Putting Others First

On October 26, 1967, John McCain’s plane was shot down during a bombing run over North Vietnam. He was captured and imprisoned at the Hoa Loa prisoner of war camp, which also was known as the “Hanoi Hilton.”

McCain’s captors soon learned he was the son of the commander of all U.S. Forces in Vietnam, and repeatedly offered him early release. The North Vietnamese wanted to appear merciful and show other POWs that elite prisoners were willing to receive preferential treatment. McCain refused.

He eventually spent five and a half years in various prison camps — three and a half of those years in solitary confinement — before he was released on March 14, 1973.

John McCain’s sacrifice during his time as a POW is a powerful example of a leader putting others before himself. McCain was presented with the opportunity to be released from prison ahead of others who had been captured before him. Following the military code, however, he refused the preferential treatment and, as a result, served years in prison being tortured when he could have avoided all of it if only he had been willing to put himself ahead of those he led.

I’m always amazed when people equate authority with privilege. Many people believe that power and responsibility provide them with the opportunity to put themselves above others — that they should receive benefits not afforded others based on their rank or position. As the ranking American POW, McCain chose not to put his own personal well-being above the men in his charge. Instead, he endured years of torture that he could have avoided if he had chosen to be released.

John McCain’s Lesson for the Workplace
The consequences of a leader putting others before himself are not as significant in the workplace as they were for McCain, but doing so can still have a dramatic impact on both the leader and those who have chosen to follow. So in what ways can a workplace leader demonstrate that with position and authority comes responsibility, not privilege?

A leader who is willing to assume any task, regardless of its importance or status, shows that nothing is beneath him. In other words, if a job is important enough to do, the person in charge is not too important for the job.

Showing respect for every member of the team, regardless of position, demonstrates that the leader recognizes and appreciates everyone’s contributions. Every person has a role to play, whether it’s as a star or a role player, and each role is important.

A leader can demonstrate responsibility to the team members by putting their needs before his own. In the military, you hear stories about ranking officers making sure their soldiers are fed first before themselves and other officers. In the workplace, a leader can make sure that his people have the resources they need to do their jobs.

Why Manager Shared Bonus with Team
I once had a manager who earned a nice bonus for his efforts.  When it came time for him to be paid, he asked that the money be divided among his entire team. He believed that the bonus he had earned was the result of the entire team’s efforts. Without them, he would have never qualified for the bonus.

In explaining why he was willing to share his bonus with others, the manager told me that it was more important to him to make sure his team felt valued and rewarded than to keep the entire bonus for himself. He said without all the team members, his job would be more difficult. He preferred to make sure he kept his team together than to scarf away the entire bonus for himself.  I learned a lesson in leadership from him that day.

My point is that with leadership comes responsibility, not privilege. Anyone in a position of authority who believes that their status provides them with the opportunity for preferential treatment won’t prove to be a leader. To be a leader, one must have people willing to follow. And getting people to follow someone who consistently puts his own needs above theirs isn’t very likely to happen.

Here’s the bottom line, as John C. Maxwell said: “True leadership must be for the benefit of the followers, not to enrich the leader.”

“Leadership is a privilege to better the lives of others. It is not an opportunity to satisfy personal greed.”  Mwai Kibaki

“Good leaders must first become good servants.” Robert Greenleaf

“The goal of many leaders is to get people to think more highly of the leader. The goal of a great leader is to help people to think more highly of themselves.” J. Carla Nortcutt