Tanks…battle groups…aircraft carriers…guided
missiles…special forces. This is the world I come from.
It’s an environment of POWER called the Pentagon, an
environment where military personnel mingle with civilians
and where people work around the clock on a daily basis to
ensure that America’s highest-level decision makers get good
information. It’s a world where the pressure is always on
because the stakes are so high. One wrong move could cost
more than money; it could cost our lives and our national
freedom. We had a wake-up call on 9/11.

I worked in the Pentagon prior to 9/11 and still it was a
time of world crisis. Although I didn’t wear a uniform, I
had enough impact that the Army gave me its highest civilian
medal, the Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service.

During my years of service, I learned that power is NOT
about rank. Military insignia indicates rank. As a civilian,
I never wore insignia. I was afforded respect appropriate
for my position as Deputy Chief of the Logistics Plans and
Operations Division.

Power is not about uniform, although how a person dresses
does make a difference, either positively or negatively.
There is, to be sure, power of position as well as personal
power. I’m talking about personal power here. Power is about
WHO you are. It’s about your beliefs and values, your
reliability, your ability to communicate–to speak and to
listen–effectively. When you communicate well you display
power and command respect because of your confidence, your
know-how, and your compassion, regardless of your rank,
regardless of your uniform, and regardless of your gender.

Being a powerful leader means you can lift others up with
what you say–something I tried to do daily at the Pentagon.
But I was NOT a cheerleader, as one interviewer in Texas
suggested some years later when I was on a book tour. Being
a cheerleader implied I was a quota, a token female. It
meant that I was powerless.

Through my experiences working with military personnel and
civilians as we struggled to cover all the bases, whether it
was moving materiel for Operation Desert Storm or
marshalling up supplies and support in natural disasters
like Katrina, I’ve learned that real POWER is when people
feel honored to work with you. Power is when you command
loyalty without having to say anything about it. Power is
when people want to do what you want them to do.

One commander in the Seventh Corps had served in our office
as a major. In his exit interview he commended me on my
ability to listen. During Operation Desert Storm he was
moving his supply troops from Germany into Saudi Arabia and
he was lost in the fog of war. There was no plan for this
move; it had not been exercised. He needed systems that were
not in place. He called me for help. I mustered help for him
and heard no more. A few years later when we met in line at
a Change of Command ceremony, he swept me off my feet and
whirled me around and around. He was a colonel then, in uniform.
It reminded me of the old movies of the homecoming in New York
City after the Second World War!

Whether on the battlefields of war or the battlefields of
business, personal power is important. Be real. Know who you
are. Value loyalty to your country and your God. Speak your
truths and respect others. You have the power.