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General
Hugh Shelton
Fourteenth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
One of the leading military figures of our time, General Hugh Shelton
served two terms as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Presidents
Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. He was the chief architect of the military
response to the September 11th terrorist attacks, and has served in numerous
capacities for the U.S. Army during the Vietnam and Persian Gulf Wars.
Commissioned as a second lieutenant in the infantry through the Reserve
Officer Training Corps, General Shelton spent the next 38 years in a variety
of command and staff positions in the continental United States, Hawaii,
and Vietnam, serving two combat tours in Vietnam – the first with the 5th
Special Forces Group, the second with the 173rd Airborne Brigade. He also
commanded the Third Battalion, 60th Infantry, in the Ninth Infantry Division
at Fort Lewis, Washington, served as the Ninth Infantry Division's chief
of staff for operations, commanded the First Brigade of the 82nd Airborne
Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and was the chief of staff of the
Tenth Mountain Division at Fort Drum, New York.
Selected for promotion to brigadier general in 1988, General Shelton served
two years in the Operations Directorate of the Joint Staff. In 1989, he
began a two-year assignment as the assistant division commander for operations
of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) at Fort Campbell, Kentucky,
during which he participated in the liberation of Kuwait during Operation
Desert Shield/Desert Storm. After the Gulf War, General Shelton was promoted
to major general and assumed command of the 82nd Airborne Division, Fort
Bragg, North Carolina. In 1993, he was promoted to lieutenant general, and
assumed command of the XVIII Airborne Corps. In 1994, during his tenure
as Corps commander, General Shelton led the United States Joint Task Force
that restored democracy in Haiti. In March 1996, he was promoted to general,
and became commander-in-chief of the U.S. Special Operations Command.
General Shelton became the fourteenth chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
on October 1, 1997, and served two two-year terms. Throughout his tenure
as chairman, U.S. forces were in heavy demand, and participated in numerous
joint operations around the globe. He worked tirelessly on behalf of service
members, their families, and military retirees by championing a number of
landmark quality-of-life initiatives, including: the largest pay raise in
18 years; pay table and bonus reform; and critical improvements in both
retirement and healthcare programs. He also made great strides in improving
the readiness and retention of the current force, while simultaneously crafting
Joint Vision 2020, the roadmap for the Future Joint Force. Additionally,
General Shelton established the Joint Forces Command to consolidate joint
experimentation efforts and guide the transformation of the U.S. armed forces
for the twenty-first century.
Topic: Values-Based Leadership
General Shelton’s profound keynote address dealt with the concept of
values-based leadership. General Shelton observed that, in light of the
corporate corruption scandals that severely impacted business culture in
the early years of this decade, it was important to tap into the leadership
principles used by previous generations.
“Values-based leadership is defined by principles, not just a set of rules,”
he explained. “Rules are used for management, but management is reserved
for things. Instead, we must lead people.” General Shelton went on to outline
a list of principles perfected by what he called “some of the greatest leaders
of generations past – cowboys.”
The first of General Shelton’s “Cowboy Principles” was “Living Each Day
With Courage.” The “courage” in this principle referred to the courage of
conviction. For General Shelton, this meant that a leader “knows, goes and
shows the way.” In other words, the effective leader has the experience
and confidence necessary to make proper decisions, sometimes in the face
of opposition. Furthermore, it is having the center of gravity to not look
to the left or right to see what everyone else is doing.
The second Cowboy Principle was “Some Things Are Not for Sale.” This principle
referred to integrity and character, or as General Shelton stated in cowboy
terms, “A man’s word is his bond.” General Shelton noted, “The leader sets
the moral and ethical tone for the organization. As a result, the greatest
legacy you can leave behind is your reputation.” General Shelton also said
that the right ethical choices are important because “the higher you climb,
the more people are watching.”
“Being Tough but Fair” was the third Cowboy Principle. General Shelton believed
that leaders should lead in accordance with The Golden Rule – do unto others,
as you would have them do unto you. “Workers expect loyalty from their boss,”
General Shelton said, “and if they know they’re receiving it, they’ll give
it to you [as the boss] in return.” With regard to being “tough,” General
Shelton mentioned that workers want decisiveness and for the leader to define
expectations and standards. “They want the leader to make decisions, and
they want honest feedback. They want to know where they stand,” he said.
General Shelton’s final Cowboy Principle, “Riding for the Brand,” referred
to the concept of corporate loyalty. “Cowboys were known for being loyal
to the brand, for being loyal members of the team,” General Shelton explained.
He said that in the business world, this translates to the leader focusing
on what’s most important for the success of the project, program or organization.
“The way each individual on your team performs his or her job will determine
how well your team or organization succeeds,” he stated. “While individuals
play a sport, it is the team that wins the game.”
Overall, General Shelton’s keynote speech was one of the highlights of this
year’s Forum, and his Cowboy Principles were a shining example of leadership
values definitely worth emulating.
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