Why Leaders Should Study Dwight Eisenhower

There's Much to Be Said for Quiet Competence

I am often asked when conducting coaching sessions or management workshops if there are any leaders I recommend as a role model.

One name I always cite is Dwight Eisenhower.

Why?

Three reasons: A subdued ego, a growth mindset, and methodical preparation.

Dwight Eisenhower was a highly talented man who stood on the fringes of fulfilling his potential for many years. He was the classic example of a person who was willing to learn from others and refine his skills while knowing that life gives no guarantee that such efforts will be rewarded. During his presidency he was often underestimated by sophisticates who seemed to have missed the section in his biography involving the Normandy invasion.

A Subdued Ego

When Eisenhower was a child, his mother, while urging him to control his temper, quoted a Bible verse: “He that conquereth his own soul is greater than he who taketh a city.”

He would later recall that as “one of the most valuable moments of my life.”

Although he was never completely able to subdue his temper, his personality was marked by self-control and an extraordinary ability to work well with others. He would go on to positions of high responsibility where achieving the mission required the ability to forge positive working relationships with dynamic and powerful figures.

There was self-confidence, but there was also a certain humility. Later in life, following his service both as a general and a president, Eisenhower wrote a “one-minute lecture” to young people on the “business of who you know”:

“Always try to associate yourself closely with and learn as much as you can from those who know more than you, who do better than you, who see more clearly than you. Don’t be afraid to reach upward. Apart from the rewards of friendship, the association might pay off at some unforeseen time – that is only an accidental by-product. The important thing is that the learning will make you a better person.”

A Growth Mindset

In her book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, Stanford psychology professor Carol S. Dweck describes a “growth mindset” versus a “fixed mindset.”

The growth mindset, she notes, “is based on the belief that your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts.” It is a starting point and neatly fits with Eisenhower’s view that learning will make you a better person.

The fixed mindset believes that “your qualities are carved in stone” and in that group you will two extremes: people who believe they have no need to improve and those who believe they cannot possibly improve.

As you examine Eisenhower’s career, it is as if you are looking through a microscope that is gradually being focused. As is the case with many of us, he was acquiring various skills that later seemed to have a pattern although that may not have been apparent to him at the time. His goal was to become a combat officer.

But the preparation and its eventual pattern would mean much more.