The Real Picture

The real picture lies within the Leader Standing in the Arena.  The one that President Teddy Roosevelt said was, “marred by dust and sweat and blood.”  The possessor of the authentic image of reality, not a distorted distance replica.  The doer, not the critic.   

From the Morning Read

Grant and I were in Macon, Georgia this past weekend for a wrestling tournament.  I woke up, looked out the window and saw daylight, so I started to stir.  Well…come to find out I failed to shut the blackout curtain, it was just a streetlight…not the sun. 

Once I’m up, I’m up.  I knew Grant needed rest for his long day of wrestling, so I grabbed my backpack and headed down to the lobby.  Intending to catch up on some work emails, I ended up pulling out the book that I am currently reading, How Ike Led:  The Principals Behind Eisenhower’s Biggest Decisions.  The author, Susan Eisenhower, his granddaughter. A great read, especially from that perspective!

Each person has a historical figure they connect with.  Someone that they are drawn to, someone that interests them.  President Dwight D. Eisenhower is that person for me. 

Most of my studies on him have been in his capacity as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces during World War II.  A role in which he had to, “lead up” to the likes of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and a myriad of other world leaders.  He faced one of the most pivotal tasks in human history, the planning and execution of D-Day.           

The Real Picture

It wasn’t until I read this book that I was able to gain a better understanding of his presidential leadership.  The chapters that I read this morning prompted me to think about a very important responsibility in leadership…seeing the REAL picture.

Eisenhower served two full terms as president.  Towards the end of any president’s term, the political winds can start to shift.  It is not uncommon for their party to lose control of at least one branch of Congress, fade in popularity within their own party, and experience heightened criticism of policy decisions.

Eisenhower was popular.  He was an American war hero who could have walked right into the White House upon his retirement from military service.  In fact, he was so well thought of that BOTH parties were lobbying him to run for president!  Could you imagine that happening today?  Yeah…me neither.    

The year was 1958, amid the Cold War Tensions.  The Soviet Union successfully launched the first satellite into space, Sputnik.  Eisenhower’s critics pounced.  They created hysteria on the home front that the Soviets now had the capability to launch Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs).  Essentially, the fear that Russia could attach a nuclear weapon to a rocket that could reach the United States.

What most didn’t know…Eisenhower saw the REAL picture.  He knew the reality of their limited capabilities regarding ICBMs.  Why?  Because only he and a select few of classified individuals knew about the United States’ U-2 program.  The U-2 was an aircraft that could fly at extremely high altitudes, out of reach of enemy missile range, and conduct surveillance on our enemies.  It was able to take pictures of the REAL situation on the ground. 

Eisenhower had a real picture.  The Soviets did not possess the level of capability for ICBMs as everyone feared.  His closest advisors were encouraging him to disclose the U-2 program to ward off the criticism.  He refused to.  Eisenhower stood firm knowing the real picture. 

Here are two key leadership lessons that I learned from my morning read:         

Keep Your Feet Still

Ever tried to take a picture while moving?  It turns out fuzzy, right?  Really clear pictures are taken stationary with our feet planted firmly on the ground.

The easiest thing for Eisenhower to have done was disclose the U-2 program.  It would have quieted the critics and maybe even calmed the fear of the common person.  But, it would have compromised our ability to prevent the potential for future, REAL atrocities. 

Leaders must find confidence in knowing the real picture and keeping our feet still while doing so. 

Evade Emotion

Over my career I have found that emotion is the biggest detriment to quality decisions.  Emotion clouds decision making.  It makes it hard to see through the fog of the circumstances.

Emotion has its place in life and leadership, but not in the decision-making process.  Most would agree that some of our worst decisions in these arenas were tied to emotion in the moment. 

I can only imagine that the situation was extremely frustrating for Eisenhower.  In my studies of him, I do not recall any critical situation in which he let his emotions dictate the decision.  Even when the emotion was warranted. 

He shook it off and made quality, non-emotional decisions.  History shows us that this was an effective strategy to evade emotion.  If not, the world would look a lot different today. 

As leaders, we have plenty of opportunities to allow emotion to impact our daily decision making.  We can experience celebratory emotions that produce elation, excitement, anticipation, and inspiration.  On the flipside, the ordinary chaos of a day can run us through a wide range of challenging emotions such as disappointment, discouragement, frustration, irritation, and defensiveness.

Positive or negative, neither helps us arrive at quality decisions.  Evade emotion, make better decisions.

Conclusion

President Ronald Reagan once said, “There is no limit to the amount of good you can do if you don’t care who gets the credit.”  I often think about Eisenhower when I read this quote. 

President John F. Kennedy famously cast the vision to put a man on the moon in 1961.  President Richard Nixon (Eisenhower’s Vice-President) received the applause when the NASA fulfilled Kennedy’s vision. 

You know who didn’t receive due credit?  Eisenhower, for creating NASA in 1958. 

As a career military man, he felt it best to separate our space endeavors from our armed services.  To create an agency with a focused pursuit of space exploration.  Guess when he did it?  In the midst of the criticism of the Sputnik issue. 

Eisenhower didn’t move his feet.  The REAL picture of the long-range mission remained clear.  He didn’t succumb to the emotion of the moment.  The President remained steadfast in his decision to remain committed to the REAL picture.