Focal Point: Leadership at the point of the bayonet

Published 4:09 pm Tuesday, May 10, 2016

“No. 10 – Hang tough! Never, ever, give up!

Major Dick Winters

A treasured book in my library is “Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters.” If you recall, Winters was the central figure in “Band of Brothers,” a best-selling book by Stephen E. Ambrose that became the acclaimed HBO mini-series produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg.

Richard D. “Dick” Winters, a freshly minted second lieutenant, commanded Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division when it jumped into Normandy on D-Day. He stayed with the regiment throughout the war, fighting with them in France and Holland, freezing with them at Bastogne, celebrating with them at Hitler’s “Eagle’s Nest.”

When the fighting was done, Winters, by then a major, left the Army and returned to his small Pennsylvania farm to pursue a quiet life of peace and solitude. An easy man to admire, he died in 2011 at the age of 92 after battling Parkinson’s disease.

His book takes you into the battlefield with Easy Company, which by the end of the war suffered 150 percent casualties. He reflects on his thoughts as he jumped with his men into the tracer-filled darkness over Normandy, directed a small band in silencing a battery of howitzers at Brecourt Manor and led a bayonet charge across a Holland dike to confront two companies of SS troopers.

Easy Company was not made up of perfect soldiers, just ordinary men. Winters never saw himself as an exceptional leader, but he was a good one. While others adopted different leadership styles – leading through fear, authority, friendship or respect – Winters tried to lead through character, competence and courage.

Winters takes you beyond the fighting, analyzing failures as well as successes and filling in details only someone on the inside would know. But the best part is at the very end of the book when he summarizes what it means to be a leader. He calls it: “Leadership at the Point of the Bayonet, Ten Principles for Success.”

#1. Strive to be a leader of character, competence and courage.

#2. Lead from the front. Say, “Follow me!” and then lead the way.

#3. Stay in top physical shape – physical stamina is the root of mental toughness.

#4. Develop your team. If you know your people, are fair in setting realistic goals and expectations, and lead by example, you will develop teamwork.

#5. Delegate responsibility to your subordinates and let them do their jobs. You can’t do a good job if you don’t have a chance to use your imagination and creativity.

#6. Anticipate problems and prepare to overcome obstacles. Don’t wait until you get to the top of the ridge and then make up your mind.

#7. Remain humble. Don’t worry about who receives the credit. Never let power or authority go to your head.

#8. Take a moment of self-reflection. Look at yourself in the mirror every night and ask yourself if you did your best.

#9. True satisfaction comes from getting the job done. The key to a successful leader is to earn respect – not because of rank or position, but because you are a leader of character.

#10. Hang tough! – Never, ever, give up.

I’ll just leave you with that.

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Dave Berry is the retired editor of the Tyler Morning Telegraph. The information for this column was gleaned from “Beyond Band of Brothers, The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters, by Dick Winters and Col. Cole C. Kingseed, New York: Berkley Publishing Group, 2006.