Probably one of the most surprising guests at the Leadership Summit was Colin Powell. I was pleasantly surprised at how cool he was.

This session was done via taped interview with Bill Hybels interviewing.

Craig Groeschel, pastor of lifechurch.tv, had some great insights on this session here.

Some of Craig’s statement’s to get us going:

- General Colin Powell is a leadership genius.
- A great leader must simultaneously lead aggressively and humbly.
- On a personal note, I loved hearing the general say that he doesn’t want to be known by the color of his skin, but measured by his performance. When I listened to Bill and General Powell, I didn’t see a white man and a black man. I saw two brilliant leaders.

Here is a summary of the notes I took. Basically Bill and General Powell went through a list of “Powell Principles” - basically things that he adheres to in his role as a leader. They were definitely worth hearing and worth applying in our efforts to be better servant-leaders.

• A good leader promotes a clash of ideas. Take advantage of the team’s expertise and make decisions based on all available information.
• A good leader encourages a noisy system. Let people express ideas, alternatives, and information. Ultimately the leader makes a better decision based on all the information given.
• A good leader recognizes that PEOPLE get things done. Leaders have the responsibility of inspiring people to ACTION to get things done.
• A good leader has an open door policy. People shouldn’t be afraid to “hang out” with and talk about ideas with a leader.
• A good leader probes the organization. From the top to the bottom, leaders should be in touch with what’s going on and who is a part of the organization. (I loved this point because he told a story of how he would always make himself available for lower ranking people under his command to stop and chat with him at a certain point on his daily rounds. He knows the benefit of treating people with dignity and respect and hearing their individual voices.)
• A good leader rewards the best performers. Those who are not good performers are retrained, moved, or let go. Bad performers not checked will damage the morale of good performers.
• A good leader is prepared to make someone “angry.” Leaders have to make the tough choices and/or moves that will sometimes anger and offend followers.
• A good leader has fun along the way. (Another good story: General Powell has a garage behind his house where he can escape the pressures of his job and just zone out with restoring old Volvos.)
• A good leader fits no stereotypes.
• A good leader is a perpetual optimist. Perpetual optimism is a force multiplyer (military speak for anything that increases your force over that of opposing forces).
• A good leader knows that things always look better in the morning. A good leader knows that it’s a new day and things start fresh in the morning. (This was neat to hear from someone who held such a serious and stressful job.)
• A good leaders avoids war if at all possible. (General Powell has been nicknamed the “Reluctant General” because of his commitment to try and find a diplomatic solution FIRST in times of conflict.)
• A good leader trusts his instincts.
• A good leader is prepared to be lonely.

Like I said I really enjoyed this session. In fact, I was indeed so inspired by Powell’s integrity and strong leadership that I would vote for him in a heartbeat. Powell for Prez!!

It was refreshing to hear someone from the administrative side of our government with such a down to earth and simple honesty in leadership. Sure he’s not perfect, but he’s obviously a great leader! So let’s learn from him as much as we can!!