Summary Of It Worked For Me: In Life And Leadership By Colin Powell

Exemplary Leader Report: Colin Powell Encapsulating the life and leadership of Colin Powell, the last line in his latest memoir, It Worked for Me: In Life and Leadership, reads, “The people in my life made me what I am,” (Powell & Koltz, 2012, p. 369). From Powell’s relationship with his Jamaican immigrant parents to Powell’s boss, the President of the United States George W. Bush, it was the relationships he built and valued with the average person all the way to those at the top who taught him and guided him throughout his career and life.

Although Colin Powell rose to great heights in his career, he certainly did not start off advantaged. As a first-generation American, Powell was a ‘C’ average public school student. He obtained his

Each of the standards supports putting students’ interests first as they all state educational leaders “promote the success of all students,” (Sergiovanni, Kelleher, McCarthy, & Wirt, 2009, p. 91-97). Furthermore, Standard 4.2a elaborates by adding, “including interactions with individuals and groups with conflicting perspectives,” (Sergiovanni et al., 2009, p. 95). In all situations, educational leaders should follow the advice of Colin Powell and the ISLLC Standards by making all decisions on the basis of serving the

He believes in utilizing observers to feed him information that would typically not make it to him due to his position. In addition, Powell would make time to be present among all levels of his employees, not only fellow leaders.

In my commands, I sometimes wandered where the spirit moved me and sometimes I followed precise paths through troop areas at predictable times. Junior officers, NCOs, and troops knew when and where they could ambush me with their problems. I found out things that would never or not easily flow through the staff or up the chain of command. I followed up on every problem I got, but did it in a way that didn’t undercut the chain of command. I tried to make sure my subordinates knew not to be threatened by my roaming around, and I gave them first shot at solving the problem . . . unless they were the problem. Problems have to be solved, not managed.(Powell & Koltz, 2012, p. 73)

He believes, “Leaders need to know ground truth and not just what they get from reports and staffs, “ (Powell & Koltz, 2012, p. 27). By listening, Powell cultivated relationships and showed that he cared. “This quality often makes relationship-oriented leaders successful,” (Gill, 2016, para.