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* Note: The views presented in this Leadership discussion are that of my own, and do not necessarily reflect that of West Point or the US Army.

It’s all about Leadership!

LTC Dave JonesUS Army, Retired

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Leadership, Character and Values

…a candid and open discussion!

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• Possible Abuse/Racial Tensions : Miami, Ferguson, Baltimore, NYC (2012-15)

• Celebrity Icons: Brian Williams, Bill Cosby (2015), Justin Bieber (DUIs+) (2014)

• Professional Sports – “Deflated footballs”, Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson, Aaron

Hernandez, Oscar Pistorius, Richie Incognito, A-Rod, Lance Armstrong (2013-15)

• College Football – FSU’s Jameis Winston, NC State’s BB Gun incident (Oct ’14)

• Recent Recalls: Safety Recalls (GM, Toyota, others), Blue Bell Ice Cream• Businesses Yahoo CEO, Scott Thompson, fired for lying on Resume (Feb ’13)

• Colleges: Sexual Assault Trends, Vanderbilt (Rape Case) (2014),

Harvard Cheating Scandal: 70 receive one year suspension (May ’12 incident)

• Trends in HS/Middle Schools: cheating, bullying, drugs, alcohol issues

Some “not so good” examples in the News

(Topics that involve issues in Leadership, Character and/or Ethics)

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• Secretary, Veterans Affairs exaggerating his military experiences (Feb ‘15)

• Gen (R) Petraeus admitting to sharing classified info, and false statements (Feb ‘15)

• Veterans Affairs (VA) Failures (2014)

• Senator “LTC (R)” John Walsh plagiarism issue at the Army War College (Jul ’14)

• USAF/USN Officers cheating on monthly NUKE Qual. exams (Jan-Feb ’14)

• BG John Sinclair - toxic leader relieved (Dec ’12)

• GEN (R) Petraeus/ MAJ Broadwell affair (Nov ’12)

• Marines urinating on Taliban corpses (Jan ’12)

• Abu Ghraib – Abuse of Iraqi prisoners (2003 -2004)

Some “not so good” examples in the military profession

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West Point’s Mission Statement

MISSION:To educate, train, and inspire the

Corps of Cadets so that each graduate is a commissioned leader of character

committed to the values of Duty, Honor, Country and prepared for a career of professional excellence and service to the Nation as an officer in

the United States Army.

MISSION:To educate, train, and inspire the

Corps of Cadets so that each graduate is a commissioned leader of character

committed to the values of Duty, Honor, Country and prepared for a career of professional excellence and service to the Nation as an officer in

the United States Army.

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1. “Duty, Honor, Country”2. Intellectual, Military, Physical, Moral-Ethical Development 3. West Point’s emphasis on building “Leaders of Character”4. Honor Code and System in concert with Respect Principles5. The deeper concept of “Honorable Living”6. Accountability, Ownership and Responsibility7. Values Education – diving into the grey!8. “No Excuse, Sir/Ma’am!”9. Building one’s character is a lifelong journey10. Learn from every experience (+/-)

LEADERSHIP at the United States Military Academy

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1. The Army is a values-based, standards-focused organization! 2. MISSION first, PEOPLE always!3. Responsibility, Accountability and Ownership4. Effective Communication: Up, Down, and Laterally5. Member of a TEAM: x 3!6. Solution Oriented… rather than problem oriented!

Remember “25/25/50”7. KISS Principle - Focus on the Basics… do them well!8. Cool/Calm/Confident in crisis!9. When in doubt take charge! 10. We are a Learning Organization

LEADERSHIP in the United States Army

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• Loyalty to the Constitution

• Loyalty to the Army

• Loyalty to the Mission

• Loyalty to Unit /Team /Group

• Loyalty to Friends

• Loyalty to Self

West Point Experiences

Army Experiences

Life Experiences

Hierarchy of Loyalty

HIG

HE

ST

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Personal Values

Professional Experiences

Life Experiences

Hierarchy of Loyaltyin your organization

HIG

HE

ST

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Professional EthicsGuiding Principles in your organization

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What makes a GREAT Leader/Manager?

(Character Traits and Attributes)

Now… some thought provoking questions

for YOU to answer

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Effective Leaders/Managers

• Leadership is about PEOPLE; Management is about RESOURCES … so you really have to be effective at both!

• Ensure everyone on the Team understands:– Our Mission and Vision

“Where we’ve been, where we are, where we are going!”– Our Guiding Principles/Values/Code of Ethics

… and each member must be a valued contributor!

• You need to lead calmly, confidently and effectively in crisis!• Lead by example… be there, be involved, and be positive!• Find people doing things RIGHT! (Rather than looking for wrong!)

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Teamwork!

• We not me! US not them, Our not your etc!• Must invest in developing future leaders in your

organization! Train them to do YOUR job!• Reinforce the POSITIVE, Extinguish the NEGATIVE!• Build a TEAM – one that is proud, productive

and damn good!• Define your Brand and your REPUTATION… then

make it come to life within your TEAM! (“just good enough”… ain’t!)

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Guiding Principles/Ethical Conduct

• Clearly ID, define, establish and communicate Ethical Standards for your organization!

• Words, (yes!)… reinforced by ACTIONS!• Accountability/responsibility/ownership at all levels!• This must be the core of the ORGANIZATION…

important to the leadership, subordinates, and the TEAM as a whole!

• Education! Active, participative, innovative, interesting, progressive-current, relevant, and applicable!

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Leadership, Character and Values

QUESTIONS

“Hey, w

hat

about that

$100.oo

bill?”

“Hey, what about

that $10,000Afghani bill and that

$50 Iraq bill?”

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A Quotable Quote…

Watch your thoughts, they become your words;

watch your words, they become your actions;

watch your actions, they become your habits;

watch your habits, they become your character;

watch your character, it becomes your destiny.

Dr. Len Marrella – In Search of Ethics

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LEADERSHIP at West Point, in the US Army

and Beyond!

LTC Dave Jonesdavid.jones@usma.edu

(845)938-8161

“It’s all about LEADERSHIP!”