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On Wednesday, Americans will observe Veterans Day.
We will thank those who served, remember those who sacrificed, and perhaps attend a ceremony or parade. I don’t see as many parades as we used to have.
But there is another question worth considering. What are we doing with what they gave us?
Military service offers countless examples of leadership, but we should be careful about the lessons we extract.
Leadership is not simply issuing orders. Command-and-control leadership has its place, but it is not universally an effective approach. Rank conveys authority, but authority alone does not guarantee respect, competence, or sound judgment.
The best military leaders understand that their responsibilities extend beyond accomplishing the mission. They must prepare their people, exercise judgment, communicate clearly, accept accountability, and sometimes make decisions that place the welfare of others above their own comfort.
Those responsibilities don't disappear when someone removes a uniform. Nor are they exclusive to military service. Every organization inherits something from those who came before it.
Policies. Procedures. Traditions. Knowledge. Opportunities. And sometimes problems.
We enjoy the benefits of decisions made by people whose names we may never know. Some ofthose people deliberately developed their successors. Others left us to figure things out ourselves.
Sustained Leadership includes recognizing that our responsibility is not limited to what we
accomplish during our own tenure. We have an obligation to leave people and institutions better prepared for what comes next.
That requires more than gratitude. It requires stewardship. We honor the contributions of earlier generations most meaningfully when we preserve what deserves preserving, improve what needs improving, and prepare those who will follow.
Veterans Day is an appropriate occasion to remember service.
It is also an opportunity to examine our own willingness to serve something greater than
ourselves.
Quiet Dare: Identify someone whose service or leadership made your opportunities possible.
Thank that person if you can. Then consider what you are doing to create similar opportunities for someone else.
To your personal leadership journey,
Tom
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