General CQ Brown, Jr.: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs

General CQ Brown, Jr. is the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the nation’s highest-ranking military officer. As Chairman, he is the principal military advisor to the President of the United States, Secretary of Defense, and National Security Council. Prior to this role, he was the first Black officer in American history to head one of our military branches as Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force. Time Magazine has named him one of the top 100 most influential people in the world.

Effective leaders discover how to best use their strengths, and of course, champion the strengths of others. In this conversation, General Brown and I discuss how he uses his strengths and what he does to bring those strengths into people development, high-level meetings, and problem-solving.

Key Points

• If you are well below average at something, don’t spend time and effort trying to improve. Instead, partner with others who have it as a superpower.
• Give people work that is aligned with their strengths.
• Fight for feedback, especially in a top job. Find people who will give it to you straight. Listen well so they keep offering it.
• Leverage your strengths in communication. For General Brown, using his engineering training to solve problems and using metaphors and analogies to create clarity.
• Have the meeting after the meeting in the meeting.
• Tell people where your strengths might get in the way. For General Brown, highlighting that silence that could appear intimidating is often him just listening and thinking.

Related Episodes

• Leadership in the Midst of Chaos, with Jim Mattis (episode 440)
• Your Leadership Motive, with Patrick Lencioni (episode 505)
• Engaging People Through Change, with Cassandra Worthy (episode 571)
• How to Connect with People Better, with Charles Duhigg (episode 670)

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