How do you win the war?

What a great question. I mean, who really wants to go to war anyway? The truth is that we all go to battle many days of our lives. The battles on the ground to bring value to our workplace, to our community and to our families.

I did a little research on a well-known, French military leader, Napoleon Bonaparte, who led several campaigns. Here is my absolute favorite quote I could find about him (for the record, I believe that this behavior is the absolute reason he won most battles…):

“Bonaparte would generally rise up sweaty, dirty and covered in gunpowder.”

Here’s what I love: He was in the mud with his team. He wasn’t hiding in an office or in a meeting. He was there, shirt sleeves rolled up, in the mix. That’s huge in my experience.

“He also made an effort to remember his soldiers’ names and visited their campfires before battle, chatting with them about home and expressing confidence that they would triumph over the enemy.”

Here’s what I love: Goodness, why is this so hard for some leaders? We have to know the people around us – their names for sure and hopefully something important to them (their family, their pets, their hobby, their experiences). In addition to the whole “know their names” behavior, he expressed confidence in his team. Every single person I know needs encouragement and needs to know that their leader believes in them. EVERY SINGLE PERSON.

In Bonaparte’s army, soldiers that came from humble backgrounds could rise through the ranks to be leaders, as Bonaparte himself had done. (Taken from Francesca Gino’s ‘Rebel Talent’)

Here’s what I love: The background here is that in that time, only the elite were able to be promoted. Not on Bonaparte’s team… Politics were not in his playbook, but rewarding grit was. That, in my opinion, is spot-on good leadership!

So for today, let’s win the battles with a lot of love and a focus on service and honor to the people within our ranks. Let us be like Bonaparte and work alongside our teams for the best results. That, my friends, is true service!