Ike's Lead With Optimism (#196)
Dwight D. Eisenhower or “Ike” was one of the great leaders of the 20th century. From leading the Allies in the European Theater during World War II, to leading Columbia University, to leading the creation of NATO, to serving as the President of the United States, Eisenhower had almost two decades of leadership experience and practice at the strategic level. This is the fourth in a series of posts on him and his leadership style.
As the Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Forces, he led Operation Overlord on June 6, 1944. As the strategic military leader for the Allies, he realized that his perspective on things had an extremely powerful impact. Early in the war General Eisenhower resolved, “I firmly determined that my mannerisms and speech in public would always reflect the cheerful certainty of victory — that any pessimism and discouragement I might ever feel would be reserved for my pillow.”
Eisenhowe Statue, West Point
It wasn’t simply a statement for Ike, however. He did his best to convey it to his team even during tough times. During the dark, early days of the Battle of the Bulge he brought his commanders together for a strategy conference. Ike began the session by saying “The present situation is to be regarded of one of opportunity for us and not of disaster. There will be only cheerful faces at this conference table.” That is an incredible example of LEADING WITH OPTIMISM.
Today’s Application
For the vast majority of us, we want to LEAD WITH OPTIMISM like Eisenhower whether we are in charge of a business, a sports team, a non-profit, or a military unit. Like Eisenhower, we intuitively understand that a “glass is half full” perspective has a powerful impact on our team. Yet, how does this come out in practice?
I have been sitting in a lot of corporate meetings as part of my executive coaching work. All the leaders that I work with are optimistic about themselves, their business, their team, the present, and the future. However, in meetings the leaders spend 99% of their time on problems with the business like supply chain issues, COVID, lack of junior leader training, recruiting, retaining top talent, and parts of the business that fail to meet standards. These leaders are dealing with a lot of negative stuff. With all these challenges to deal with, how can a leader convey optimism?
In the hybrid work environment most of their meetings wrap up with a thanks to the team and a positive note. Think back to your last meeting your boss ran. After working through all the tough challenges on the agenda, did she try to wrap up the meeting on an optimistic note? Did she thank the team? How much did that resonate with you? You were probably thinking about how you needed to go get a drink of water and use the bathroom before your next Teams meeting started. She didn’t LEAD WITH OPTIMISM, she FOLLOWED WITH OPTIMISM.
To do a better job of LEADING WITH OPTIMISM, especially in the hybrid work environment, actually LEAD WITH OPTIMISM. Take a minute out at the beginning of the meeting and convey something optimistic. Whether it is the great sales numbers, the record profitability of the previous month, or how Jim down in accounting is doing a great job — LEAD WITH OPTIMISM. You can still wrap up the meeting on an optimistic note, but start the meeting out by talking about something great that is going on in your organization. Try this simple technique to inject optimism into your routine meetings.
Conclusion
Like this post? Want more ideas on leadership from Eisenhower and history? Then check out:
Ike’s 8 Characteristics of Leadership
Leadership Lessons of Montgomery
Don’t FOLLOW WITH OPTIMISM. Go on the offensive and use Eisenhower’s ideas to LEAD WITH OPTIMISM to lead yourself and your team more positively in 2022.