Season 4, Episode 20 – Mr. Darrell Guthrie
Welcome to Game Changers with Jeff Newkirk, where we speak with people who have done something to make this world a better place. It’s simple: inspire, educate, and let’s go change this world!
On today’s episode, Jeff continues his conversation with guest Mr. Darrell Guthrie. Mr. Guthrie is a retired U.S. Army Major General and is now a Senior Peace Fellow with the Public International Law and Policy Group. He is also an attorney and co-founder of the Advanced Dynamic Defense Directorate, a national security think tank and business incubator. He is a proud father of four and grandfather of six.
Today, Mr. Guthrie shares about leadership philosophy. To begin, he outlines the 5 key points of his leadership philosophy: be optimistic and proactive, address challenges at the lowest level possible, take administrative and logistic functions seriously, be willing to think and look at things differently, and be okay with imperfection.
The greatest reward as a leader, he and Jeff agree, is to see those you are responsible for move on and up in their careers. The power of thanking people who have done a job well should never be underestimated. Having a well-rounded perspective often leads to making better decisions overall. Mr. Guthrie’s favorite point is recognizing that he is not perfect, and neither are other people. Humility is key to being a strong and effective leader. He also explains the difference between chasing perfection vs. chasing excellence.
These 5 points for leadership began to take shape in Mr. Guthrie’s mind as he continued to gain more and more experience in leadership. As a lieutenant, which he claims he wasn’t great at, he was able to step outside of himself and find his strengths and weaknesses.
The Army is a great place for developing leadership skills because it introduces you to so many different roles and challenges. An important lesson Mr. Guthrie learned in the military is the importance of letting other people do their jobs on their own. If it’s not up to standard, then you may have a conversation with them about how they may do better. As a commander, he actively maintained a calm and focused persona who was ready to help soldiers work through problems. But he wasn’t always perfect, and shares about the time he let go of his ego and apologized for his previous words and actions. Today, it’s rare to see leaders and politicians publicly apologize, because apologizing is often equated with weakness. However, there is a huge difference between being weak and being humble.
Then, Mr. Guthrie shares his view that many corporations and the military are still following these 5 points, though their demands and expectations continue to evolve. He would like to see business leaders and CEOs embrace humility by making profits and benefits more equal for their employees. Treating people nicely and being positive and proactive about the future is the best way to bring up the organization and the people around you. Before cloning out, he discusses the differences between being proactive vs. reactive, especially in leadership roles. Interacting with other people from a place of humility and sincerity goes a very, very long way.
Learn more about Darrell Guthrie.
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