Mention
the name Dwight D. Eisenhower to anyone born after World War II
but before 1970 and you’re likely to get a yawn. Ike remains
a faint memory like fuzzy black & white TV, Ovaltine in the
morning, and pre-Arnold Palmer golf. Those older may remember a
vigorous general who calmly and confidently led the Allied Forces
in Europe during one of America’s darkest days. (Those younger
than may have trouble distinguishing Ike from the actor Robert Duvall
who played him in a TV mini-series.)
What relatively few recall about our nation’s General and President
was his superb managerial abilities. Truth be told, Ike was no rising
star; he was a still major his late thirties. Ike knew what it took
to climb the ladder, and certainly for many years, he probably doubted
that he possessed what would later be called "the right stuff."
Yet in his long years of being a career middle-manager, Ike learned
a great deal about vision, integrity, preparation, communication,
and reflection—all essential to effective leadership—from
his superior officers.
For example, having served as the chief aide to one of America’s
most gifted generals in the 1930s, Douglas MacArthur, Ike absorbed
a thing or two about symbolic leadership. He learned something more
valuable: the value of managing people. So when he was called upon
to lead, he was more than ready.
Imagine this scenario. Eisenhower has just been appointed the leader
of Allied Forces. His team ranges from the doughty and trustworthy
Omar Bradley to the wild and impetuous George Patton. Add to this
mix the volatile and imperious Field Marshall Earl Montgomery, who
believed in his heart that he was a better general and thereby deserved
the top job.
And if this crew were not challenging enough, look at Ike’s
immediate supervisors: General George Marshall, a general who by
rights ought to have been the European commander, but whom Franklin
Roosevelt could not bear to have stationed an ocean away; Franklin
Roosevelt himself, a supreme diplomat as well as inspirational leader;
and more immediate, Winston Churchill, a man of action and vision,
but whose tendencies for military opportunism had to be watched.
How did Ike manage this menagerie of intellect, strategy, and ego?
Brilliantly.
At heart, Dwight D. Eisenhower was a simple man. He followed the
classic soldier’s creed: do your duty to God and to country.
There is some evidence that he felt somewhat unproven in some ways
to brilliant on-field commanders like Montgomery and Patton, but
he never let on publicly. Ike once commented to an American general
known to be anti-British: "Our Allies have got to be partners
not people we view with suspicion and doubt." (1) Wise
counsel for any manager involved in assembling and leading a team.
He didn’t just manage; he led.
Let’s examine how he did it.
1. He shared in the vision of his commander-in-chief, FDR: crush
the enemy and win the war.
2. He planned actively and vigorously for this mission. He surrounded
himself with brilliant strategists and courageous fighting men
in pursuit of the mission.
3. He held tight to his convictions. He would not let Churchill,
nor Montgomery, bully him into stupid tactics that were not in
alignment with his grand strategy.
4. He had tasted defeat. Stephen Ambrose, Eisenhower’s biographer,
notes that Eisenhower was whipped by Field Marshall Erwin Rommel
in their first major clash in North Africa. Ike was so disgusted
with himself he offered to resign. Fortunately for us, his aides
persuaded him to withdraw his offer. But the defeat taught Ike
a valuable lesson. A leader must surround himself with people
he can trust. Ike advised Patton: "You must not retain for
one instant any man in a responsible position where you have become
doubtful of his ability to do his job." (2)
5. He was a man of reflection. In the wee hours before D-Day invasion,
after he had given the final go-ahead, Ike was consumed with fear
and dread. And in this moment of near-despair he drafted a message
that would be broadcast in the event the invasion force was repelled.
In the message, Ike assumed full responsibility and exonerated
everyone else.
6. And most importantly, he was a soldier’s soldier. "Generals,"
he once commented, "are expendable, just as is any other
item in an army." (3) You have only to look at the
newsreel footage of Ike surrounded by paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne to see what Ike meant. His face is smiling, grinning,
laughing and so are the others around him. This is just hours
before these troopers would hurl themselves into the darkness
thousands of feet above enemy territory. For many, it would be
their last jump. Ike knew this, but he felt the least he could
do was spend time small-talking with men he would order into battle.
A commander belongs with his troops in good times and in bad.
The
quiet man from Abilene, Kansas—who many assumed might be a
lightweight manager, but who ultimately emerged as the one man capable
of pulling together a disparate organization and molding it into
a strategic fighting force for victory—was a leader by definition
and by action.
Ike proved his mettle, and thereby helped engineer a great triumph
for man and cause of righteousness. If ever there were a leader-manager
for the ages, it would be Ike—one whom managers everywhere
can call their own.
" John Baldoni 1998
References
(1) Ambrose, Stephen (1997) "Ike Blew It, Too" Forbes 6/2/97
(2) Ibid, Ambrose
(3) Ibid, Ambrose
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