I am a big World War II history buff. One of my favorite books, “Band of Brothers” by Stephen Ambrose was made into a wonderful HBO series. If you’ve seen this series, or have read the book, you know who Dick Winters is. If not, Dick Winters was one of the first officers of Easy Company of the 506th PIR (Parachute Infantry Regiment) of the 101st Airborne Division (also known as the “Screaming Eagles”).
Easy Company was involved in a lot of the major battles in the European Theater. This says a lot about the caliber of the soldiers in the unit, as well as the leadership of the unit. Dick Winters embodied the spirit and leadership that made this unit great.
I recently read Dick Winters’ book “Beyond Band of Brothers, The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters.” This highly personal book is rich with leadership lessons. One of the things that struck me was Winters’ admission that he was more comfortable with the front-line troops than he was with other officers. I believe this helped him maintain his credibility with the troops. They viewed him as “one of them” instead of an aloof officer. The first leadership lesson I learned was the power of credibility.
A leader (either good or bad) will set an example to his/her followers. The example, if it’s a bad one, will set a tone with the followers. The second leadership lesson was If the leader’s example is a good one, followers will gladly follow. As a combat leader, Winters tried to set a positive example in all he did. One aspect was his personal grooming. Dick Winters shaved every day, regardless of the combat conditions. In his book, he said that he did this because one of his early commanders instructed the officers to shave every day. The quote was “do it for the men in the morning; do it for the ladies in the evening.” Dick Winters shaved every morning to set the example for the Easy Company soldiers.
Dick Winters was a humble man. I believe humility is a requirement to be a good leader. In one engagement in the war (which was portrayed in the HBO series), Dick Winters single-handedly engaged a rather large contingent of German troops. He was on his own for precious minutes before his troops caught up with him (in his words – “I had to lead from the front”). After this engagement, Winters was asked to write up an after-action review. During this review, he never used the word “I” once – he wanted to give credit to his troops. Dick Winters got great satisfaction from “the look of respect in the eyes of my men.” The third leadership lesson was that a humble leader wants his or her team to succeed and get credit for their hard work.
Later in life, Dick Winters was asked to speak on leadership. This was initially a bit awkward to him (he didn’t want the credit). Eventually, he boiled down his view of leadership into ten items:
Leadership at the Point of the Bayonet: Ten Principles for Success
by Major Dick Winters Easy Company, 506th PIR, 101st Airborne Div. (“The Band of Brothers”)
1. Strive to be a leader of character, competence, and courage.
2. Lead from the front. Say, “Follow me!” and then lead the way.
3. Stay in top physical shape; physical stamina is the root of mental toughness.
4. Develop your team. If you know your people, are fair in setting realistic goals and expectations, and lead by example, you will develop teamwork.
5. Delegate responsibility to your subordinates and let them do their jobs. You can’t do a good job if you don’t have a chance to use your imagination and creativity.
6. Anticipate problems and prepare to overcome obstacles. Don’t wait until you get to the top of the ridge and then make up your mind.
7. Remain humble. Don’t worry about who receives the credit. Never let power or authority go to your head.
8. Take a moment of self-reflection. Look at yourself in the mirror every night and ask yourself if you did your best.
9. True satisfaction comes from getting the job done. The key to a successful leader is to earn respect not because of rank or position, but because you are a leader of character.
10. Hang Tough! Never, ever, give up.
(From Beyond Band of Brothers, The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters, by Dick Winters and Col. Cole C. Kingseed. New York: Berkley Publishing Group, 2006. page 293.)
I find his ten points clear, simple, and effective. If this philosophy of leadership was good enough to lead Easy Company through World War II, it should be good enough to apply in the battles of life and business today!