Get Motivated! Series: Colin Powell

Colin Powell, former Secretary of State and retired four-star general
Get Motivated!: Leadership

Quick, in the next 10 seconds name all the characteristics you’d associate with a four-star general.

Chances are, “affable” and “humorous” weren’t on your list, but that’s exactly what stood out most in Colin Powell’s recent speech at the Get Motivated! conference I was able to attend. More entertaining than any of the day’s other speakers (click to see previous write-ups for Suze Orman, Rudy Giuliani and Rick Belluzzo), Powell made joke after joke – sometimes at his own expense – with a comedic timing one wouldn’t expect of a military general.

When he advised the crowd not to “go through life looking in the rear view mirror” I raised my pen ready to take down his sage advice about regrets being a waste of time…only to hear his funniest bit yet about missing the perks of being Secretary of State, from his private plane to not getting strip-searched at airport security.

Seriously, the guy has a career in comedy if this whole speaker thing doesn’t work out. Personally the humor was refreshing after so many “Do this and do that and you’ll get this and achieve that” serious speeches, but eventually he focused in on some advice about leadership.

*Leadership is all about followership: you’re not really a leader if no one is willing to follow you. Okay, not really brain surgery, but in this day and age where people crave titles and status that fact can sometimes be shoved aside.

*Take care of your troops: Not surprisingly, military analogies ran rampant throughout the speech. Powell advised the crowd to put their followers in the best environment to achieve the purpose or mission of the organization, whether that’s through skills training or providing the right equipment.

*Look at every human being as vital to the organization: Great leaders believe each person on a team contributes to the success of a mission/purpose, no matter how small their role.  They then communicate this belief down to the last person, ensuring each understands how their part contributes to the whole.

*Recognize accomplishments: Whether through salary increases, medals or simple telling someone “I’m proud you’re part of our team,” recognizing accomplishments is an important part of being a leader.

*Do the tough stuff: Call people out if they’re not meeting standards, recognize their (and your) shortcomings and areas of improvement and encourage them to take action. Face reality, but then do something about it.

Powell closed with, “You know you’re a good leader if people follow you, if only out of curiosity.” Seeing him in action, I can understand how people would be curious enough to follow him…if only to hear the next punchline.

Next up: Zig Ziglar, motivational speaker extraordinaire

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