Learning from Experience
50 Principles for Leading People and Managing Programs through Trials, Tribulations, and Successes
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“Everyone can be a manager, but not everyone can be a leader.” It is quite common among leadership debates that some people state that certain individuals are just natural born leaders, and others, not so much. One great leadership trait is having the cognitive ability to understand second and third order effects during problem solving analysis in record breaking time, while others are still trying to understand direct effects. This personality trait alone does not make an effective leader, but when combined with confidence, discipline, and a sense of purpose makes for a good leader. The ability to convince people to act is only half of the story. The other half is learning to manage programs. Leaders can in some circumstances, be limited in the scope of influence, but managers will have the skills to scale up and down actions to achieve mission requirements while sometimes ignoring the human side of care. The military has understood the differences between leaders and managers but has never defined it within formal schooling. We have a saying in the Army; “mission first and people always.” Not everyone is the total package but putting managers with leaders is a win-win situation and a hard combination to beat. The key to mission success is sometimes recognizing each person’s strengths and weaknesses (leader/manager) and pairing them up to develop a great leadership team for mission success.
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About the Book
If you always wondered how successful people learned how to lead people and manage programs but always thought they were born to lead? Read this book and see how leaders are really made.
About the Author
Dr. Mark Michels served in the US Army for over thirty years, retiring from active duty in October 2019 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He enlisted in the infantry in 1988 as a private and after twelve years of service accepted a full Green to Gold Scholarship to the ROTC program of Syracuse University. Through his varied career he achieved the rank of Sergeant First Class (E-7) and in May 2001 was commissioned a Second Lieutenant as an Air Defense Artilleryman, later transitioning to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Officer (FA-52) functional area. He has deployed to the Middle East and Africa in various campaigns and missions. Dr. Michels has earned an associate’s degree from Mohawk Valley Community College, a bachelor’s from SUNY Poly Technical Institute, a master’s from American Military University, a graduate certificate from Post University, and a doctorate from Northcentral University. Dr. Michels is married to Gabrielle, with whom he has four children, Tanner, Mason, Hunter, and Haley. He resides in upstate New York.