The Will of a General, The Tact of a Diplomat

“The Leadership Secrets of Colin Powell”
By Oren Harari
McGraw-Hill, 2002



The professions have their own stereotypes – fair or unfair. Doctors “act” like God over life and health of their patients. Lawyers “lie” for their clients. Generals motivate their men with tongue-lashing. Diplomats are a paragon of tact and, yes, diplomacy.

So when generals become Presidents and “chew” their men and cigar – or both – we forgive them for a hard-to-break habit. On the other hand, when ambassadors lose their cool, we don’t forgive them – because that’s “out of character.”

Is a “tactful general,” therefore, a contradiction in terms, a paradox?

Consider the world’s current interest -- one trained in soldiery, but who can shame the finest smooth-talking diplomat: Colin Powell, American Secretary of State.

What makes this charismatic African-American tick, one considered by two U.S. Presidents to be a “presidential timber”? Has he become a sensation simply because he is a blend of contradictory qualities?

The book, “The Leadership Secrets of Colin Powell,” zeroes in on the qualities of this man who again took center stage right after the September 11 tragedy that “forever changed Americans’ view of themselves.” The author, Oren Harari, is quick to say that this is not a biography but a “battle-tested leadership book.”

True enough, we are introduced to the paradoxes of leadership, a phenomenon that continues to drive scholars to enumerate in tidy terms what a leader should be – especially in the 21st century. But human qualities cannot actually be placed in neat formulas.

That’s true – even truer – for Powell. With Jamaican parentage, schooled in America, and navigating the corridors of power, Powell is a living paradox. The book, with its three sections, calls Powell a “provocateur” in one breath, and then cites him for his “strategy and execution” than next. Of course, the juxtaposition is not contradictory; just intriguing.

Behind the cool façade, for example, is a gadfly. Powell does not retreat from ruffling other people’s feelings, if it’s unavoidable. “Colin Powell is perfectly prepared to make people angry, even really angry, in pursuit of organizational excellence,” Harari reveals.

Still on this startling subject, the book reveals more about Powell: “Making people mad was part of being a leader.” What! Powell continues: “As I had learned long ago … an individual’s hurt feelings run a distant second to the good of the service. Trying not to offend anyone … will set you on the road to mediocrity.” That explains Powell, the tough leader.

“Good leaders don’t evade or cover up anger; they lead it,” annotates the author. “Powell will tell you that when leaders press for new directions, new behaviors, and new performance expectations, peoples’ comfort zones will be invaded, and they’ll get angry. And that’s precisely what’s supposed to happen.”

As a leader you can be forceful but not blunt. The book tells of an anecdote when, looking out the window from an aircraft, Powell thought he noticed an unfamiliar terrain below. No, said the pilot, he knew exactly where they were.

Powell immediately challenged him. In polite and forceful language, he ordered the pilot to turn the plane around and get them out of there. As it turned out, the plane had been flying over enemy territory!

Powell was instrumental in building a global coalition to support the inexorable move of the U.S. to bomb Afghanistan. He pursued his strategy over the objections of the “hawks” in the White House. Surely, he turned on his charm and his used his diplomatic skills to the hilt.

It doesn’t mean, however, that he vacillates. The book has ample stories to paint a decisive no-nonsense leader of Powell. One story is Powell’s urgent call to the headman of Pakistan who was initially ambivalent about whether to back the U.S. or to be neutral. That was within 48 hours of the September 11 attack. Powell’s message was terse: “General, you have got to make a choice.”

He always wants to get to the bottom of things. He once told his people: “This particular emperor expects to be told when he is naked.” (A story was told that an Emperor had no clothes, but no one was brave enough to tell him – until a child came along – to reveal such “naked truth.”) On another occasion, Powell said: “Untidy truth is better than smooth lies that unravel in the end anyway.” Many executives can identify with Powell’s “must” that even “bad news” is welcome. He has no use for fiction.

A three-word statement captures the crucial role of a leader like Powell. He said once: “Command is lonely.”

The author, equally eloquent, says that leaders do go through their “midnight moment of loneliness – that long moment of self-doubt, second-guessing and deep anxiety that is reserved for leaders” on the brink of a crucial decision. Dear readers: You don’t have to be the Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary to able to be up close and personal with Colin Powell. This book is the next best thing – if not better.