Former general inspires chamber dinner audience
By SHANNON QUESNEL / THE STANDARD / QMI AGENCY
Posted 7 days ago
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Canada's former top military officer, General Rick Hillier, stayed on target throughout his presentation on what it takes to be a leader at the Elliot Lake and District Chamber of Commerce 21st Annual Excellence in Business Awards Dinner on Oct. 26.
In front of hundreds of guests in a packed Collins Hall, Hillier had the audience glued to their seats with tales, lessons and mistakes he has made, the amazing people he met and was inspired by, and how he attempted to inspire others whether they were soldiers under his command or just regular citizens. Following his presentation Hillier signed copies of his new book, Leadership: 50 Points of Wisdom for Today's Leaders.
The evening was not only about the former general. It was also a time to pay respects to military veterans, currently serving soldiers, the families of those who died and business leaders who through hard work earned honours presented by the chamber of commerce.
The first award presented was to Wil's Cove for Service Excellence.
The Red Briffett Award for Community Involvement went to Pierre Vaillancourt of Elliot Lake Foodland.
And the chamber President's Award for Economic Development went to the Fireside Classic Grill.
Just before Hillier began his presentation, the former general honoured Truus Barry.
Barry's husband, Dennis Barry, died as a result of his time serving in Canada's military as a master warrant officer. Dennis Barry worked a post as a United Nations peacekeeper.
"It is my distinct honour to provide you with the enclosed Memorial Cross in memory of your husband who passed away from having served his country," says Hillier as he pinned the medal to her blouse.
"For decades Canada's young men and women have sacrificed all they have known including all the comforts of home in order to defend the rights of others in distant lands.
"Canadians have always stood up to defend the ideals of democracy and the rule of law.
"We owe it to them to learn, to understand and appreciate their sacrifice."
Truus Barry was moved by the gesture and said she was honoured.
Fair warning
Following this ceremony Hillier was given the floor.
"I am a Newfoundlander and we Newfoundlanders love to talk. And you invited me here, so, I am just warning you."
In addition to knowing how to talk Hillier knows how to lead. In 2000, he took command of NATO's Stabilization Force's Multinational Division (Southwest) in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Then in May of 2003, Hillier was appointed as Commander of the Army and in October of that same year, he was selected as the commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Hillier was promoted again in 2005 and assumed duties as the Chief of the Defence Staff on Feb. 4, 2005. He retired July 1, 2008.
Hillier says many Newfoundlanders went to the Joey Smallwood school of public speaking. Smallwood was the first premier of Newfoundland and Labrador and was known for being outspoken and brash.
"And Joey used to say if something was worth saying once it's worth saying five, six or seven times. And he would also say if you have an audience captive, and you got them on their back with your foot on their throat, for God's sake don't let them up until you have your complete say."
Hillier also heard, but maybe never took, the advice of his father who told him the opposite.
"Every time you get a standing ovation you should shut up and sit down right away because it only goes downhill from there."
Leaders have to be more than good speakers though. Being a leader is hard work, good leaders come in all shapes and sizes and getting a good start in life helps a lot.
Hillier appreciates the work done by Canada's cadet program.
"It is the best program in our country for developing responsible citizens out of young men and women," he says to the crowd and to the cadets listening in the Collins Hall.
Being a cadet means leadership, outdoor living, independence and "getting things done instead of talking about getting things done. These kids are pretty incredible."
The military man also appreciates the rule of law.
"Secondly, I just want to recognize, as a soldier, I went around the world and we tried to help other countries obtain some of what we have."
One of them is the rule of law and the work done by law enforcement.
"We do appreciate our police officers," he says, especially when they let a person off the hook.
"Never miss an opportunity to suck up to a police officer."
He learned this lesson in 1995 when he returned to Canada after serving in Bosnia.
"I was coming home for a short break, really tired and been away for five to six months from my wife. I was really looking forward to getting home," he says, which was in Ottawa. He now lives in Newfoundland.
Despite his best efforts Hillier was going to be late. Due to problems in Bosnia he missed two connecting flights.
"I got into Ottawa at one o'clock in the morning and… I was really anxious to get home right? I was driving out of the airport parkway like a bat out of hell and I was thinking about nothing else. And all of a sudden I see those proverbial red lights in the rear view."
Hillier pulled his rented car off the road and waited for the RCMP officer to come over. He didn't necessarily plead with the officer, but he admits he worked him for sympathy. He pointed out he was a soldier, back for a short stay after six months away, eager to see his wife, etc.
Instead of writing him a ticket the officer took a different approach.
"He looked at me again and said, 'Sir, follow me.' I swear to God, he jumped in his car, kept the lights on, and away we went. Ever since then I have had a weak spot for police officers."
Getting a good start in life and appreciating the rule of law were just two of the lessons learned.
Must be robust
Another is strength.
"I'm going to tell you two things. One is as a Newfoundlander there are two tips that I saw in leaders. One is a robustness, a toughness. And I don't mean you're tough on somebody else.
"I am talking about spiritual and mental and physical toughness. Being a leader is tough, and there are long days and sometimes things go horribly wrong. And if you are not robust at the time people need you most you may fail if you are not robust. And that is one of the characteristics every leader should have.
"And the second characteristic is optimism… which manifests itself in passion and confidence in what you are doing."
Leaders should use these attributes to inspire those that follow them.
During a dinner on Canada's East Coast to recognize an educational institution, Hillier met a 103-year-old doctor who not only drives himself to work four days a week with his Ford Taurus, but lives at home alone.
"He lives by himself, has no home care and still maintains an office. He is consulted by other physicians and specialists. His daughter, was a spritely 78 years old, came over from England to visit with daddy and during dinner he drank more white wine than me, which was a copious amount, so much so we wouldn't let him drive home.
"Obviously, he was robust right? The optimism part came in when he told me, when he bought the Ford Taurus, he bought the extended five-year warranty."
Hillier's Elliot Lake audience burst into laughter.
"Robustness and optimism."
Guess what
"The third thing I believe in and sometimes I get wrong is communication."
Leaders should never forget to communicate, not only to their subordinates and superiors, but also to those closest to them.
A case in point is when Hillier forgot to tell his wife he applied for what would be his biggest job.
"Let me give you a third leadership tip. If you are ever selected to go off and (do a project) you should remember to tell your wife.
"In August of 2003, I was the army commander in Ottawa and Canada was positioning itself to take command of the mission in Afghanistan. And I was on a short list of army senior commanders who could do the job."
The Canadian government had a list with the names of five individuals. Included was his own name something he promptly forgot about.
It was only later that he remembered.
"One night after a long day at work, I got in the house about quarter to nine. We flick on the TV."
The lead story was the secretary-general of NATO announced a Canadian commander would be taking over the NATO Afghanistan mission.
"And then he went on to say that one of our three-star generals will be away commanding that mission for the next year.
"Joyce (his wife) was looking at the TV, put her wine glass down and looked at me and asked, 'Tell me again how many three-star army generals we actually have?' And I said, 'Babe, we have one.'"
Hillier forgot to tell his wife he opted to command the NATO's forces in Afghanistan.
"Communication is a must."
Being inspired
Inspiration can be a contagious thing.
Hillier says, "Leaders inspire people to do things they never thought possible. And leaders draw inspiration from those people that keep themselves going during the tough days. I see it as a cycle.
"I'm (also) a past master of the frustrations of trying to inspire people and draw inspiration from them because ladies and gentleman I'm a Toronto Maple Leafs fan."
Throughout his career Hillier has been inspired by not only by the men and women under his command, but regular citizens.
"We found our inspiration in those leaders that sometimes you wouldn't recognize," he says, such as Newfoundlander Gladys Osmond.
"She is a retired Salvation Army officer. And one of the things we worried about when I was a commander is keeping Canada's sons and daughters who were deployed in dirty and dangerous places for long periods of time… to keeping them linked right back to this country.
"We discovered that leaders like this lady were actually helping us do that."
Since 1995, Osmond has been writing letters that can be accepted by any member of Canada's Armed Forces. These letters were written by hand and mailed in envelopes.
"She wrote 250 letters a month, and I have been the beneficiary of many of them."
Many of these letters, along with other correspondence, were delivered to soldiers on the front lines.
"You are in a mission, you're into a fire fight and you roll back into a bit of shelter, try to collect your thoughts. And you are thinking you are all alone in the world and there goes the quartermaster on his hands and knees.
"And he throws a bundle of letters toward you. You open it up and in it is a letter from Gladys Osmond. It's incredible. First of all she writes the most boring arcane s*** you've ever heard."
Osmond would pen details like how much snow has fallen, what her neighbours were up to, what she baked, etc. While they might not have been exciting letters like hers were valuable, says Hillier.
It reminded soldiers of home.
In addition she formed the granny brigade with the average age of members being 94 years. All of them now write letters to Canadian soldiers.
Unorthodox
Being an inspiring leader can also mean being unorthodox or in the case of one Canadian soldier, Ernest 'Smokey' Smith, being constantly promoted and demoted.
Hillier says this Second World War Canadian soldier, who was awarded the Victoria Cross, started his legacy by knocking out two enemy tanks and destroying a platoon. He was promoted to lance corporal and then demoted soon after when he got into a drunken brawl.
This process of heroism followed by a string of crazy acts, including one time when Smokey stole a jeep, repeated itself. From January 1944 to June 1944 commanding officers promoted Smith to lance corporal and demoted him to private nine times.
"The young men and women who serve today would rather lay their life down than let down the legacy this man has handed to us.
"When you can use that kind of motivation and dedication in a positive manner you can change the world."
Being a leader also means meeting the physical needs of those following. In the case of the Canadian Forces going to Kandahar, Afghanistan it meant bringing Tim Hortons overseas.
After some troops made it known to Hillier about this he did what he could do.
Motivated by Hillier's words to the corporate world and by 43,000 email requests Tim Hortons top brass got on the problem. Soon enough a small Tim Hortons outlet was in Kandahar.
Of course despite the financial success of that Tim Hortons it had its share of problems.
"You've been through a Tim Hortons drive through right? You've never seen a drive through work so well until you've seen one with a 65-ton main battle tank pull up with the officer asking for 24 coffees to go. It was one of those special Canadian moments.
"We were inspired by Tim Hortons' actions and their commitment to Canada's sons and daughters."
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