Leadership lessons from General (Retired) Stanley McChrystal - What did you take away from his talk?

2015-04-28T19:45:04-04:00

General (Retired) Stanley McChrystal gives a TED Talk on military lessons learned from his 34 years of service. This is a great watch for all members of the military and also has application to the civilian workforce as well.

The first few minutes of the talk is dedicated to what it is like for a paratrooper going through the airborne timeline. It is quite entertaining as he must simplify everything for the audience to grasp exactly what we go through. This is quite amusing for the fellow paratroopers out there although everyone should get a good laugh out of it, airborne or not.

Following this short vignette he goes into many of the lessons he learned as a senior leader within the United State Army. He talks to the importance of training, transparent leadership, being adaptive, building trust, being open to listening and learning from subordinates (reverse mentorship), inversion of expertise, and the list goes on.

I will take some of the concepts discussed in this short video and apply it to my own leadership philosophy.

What did you take away from GEN (RET) McChrystal's talk? I find talks such as this more effective than if I were to read the same information in an article.

Listen, learn ... then lead

Four-star general Stanley McChrystal shares what he learned about leadership over his decades in the military. How can you build a sense of shared purpose among people of many ages and skill sets? By listening and learning -- and addressing the possibility of failure.

Response by SGT Nia Chiaraluce made Apr 28 at 2015 8:20 PM

2015-04-28T20:20:24-04:00

http://www.army.mil/article/122044/Retired_CSM_delivers_inspiring_speech_to_the_5th_AR_BDE_Sisters_in_Arms_program/

Retired CSM delivers inspiring speech to the 5th AR BDE Sisters-in-Arms program

FORT BLISS, Texas - After hearing the f-word spew from her husband&#2013266048;'s mouth during a discussion about joining the Army, Command Sgt. Maj. (Ret.) Diane Williams finds herself with countless achievements and accolades.

Response by CW4 Private RallyPoint Member made May 3 at 2015 11:03 PM

2015-05-03T23:03:36-04:00

Great article SGT Nia Chiaraluce! Sisters in Arms has really taken off in the past couple of years.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made May 4 at 2015 2:52 PM

2015-05-04T14:52:57-04:00

Youtube Colin Powell

Response by CW4 Private RallyPoint Member made May 9 at 2015 4:53 PM

2015-05-09T16:53:14-04:00

I would like to reenergize this post if possible! Even if you just watch the video without comment you will likely take something away from it. I added a photo and rephrased the question hoping for some discussion.

Response by Nick Petros made May 11 at 2015 3:51 PM

2015-05-11T15:51:34-04:00

He's with us on RP tomorrow. Do you plan to ask him yourself? https://www.rallypoint.com/answers/general-mcchrystal-joins-us-on-rallypoint-what-questions-do-you-have

General McChrystal here on RallyPoint - What questions do you have? | RallyPoint

A message from the General: “Thank you each for your service. Thank you also for giving me the opportunity to answer your questions and I hope you’ll enjoy Team of Teams.” From the RallyPoint Team: This May, General McChrystal is releasing his new book: "Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World" In the book, "McChrystal and his colleagues show how the challenges they faced in Iraq can be relevant to countless businesses,...

Response by SFC David Reid, M.S, PHR, SHRM-CP, DTM made Aug 15 at 2019 1:49 PM

2019-08-15T13:49:02-04:00

HooaH!

Response by SFC David Reid, M.S, PHR, SHRM-CP, DTM made Jun 25 at 2021 11:48 PM

2021-06-25T23:48:41-04:00

A Great Leader who spoke out of turn at the WRONG TIME!

Response by SFC David Reid, M.S, PHR, SHRM-CP, DTM made Jun 25 at 2021 11:49 PM

2021-06-25T23:49:14-04:00

He surely led from the front!