Good Morning,
My current read is “Rommel: Leadership Lessons from the Desert Fox” (http://www.amazon.com/Rommel-Leadership-Lessons-Desert-Generals/dp/B00ANYFOE0) by Charles Messenger. I had heard a lot about Rommel through the years, but never enough to satisfy my curiosity, so when I found this book, I added it to my library. It did a good job covering the Field Marshall’s career, personality and leadership style.
Rommel was exceptional in his area of expertise. He was a brilliant tactician, made fast and sound decisions, and could exploit any found weaknesses in his adversary. He liked to lead from the front, seeing everything as it happened and changed gears on a dime. The more he could remain in the know, leading from the front, the more he would succeed, and the less his opponents could withstand his hard driving forces. He loved reconnaissance and gaining new information as it happened. He would never ask his men to do anything that he was not prepared to do himself, and often visited his troops, taking a mobile headquarters with him to allow him to be visible by the most of people possible (several times to his enemies as well).
Due to his successes, he was given higher and higher commands. Those which took him away from the front lines and away from the latest information (in times before cell phones, social media and Wi-Fi). When forced to work at higher and higher levels of command, he lost his polish and made less sound decisions. His mindset was a military one, seeing everything through that lens. Moving to a political level leadership, he failed to embrace politics and often bucked heads with those he worked with.
He may not have recognized as he moved away from his strength’s his effectiveness also lessened.
Rommel’s example clearly shows the power of working to your strengths.
Are you working to your strengths in what you do in life, or do you find that you have moved away from that which you excel and are struggling?
Something to consider.
Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.learnandgrowdaily.com
http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/ 
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