Al Qaeda in Iraq was a decentralized network that could move quickly, striking ruthlessly, then just vanished into the local population. When he took over command of the Task Force, he quickly realized that conventional military tactics were failing. General McChrystal is many things, but I dare you to call him “soft.” McChrystal is one tough guy!Īnd yet he had the humility to recognize that he needed to change the way he structured and led his task force in order not to lose the war on terror. McChrystal eats one meal per day, runs 8 miles daily, does not drink, and sleeps four hours per night. He is best known for his command of the Joint Special Operations Command fighting terrorism in the mid-2000s and is one of the first prominent leaders embracing humble leadership. Army four-star General Stanley McChrystal. Nothing could be further from the truth: We can lead with humility while being incredibly ambitious, confident, and highly driven.
Leaders often think of being humble as lacking confidence, ambition, and assertiveness. Humility often gets a bad rap because it is associated with weakness or being “soft” and as a result is resisted by a lot of leaders. By Urs Koenig PhD, MBA, Leadership Keynote Speaker
