SUMMARY:
As a four-star Army General and chairman of the United States Joint Special Operations Command, Stanley McChrystal has led in some of the most high-stakes, high-pressure environments imaginable, and yet he says leading in business is remarkably similar to leading in the military. In this live recording, Paula Faris interviews General McChrystal on some of his most critical leadership learnings, including the role of curiosity, growth and risk, and how to break down information silos in an organization.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
CURIOSITY AND GROWTH ARE CRITICAL. Leaders should engage in constant curiosity about their own organization and become “question machines”. Growth is critical because what worked yesterday almost never works next week. Become curious enough to understand the situation, adaptable enough to figure out what works.
LEADERSHIP IS NOT ABOUT A SOLITARY MAN OR WOMAN. “Leadership” is not a thing you have: It’s an interaction between leaders and the people they lead, and the context of the moment. The interplay of those things determines whether or not an individual’s leadership is effective or not.
REGARDLESS OF PERSONALITY OR STYLE, LEADERSHIP COMES WITH RESPONSIBILITY. No matter your personality or leadership style, a leader has a responsibility to establish relationship with those that they lead. Choose to be what and who your followers need you to be.
STOP FOCUSING ON RISK AND BEGIN FOCUSING ON RESILIENCY. Most risk we cannot predict, much less control. Instead, focus on what makes your organization strong enough to survive. Focus on building resiliency, and the ability to face whatever comes your way.
YOU ALWAYS LEARN MORE FROM YOUR MISTAKES THAN YOUR SUCCESSES. Most people don’t study their successes enough to learn from them. What’s more, many times we win because of our luck, not our skill. Embrace and learn from your failures, without labeling yourself (or others) a “failure.”
BREAKING DOWN INFORMATION SILOS INCREASES SPEED AND EFFECTIVENESS. To encourage trust and sharing, focus on developing a common purpose; share like you’ve never shared before; understand that it takes time; and push down decision-making. As a leader, refuse to focus on individual performance, and instead focus on whether or not the team is winning.
RELATED LINKS:
Global Leadership Network
The Global Leadership Summit
Paula Faris
The McChrystal Group
Risk: A User’s Guide (Affiliate link)
Rasmus Ankersen: The Danger of Complacency
General Stanley McChrystal
Retired 4-Star General | U.S. ArmyPaula Faris
Founder | CARRY Media™Ashlyn Ochoa
Host | The Global Leadership PodcastEp 91: Curiosity, Growth, Risk & Silos – General Stanley McChrystal & Paula Faris
TOPICS IN THIS PODCAST
Leading YourselfAs a four-star Army General and chairman of the United States Joint Special Operations Command, Stanley McChrystal has led in some of the most high-stakes, high–pressure environments imaginable, and yet he says leading in business is remarkably similar to leading in the military. In this live recording, Paula Faris interviews General McChrystal on some of his most critical leadership learnings, including the role of curiosity, growth and risk, and how to break down information silos in an organization.
On This Podcast
General Stanley McChrystal
U.S. Army
Recognized as a transformational leader with a remarkable record of achievement, Stanley McChrystal is a retired four-star Army General widely praised for leading a comprehensive counterterrorism organization that fused intelligence and operations, redefining the way military and government agencies interact. Over the course of his career, he led a number of elite organizations including the International Security Assistance Forces, Joint Special Operations Command as well as the 75th Ranger Regiment. In 2009, the President of the United States and the Secretary General of NATO appointed him to be the Commander of U.S. Forces Afghanistan and NATO ISAF. His command included more than 150,000 troops from 45 allied countries. Since retiring from the military, McChrystal founded the McChrystal Group to deliver innovative leadership solutions to businesses and multinational corporations around the world in order to help them build stronger teams and succeed in challenging, dynamic environments. A passionate advocate for national service, McChrystal is also Chairman of Service Year Alliance. Additionally, McChrystal is a senior fellow at Yale University's Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, where he teaches a course on leadership. McChrystal is the author of New York Times best-selling books, My Share of the Task and Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World. McChrystal is also the co-author of The Wall Street Journal best-selling title, Leaders: Myth and Reality.
Paula Faris
CARRY Media™
Paula Faris is an Emmy-Award winning journalist, speaker, best-selling author of Called Out: Why I Traded Two Dream Jobs For A Life Of True Calling, and host of the Paula Faris Faith & Calling podcast, where she talks to inspirational people about what they're called to do and who they're called to be. Faris spent the last nine years at ABC news, during which she was co-anchor of Good Morning America weekend edition and co-host of The View. While at the network she reported on everything from politics, news and entertainment to sports and faith. In 2022, Faris launched CARRY Media™ with the desire to champion, advocate and celebrate working mothers across America.
Ashlyn Ochoa
The Global Leadership Podcast
Ashlyn Ochoa has served in a variety of roles at the Global Leadership Network since 2016. The product of her talented work, strategic creativity, and valuable leadership has been experienced in the production of The Global Leadership Podcast, as well as many of the GLN’s leadership events and videos that have been translated and contextualized in more than 123 countries. As a valuable leader with a voice of positive influence, she is the host of The Global Leadership Podcast, one of the most popular leadership podcasts in the world. As of 2022, in addition to hosting the podcast, Ashlyn leads national event strategy and production at Bethany Christian Services, where she works in her passion to serve children and families. Beyond her professional roles, her greatest joy is found in being a wife and mom. Experience her positive energy, inquisitive mind, and wisdom as you tune in to The Global Leadership Podcast!
Show Notes
SUMMARY:
As a four-star Army General and chairman of the United States Joint Special Operations Command, Stanley McChrystal has led in some of the most high-stakes, high-pressure environments imaginable, and yet he says leading in business is remarkably similar to leading in the military. In this live recording, Paula Faris interviews General McChrystal on some of his most critical leadership learnings, including the role of curiosity, growth and risk, and how to break down information silos in an organization.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
CURIOSITY AND GROWTH ARE CRITICAL. Leaders should engage in constant curiosity about their own organization and become “question machines”. Growth is critical because what worked yesterday almost never works next week. Become curious enough to understand the situation, adaptable enough to figure out what works.
LEADERSHIP IS NOT ABOUT A SOLITARY MAN OR WOMAN. “Leadership” is not a thing you have: It’s an interaction between leaders and the people they lead, and the context of the moment. The interplay of those things determines whether or not an individual’s leadership is effective or not.
REGARDLESS OF PERSONALITY OR STYLE, LEADERSHIP COMES WITH RESPONSIBILITY. No matter your personality or leadership style, a leader has a responsibility to establish relationship with those that they lead. Choose to be what and who your followers need you to be.
STOP FOCUSING ON RISK AND BEGIN FOCUSING ON RESILIENCY. Most risk we cannot predict, much less control. Instead, focus on what makes your organization strong enough to survive. Focus on building resiliency, and the ability to face whatever comes your way.
YOU ALWAYS LEARN MORE FROM YOUR MISTAKES THAN YOUR SUCCESSES. Most people don’t study their successes enough to learn from them. What’s more, many times we win because of our luck, not our skill. Embrace and learn from your failures, without labeling yourself (or others) a “failure.”
BREAKING DOWN INFORMATION SILOS INCREASES SPEED AND EFFECTIVENESS. To encourage trust and sharing, focus on developing a common purpose; share like you’ve never shared before; understand that it takes time; and push down decision-making. As a leader, refuse to focus on individual performance, and instead focus on whether or not the team is winning.
RELATED LINKS:
Global Leadership Network
The Global Leadership Summit
Paula Faris
The McChrystal Group
Risk: A User’s Guide (Affiliate link)
Rasmus Ankersen: The Danger of Complacency
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