What is the most powerful leadership principle of all time?

December 29, 2022 by Mike Manazir – (4-5 minutes)

In Chapter Three of my new book, Learn How to Lead to Win: 33 Powerful Stories and Leadership Lessons I talk about my leadership journey and how I came to learn the most powerful leadership principle of all time.

The experiences of Plebe summer at the Naval Academy replicate basic training in any military unit. The upperclassmen taught us how to march, how to salute, and how to wear our uniforms.

Life at the Academy offered many leadership experiences because the mission of the Academy is to teach you to lead and work in teams. They do it from the beginning. The foundation is the mental, moral, and physical education. But their intent is to build you into naval officers who are expected to lead well. We learned how to follow during Plebe year, but as soon as we entered our second year, we were given multiple leadership experiences to build on.

I could feel myself maturing and becoming more self-assured. I also encountered enough athletic and academic failures to remain humble. I was confident enough to lead, but became intensely aware there were many Mids who performed better than I was able to at the time.

Midshipmen leadership roles are assigned based on the merit of leadership performance, military bearing, academics, and physical elements of the regimen. The best performing Midshipmen are assigned leadership roles. I was selected to lead the Fifteenth Company as Company Commander during the fall semester. I was a three-striper, responsible for 120 men and women. Three stripes earned me special privileges such as liberty to go out in town on weeknights.

I wasn’t going to be effective by ordering my fellow Mids around. They’d see right through me. Leading peers in the crucible of the Academy is where I gained my first real leadership lessons.

The Naval Academy experience took a cocky, self-centered high school senior and turned him into a naval officer who values his people, builds teams, and stays focused on the mission.

Many of the lessons I learned over the years can be traced to my Academy experience. I also learned the importance of humility.

Some would say I have led a life of privilege. I’ve thought about that and have a confession to make. I agree—to a point. I was privileged to grow up in a home with parents who loved me and a father who set high standards. I was privileged to grow up in a country that gave me an education and the freedom to change my station in life through determination and hard work. I was privileged to go to one of our military academies where less than 1 percent of our country’s graduating seniors are accepted. I was privileged to have mentors who encouraged me, guided me with wisdom, and opened doors.

However, my family was not wealthy. Had I not set my goal to go to the Academy in the eighth grade and then worked toward it for four long years, I would not have been qualified to attend the Academy. I had to earn it. The regimen at the Academy was challenging. Had I not risen to the challenge, I would have washed out. Every door that opened to me was based on how I had performed previously. Each door had its own challenges that had to be overcome or the door would close.

You have to earn it. Regardless of your present station in life, you, too, are privileged to live in a nation where with determination and hard work you can achieve almost any goal. Are you aware that through ROTC (Reserve Officers’ Training Corps), National Guard, and OCS (Officer Candidate School), every able-bodied American student with desire in their heart and a commitment to work can access all the privilege the Naval Academy and the US Navy provided me? All the resources you need are available to you. You just have to pursue your dream relentlessly. If you believe it, you can achieve it.

My Academy experience created a blend of gratefulness and confidence within me. I was blessed to know what I wanted and worked hard enough to earn a spot at the Academy. Once there, I made the commitment to live up to the responsibility that came with the blessing of being admitted there.

I came to realize that if I am humble, if I’m sincerely grateful and genuinely care about people, most people will get what’s in my heart and come to trust my intentions. I don’t have to worry about looking arrogant, if arrogance is not present in my heart. I believe that deep personal connection and clear transparency about the privilege of the blessings you receive in life will diminish the feeling other people may have that you are privileged and feel entitled.

If you believe you are entitled and privileged to live above others, it will show, and people you are trying to lead will not willingly follow you. You must reach them where they are and show them you are one of them. Hold the mantle of authority lightly with benevolence, kindness, and kinship.

After I retired from the Navy and began working in the civilian world, I helped a junior analyst during a trade show who requested my advice. The next day, I watched how she stepped up in the absence of our normal briefer and carried the day.

As I came up to her she exclaimed, “You’re an Admiral! I wouldn’t have put this on you and asked for your advice had I known you are an Admiral!”

Someone had obviously referred to me as “Admiral Manazir.”

I smiled and replied, “I wouldn’t have treated you any differently had you known.”

That’s my point. I never want to be treated differently based on my position. I want to be known as an authentic, caring human who, yes, was fortunate to have the opportunity to do wonderful things in the Navy, but at the end of the day, I’m simply a human being who cares about the people I am around.

As I reflect on my Academy years, one of the key lessons I learned was how effective leaders don’t rely on the authority of their position to lead. Through the years, I’ve observed the best leaders are humble, approachable, and authentic. They work hard, as hard or harder than those they lead. They are focused on the welfare of the team. They are servant leaders. Servant leaders know it’s not about your position and success isn’t about you. It’s about how you contribute to the team as you work together to fulfill the mission.

If you have influence, then you are a leader regardless of your position. Influence leadership is tied to a personal relationship and trust. I strived to be someone people wanted to follow, because I earned their trust. The way I do that is by focusing my interest on them. I remind myself that it’s not about me—it’s about them. Once they know I care, they’re willing to follow me to fulfill the mission. Leadership is not a position of privilege. It is a position of service.

The first order of business for a new leader – the most powerful leadership principle of all time – is to build personal connections and trust. As soon as you assume a leadership role, your first priority is to establish a few close personal connections and establish trust with key members of your team. Study the team and you’ll see who to connect with—who your informal leaders are. Learn their strengths. Value those who have strengths that complement your weaknesses and vice versa. Once you establish a collaborative team approach to leadership, your team knows you are authentic. When the crisis appears, they trust your lead.

Take Action

1. Change your heart. Adopt a grateful attitude. It keeps you humble.
2. Focus on your people and the needs of the team.
3. Connect with your people. Let each individual know you care about them.
4. Invest in your team. Help them grow and succeed.

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