—Systemic change begins with personal change—

486: General Kip Ward, part 2: Not flying by choice, and smiling about it

2021-07-15

A retired General doesn't have to do anything he doesn't want to. What he does, he's going to do for his reasons, not for trends or as a dilettante. Kip committed to a challenge many consider unreasonable and impossible (I know because they tell me): avoiding flying. As a General, he's held the fates of a nation and hundreds of thousands of troops in his hands. When he speaks about his experience, I hear him speaking at a life level. He spoke about his many opportunities to fly for business and pleasure, but not taking them. He could have. Besides his choice based on his motivation, he could have flown. He didn't. Yet he shares the opposite of complaints or feeling left out. How is that possible? He describes handling the commitment with his wife, his conferences, what he learned from the pandemic, how it connected to his legacy with the future, and how he made it work. Service He speaks about service and helping your team and teammates achieving more than they would. Is helping our communities not what we want to do regarding our shared environment? If we do our best and enable our peers to outperform their best, isn't that our best way to achieve the best results we can? We can't change the past, but we can do our best and help others do their best. Systemic change begins with personal transformation.

425: General William “Kip” Ward, part 1: Security, Stability, and Sustainability Start with People

2020-12-28

Kip Ward is a retired General who, among other things, was the first leader of the Africa Command. He shares his background so you can hear it from him. It's extensive, having served at every level of the army. I met him through previous guest Frances Hesselbein and watched a few videos in which he spoke of leadership, which I linked to below. He spoke of things I don't see in sustainability and environmental stewardship but work. I took away from those talks Addressing the conditions that led to a situation Good, effective governance through sustained efforts, which he contrasts with technology or authority Authority and force being the last option, despite it being what he was trained in to reach that level Understanding the society and people you want to lead. Their interests and views drive all you do. You have to know your team and goals, but theirs drive strategy. Get to know people and what matters to them. Listen. Do yourself what you expect them to do. I particularly like his commitment for reasons you'll understand when you hear it. Kip is choosing deliberately. I believe action by leaders helps others to follow.

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