Colin Powell: one of our nation's most respected leaders.
Colin Powell was—and wasn’t—born to greatness. The son of working-class Jamaican immigrants, Powell was born during the Depression and reared in New York City’s tough South Bronx. Those roots wouldn’t seem to be a springboard for success, certainly for someone destined to become one of this country’s most powerful and influential leaders.
But Luther and Maud Ariel Powell had high hopes that son Colin and his older sister Marilyn would be achievers, and they laid a strong family foundation. His parents “did not recognize their own strengths,” Powell once told a Parade interviewer. “It was the way they lived their lives” that established values the children adopted.
The Powells worked hard, commanded respect and insisted their children attend college. “My parents and my minister, my aunts, uncles, cousins—they were nurturing my beginning in life,” Powell tellsSUCCESS. “They said, ‘Don’t disappoint us and don’t shame us.’ ”
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That admonition was not lost on Powell, who ultimately gained admiration and respect from members of both political parties and the American public. His résumé would include stints as national security adviser, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and secretary of state, as well as leader of volunteer initiatives such as America’s Promise Alliance.
Touted as a possible candidate for the presidency in 1996, Powell ’s popularity crossed party and racial boundaries. In declining to run, he said he was nevertheless heartened that a black man was considered a serious presidential prospect by both parties. “That’s the realization of a great dream, even though I may not be the one to fill it,” he was quoted by The New York Times as saying. “In one generation, we have moved from denying a black man service at a lunch counter to elevating one to the highest military office in the nation and to being a serious contender for the presidency.”
Rewards of Honesty
As a youth, Powell remained a worry to members of his boisterous, supportive family because he did not excel or even apply himself academically as a youngster. “I wasn’t a particularly good student,” he says.
"Every American citizen has an obligation to give back."
In his autobiography, My American Journey (written with Joseph E. Persico), Powell describes himself as generally well-behaved but a “directionless” youngster. One of his worst transgressions was sneaking away from church camp for beer when he was in his teens in the early 1950s. Powell was sent home where he faced his parents’ wrath, but was redeemed by almost divine intervention. A priest told his parents “Colin stood up and took responsibility. And his example spurred the other boys to admit their guilt.” That turned the experience around, Powell writes. “My parents beamed. From juvenile delinquent, I had been catapulted to hero. Something from that boyhood experience, the rewards of honesty, hit home and stayed.”
That lesson has played out many times for the soft-spoken Powell. Generally regarded as noncontroversial, he nonetheless has not been afraid to voice his conscience.
Most recently Powell crossed party lines to endorse Democrat Barack Obama for president over Republican John McCain. In an interview with Meet the Press, Powell said he saw Obama as “a transformational figure” and cited “his ability to inspire because of the inclusive nature of his campaign.” He also said he regretted disappointing McCain, whose campaign he had supported and whom he considered a friend. Powell’s support was critical for Obama as he sought credibility with voters concerned about his lack of experience.
Powell also famously reversed course on the Iraq War. As secretary of state in February 2003, Powell propelled the United States toward an invasion when he asserted in a U.N. statement that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction.
But in September 2004, two months before resigning from the cabinet, he told a Senate committee the statement was based on erroneous intelligence. Powell has since called the U.N. speech a blot on his record.
Earlier in his professional life, Powell’s principles put his career on the line when he pressed a couple of thorny issues with his commanding officer in 1982. The general, who was notoriously hard to please, later gave then-Brig. Gen. Powell a lukewarm written review that Powell expected to end his military service. “I had no regrets,” he wrote in My American Journey. “I had done what I thought was right.” After that, Powell retooled his résumé for the civilian job market. He didn’t know then that movers and shakers already had noticed his potential and made sure he got a second chance.
Finding His Direction
Powell chose a military path when he was in college. He had been accepted at New York University where tuition was $750 a year, but City College of New York required only a $10 fee. So CCNY it would be. Powell’s mother wanted him to study engineering, but difficulty with mechanical drawing convinced him to change his major to geology.
He graduated from CCNY with a C average. But Powell gained something much more important: purpose and direction. At CCNY, he discovered the Reserve Officer’s Training Corps, and that provided a spark that would fuel his dreams and goals throughout life. “I liked the order in [cadets’] lives—the order they could put in my life,” he says.
Upon graduation, Powell was commissioned an officer in the U.S. Army and in 1962 was sent to South Vietnam as a military adviser. During a second tour of duty in the late 1960s, he was in a helicopter crash and, despite his own injuries, was able to rescue fellow soldiers from the burning wreckage. For his heroism, he was awarded the Soldier’s Medal, one of several commendations earned during his military career.
During this period of his life, Powell excelled in military and academic pursuits. Although an average student in his early years, he made excellent grades in his 30s while earning his MBA at George Washington University, despite lacking many undergraduate prerequisites when he enrolled.
Also while in his mid-30s, Powell served a coveted White House fellowship, honing his knowledge of national issues and the inner workings of the federal bureaucracy, as well as his understanding of how the Army functioned within that bureaucracy.
Path to Success
Although Powell considered the fellowship a detour from soldiering and had been reluctant to apply until the Army ordered him to do so, the time spent in the White House paved the way for his future success. In 1987, he was appointed national security adviser, followed by appointment in 1989 as chairman of the Joint Chiefs. In this role, he oversaw crises including Operation Desert Storm, and gained a reputation as “the reluctant warrior” who favored diplomatic solutions before military intervention. Once committed to military intervention, however, Powell advocated use of overwhelming force to maximize the potential for success and minimize casualties. He applied this strategy to Desert Storm and was widely viewed as a hero of the Gulf War.
Powell’s military approach earned him respect among members of both political parties. Democrats admired his moderate stance while Republicans associated him with successes attributed to Republican administrations.
In his later years as chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Powell’s name surfaced among members of both parties as a potential vice presidential candidate in the 1992 election. But Powell was careful not to align himself with either party until the day he announced he would not seek the presidency in the 1996 election. On that day, he reportedly registered as a Republican, according to The New York Times—but he maintained his influence, saying he would evaluate candidates of both parties before offering his support.
In declining to seek the presidency, Powell cited a lack of passion for politics and a desire to spend more time with his family after so many years of public service.
Today, Powell says his greatest source of pride is “my family and my kids—and that’s not a dodge.” He refers to Alma, his wife of 46 years; their children, Michael, Linda and Annemarie; and his four grandchildren. “There’s no single other thing I can point to.”
An Obligation to Give Back
For all his career achievements, Powell says he did not build his life around goals: “I never put chalk marks on the wall [that indicated] I’ve got to do this. I’ve tried to do my best at what has come my way…. I’m not without ambition, but I’m not driven by ambition. I’ve had a full and active public life.” Powell says he would like to be remembered “as a good soldier who served well and is well thought of by his fellows.” Those fellows include his greatest mentors, “the captains and majors who taught me as a lieutenant and kept me going straight ahead.”
His best advice for others: “Look for something you love to do and you do well. Go for it. It will give you satisfaction in life. It could mean money, but it may not. It could mean a lot of titles, but it may not. But it will give you satisfaction.”
Today Powell lives in McLean, Va., and lends his influence to youth programs, many with an educational focus. He is a key supporter of America’s Promise Alliance, which aims to ensure that all American children have access to fundamental resources so they can become productive adults; the Colin Powell Youth Leadership Center, which helps youths graduate from high school and go on to further education or training; and the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, which provide safe, caring sites for kids to learn and grow when not in school. He also has served on the boards of Howard University, the United Negro College Fund and the Children’s Health Fund. He founded the Colin Powell Center for Policy Studies at his alma mater, City College of New York, which aims to develop students from underrepresented populations into leaders.
“Every American citizen has an obligation to give back” to a nation that has created so much opportunity for him or her, he tells SUCCESS. “That means being a good citizen… but it also means performing community service and public service, sitting on the board of a nonprofit or even running for elective office. They can also help people through their church and workplace. With America’s Promise, we encourage people to get involved in the life of a young person.”
Powell was the America’s Promise founding chairman, and he and his wife speak on behalf of the organization and other causes by encouraging donations and volunteerism. He says he respects generous volunteers, including people working on HIV/AIDS, Microsoft founder and billionaire Bill Gates, Berkshire Hathaway CEO and billionaire Warren Buffett, and U2 musician and humanitarian Bono. But Americans “spend too much time admiring people with big names,” says Powell, who is more impressed by a woman in his church who helps disadvantaged students and by a retiree who goes every day to a Boys & Girls Clubs to positively influence youngsters there. “My admiration is for the unknowns who give their time, their talent and their treasure—their money” to help others.
Lavish in praising others and modest about his achievements, Powell nevertheless commands respect and admiration through his very active retirement. The ability to lead has been a hallmark of his career. “I have inspired more people by example, and I do that by giving them a sense of purpose that what they do is important. That must be conveyed throughout an organization.
source: www.success.com
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