SCHOFIELD’S DEFINITION OF DISCIPLINE reprise....

The discipline which makes the soldiers of a free country reliable in battle is not to be gained by harsh or tyrannical treatment.

On the contrary, such treatment is far more likely to destroy than to make an army.
It is possible to impart instruction and to give commands in such manner and such a tone of voice to inspire in the soldier no feeling but an intense desire to obey, while the opposite manner and tone of voice cannot fail to excite strong resentment and a desire to disobey.

The one mode or the other of dealing with subordinates springs from a corresponding spirit in the breast of the commander.

He who feels the respect which is due to others cannot fail to inspire in them regard for himself, while he who feels, and hence manifests, disrespect toward others, especially his inferiors, cannot fail to inspire hatred against himself.

(Major General John M. Schofield, in an address to the Corps of Cadets, August 11, 1879.)

The above quote has been blogged about and commented on as it pertains to great leadership values with regard to discipline, the Blog Lead Follow or Get Out of the Way (http://leadfolloworgetoutofmyway.com/?p=33)) recently commented on Schofield's Definition: "...the foundation of discipline is not accountability or punishment, but respect."

I am happy to know that there are others out there who realize the importance of keeping this leadership practice alive and well as it can only help organizations and leaders to succeed long term.

Leadership 101

On a recent call with a fellow senior executive, the conversation turned towards leadership philosophy, approach, etc. In these types of conversations, any worthy business leader or organizational manager will have several robustly formed opinions to share and debate.
“Power Down,” “Situational Leadership,” “Results driven,” “Managing by Walking Around,” or “Hands-On,” are just a few of the terms that would typically be part of one of these discussions.

As we spoke, my eyes wandered to my a book resting on in my bookcase called, “Leadership in Organizations” by G. Yukl (now in it's 5th Edition, original 19 Chapters have been revised to 15 Chapters). The two and a half inch thick original hardbound copy was issued to me at West Point in the early 1980’s. As we spoke about the different facets of leadership and leadership strategy, I thumbed casually through the pages.

What I found extremely interesting about the text and the topics covered inside this book was how accurate and useful they really were.I had a revelation. While it occurred to me that there was just no way--back in “Leadership 101” --that I could have ever truly understood most of the teachings contained in the book, how very useful it would have been to least have opened it once a year or so since then to refresh on a couple of chapters.

Then I had a second revelation. I have actually been practicing most of the key teachings from the book for years, both as an Officer in the US Army and up until now as an executive and business unit leader in corporate America –without even opening it!

Perhaps, more so than any other course I ever studied in college, the lessons I learned from this have actually been embedded in and have supplied me with unbelievable and highly relevant “daily usefulness” for over 20 years. What a gift!