Chief of Staff of the Air Force Reading List Reviews: Leading With Honor

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Susan L. Davis
  • 319th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. --  "Leading With Honor" is the story of Lee Ellis' deployment to Vietnam as a pilot in 1967, his subsequent capture and release, and the lessons on leadership he learned during his time at the "Hanoi Hilton."

The book is at the same time a historical accounting of life for POWs, an autobiography, and a self-help resource.

"Leading With Honor" opens with a foreword by Arizona Sen. John McCain, who writes, "In 'Leading With Honor,' Lee draws from the POW experience, including some of his own personal story, to illustrate the crucial impact of leadership on the success of any organization."

Ellis breaks his book down into two sections: Leading Yourself, and Leading Others.
Each chapter begins with a story from his time as a POW in Vietnam.

In the section on Leading Yourself, Ellis offers his readers advice in the form of chapter titles: "Know Yourself," "Guard Your Character," "Stay Positive," "Confront Your Doubts and Fears," "Fight to Win," and "Bounce Back." In each chapter, he offers a personal anecdote from his time as a prisoner of war in Vietnam to illustrate his message.

Knowing that it is a must to understand how to lead yourself before you can lead anyone else, Ellis saved the second section for Leading Others. In one of the most eye-catching titles in this section, "Treasure Your Trials and Celebrate Your Successes," Ellis explained how both American holidays, such as Christmas, and Vietnamese holidays were used to propagandize and indoctrinate POWs to 'repent' and follow the communist way.

"We found that celebrating even little victories lifted our spirits, boosted our confidence, and strengthened our determination. It was always cause for celebration when a cellmate returned from solitary or from a torture session... Isolation in a communist prison is one of the loneliest experiences imaginable, so it was always cause for celebration when POWs were reunited with their cellmates after such punishment."

In the lesson, Ellis writes, "Character is perfected in hardship; talents are refined in the crucible of trials... Leaders devoid of crucible experiences are likely to be overly confident about their ideas, less sensitive to those of others, and surprisingly more susceptible to fears."

Ellis ends the chapter with a "Foot Stomper," which is a quick summary of what the reader just read.

"Effective leadership is forged in the crucible of struggles and fueled by the celebration of accomplishment. To promote teamwork and achieve success, treasure your trials and celebrate your victories."

Finally, Ellis includes a short series of questions for the reader to reflect upon.
Today Ellis is the founder and president of Leadership Freedom, LLC, and FreedomStar Media. He was awarded two Silver Stars, the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star with Valor, the Purple Heart, and the POW Medal.

He resumed his Air Force career after his release, serving as a flying squadron commander, and then in several leadership development organizations before he retired as a colonel.

Editor's note: In this series, the author explores and reviews a selection of the 13 titles featured on the 2013 Chief of Staff Reading List. General Ronald Fogleman created the CSAF Professional Reading Program in 1996 to develop a common frame of reference among Air Force members--officers, enlisted, and civilians--to help each of us become better, more effective advocates of air and space power. Each CSAF since then has enhanced and continued the Professional Reading Program.