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Welcome to Chief Executive's CEO Briefing. Keep your colleagues informed - forward for signup.
Leadership: What War Taught Her
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Ukraine has kicked off its long-anticipated counteroffensive against Russia, and we all wish them well. In the coming weeks, a period that could be a historic turning point in that horrific conflict, you’re likely to see Gen. Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, back in the headlines once again.
Chief Executive has featured articles about Gen. Zaluzhnyi before, focusing on his near-magical work to restructure the backward, Soviet-based Ukrainian military into one of the most effective fighting forces of the past 100 years—and the lessons for other leaders in how he did it.
This morning, we feature another up-close look at Gen. Zaluzhnyi, from Liudmyla Dolhonovska, the chief of staff at American University in Kyiv. During the opening weeks of the war and in the two years that followed, she has been by his side constantly, as his advisor on strategic communications, offering her unparalleled daily access to the general and a chance to see how he manufactured success and saved his nation’s life.
“I was able to understand him not only as a military leader but also as a father, a son and a husband,” she writes. “I would like to share with you my knowledge of Gen. Zaluzhny’s personality, which helped the country survive. Three key elements will be useful to anyone running an organization, particularly in times of peril and stress.” They are:
- Love your people. “I was present at the first meeting of the newly appointed commander-in-chief with all of his commanders,” she writes. “He started that meeting with the following words: ‘I don’t demand from you anything extraordinary. The only thing I demand from you is that you treat your subordinates as a humans first. You have to see in front of you a person and individual, and respect him or her.’”
- Set the tone to win. “Apart from professional skills, I would like to emphasize that in situations in which we found ourselves, it was very important to keep a sense of humor. Every soldier knows it. Soldiers always laugh, even during the darkest times. This lesson Gen. Zaluzhny learned from his years in the lower positions within the Ukrainian army. Therefore, even in very stressful and dangerous situations, he would break the tension with humor. For example, on the early morning of February 26, he grabbed my phone and took a selfie, which made me smile. It helped.”
- Be excellent. “This often gets overlooked in discussions about leaders: You must not only love what you do, but you must be excellent at doing it. Gen. Zaluzhnyi is really a military professional. He dreamt as a child to be in uniform, to serve Ukraine…He served at every level of command—from platoon commander to commander-in-chief. His life is that of the consummate military professional. He is a student of military history. He studies his enemy’s doctrines. He once told me, military art is a real art. It includes strategy but is not limited by strategy. The main talent of the military leader is to anticipate and predict the enemy’s actions. That is the key. You must know your adversary, to break his plan and impose your initiative.”
“Everyone has stress, fear and concerns,” writes Dolhonovska. “A leader needs to be an inspiration. It’s like you being a parent: you don’t express your doubts and fears to your child—you project confidence. And confidence builds.” Read the full article >
— Dan Bigman, editor, Chief Executive. dbigman@ChiefExecutiveGroup.com
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