You don't know everything. You shouldn't think you know everything. And taking the time to listen to those around you.

Listen to those that you are charged with leading, but also realize that you can learn something from anybody. And that includes bad leaders sometimes, in fact, sometimes you learn a lot more from bad leadership than you do from good leadership. What's helped me in the case of Colin Powell is to bring me back to his 13 rules of leadership, which are some of the most concise but also oblique in many ways. Sometimes, you know, he brings things up that you just wouldn't normally think of having to think of as a leader. So, the clarity of these cuts through everything and they apply to business, they apply to being a father, they apply to being a commander on the battlefield. And for me, they've made me a better person since I was a young child.

Number one, and this is my favorite one. “It ain’t as bad as you think. It will look better in the morning.”

But especially in battle, people get wounded, people get killed, terrible things happen. And the emotional impact of that can be tremendous and sometimes literally sleeping on it and coming back the next day, you will almost always make a better decision. And how you respond to that. Obviously, in the middle of a gunfight, in the middle of a combat mission, you don't have time to go take a nap and come back. But in normal life, you generally do. And especially in business, when you have that time to push away from an evil, push away from a from a deal, push away from a legal document and say, you know what, I'm going to sleep on this. This feels terrible, right now. I'm going to sleep on it. I'm going to come back in the morning with a fresh head.

Number two “Get mad, then get over it.”

Get mad, be emotional. It's nothing wrong with being emotionally invested in your work and what's happening. You should that'll make you passionate and good at what you do. But then get over it and realize that not everyone else involved in the situation is going to be as emotional as you are. And if you react emotionally, you're going to fail. You're going to have a suboptimal response and you'll probably lose the respect of those you're charged with leading. Get mad, then get over it.

Number three is one of my favorites. “Avoid having your egos so close to your position that when your position falls, your ego goes with it.”

And this is so true. In an elected office where individuals who are appointed to a position are promoted to a position or elected to a position, they become fused with that position and that position becomes their identity and becomes who they are. And when it goes away, they can't handle it. Remember that at the end of the day, you're a person, your family loves you, you love your family, and that's the core of who you really are.

Number four, “It can be done.”

You can talk to yourself on about anything. It can be done.

Number five, “Be careful what you choose. You may get it.”

Number six, “Don't let adverse facts stand in the way of a good decision.”

Number seven, “You can't make someone else's choices. You shouldn't let someone else make yours.”

Number eight, “Check small things.”

In aviation, this is a big deal. In the military, it's a big deal. If you're an airborne unit, wear your parachute. The small things can make the difference between life and death. In aviation, like my company, aerial firefighting, the small things can make the difference between your aircraft coming home and not.

Number nine, “Share credit.”

You may feel like I'm in charge. I thought up this deal. I thought up this plan. I completed this mission, and maybe you did. But the reality is, you wouldn't have gotten that done if it weren't for the quality of your team. Share that credit.

Number ten, “Remain calm and be kind.” It can be really hard to remain calm, especially when the bullets are flying, especially when money is being lost in a bad business deal, especially when people are emotional. The one who’s calmest in the situation normally is the one and can make the best decision. Remain calm. You'll be a better leader.

Number eleven, “Have a vision.”

Fight to carry it out and be demanding of those around you. Not in a negative way, not in an abusive way, but demand excellence from them because their performance will improve as a result of your demanding excellence.

Number twelve “Don't take counsel of your fears or naysayers.”

We all have fears, especially in this day and age. Social media, if you read the comments and and let that get you down, you're not going to get anything done in life. Understand your vision, understand the mission, and get it done.

Number thirteen, “Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.”

See the silver lining and whatever happens, there can be terrible things occur terrible things, and you can usually find some good that comes of it and that that's rooted in the concept of gratitude. Being grateful for what you have, what you've been given, what you can get done. Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.

My American Journey talks about Colin Powell's life and his journey to the Army. It doesn't cover his time as secretary of state, but I think ultimately you get a sense for the man, the quality of the man and the clarity of his leadership. These 13 rules, if you don't have time to read a multi-hundred-page book, boil down his leadership and his humility. And they've made me a better father, made me a better leader in business and on the battlefield. I think anyone can learn from these.

Hope you enjoy em.

TimSaid.com.