GUIDELINES FOR LEADERS

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GUIDELINES FOR LEADERS
Ethical Lessons From Sitting Bull
A presentation for the Tribal Leaders with
Character course www.spiritlakeconsulting.com/TLI/

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THE LITTLE BIGHORN
This was the greatest loss ever handed the U. S.
army. Most discussions have focused on the
errors of Custer as an explanation. Here, we
look at the brilliant and ethical decisions
made by Sitting Bull that led to victory.
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THE LITTLE BIGHORN
A Contrast in Ethical Leadership
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What Kind of Leader are You?

• We ask, What kind of leader are YOU, not, What
  kind of leaders do we have?
• Tribal Leaders with Character is about taking
  personal responsibility.
• As a leader, we applaud you for your continued
  willingness to learn. At the end of this
  presentation are references to continue your
  education further.

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SITTING BULL(A Great Leader)
Sitting Bull, great spiritual leader and Chief
of the Sioux, , captured the power of 13 heroic
leadership skills to rekindle greatness in his
people. The Little Bighorn campaign of 1876
encapsulates these crucial skills and provides a
blueprint for leadership action . . . (p.
xxiii) Sitting Bulls leadership relied heavily
on an unwritten code of ethics that he had
lived by in his lifetime.
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LT. COL. GEORGE CUSTER (An Antithesis to Sitting
Bull)
Leaders like Custer . . . pursue single-minded
objectives that distort their own personal
missions and those of their organizations,
corrupting the very foundation of leadership.
Existing only for themselves and the sycophants
who protect them, they create a black hole of
selfishness that ultimately collapses in on
itself. (p. xxviii)
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Sycophant Isnt a Dakota Word
A sycophant is defined in the dictionary as a
servile flatterer. We call these people,
yes-men, or something worse.
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A CONTRAST IN LEADERS
Sitting Bull chose to create a new order, in
which the rights of the individual were balanced
by a commitment to the welfare of the overall
community. Where heroic leadership builds on
shared commitment, non-heroic leadership drives
toward personal glory. (Murphy Snell, 1993,
p. xxviii)
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Results of Custer Leadership

• Two of Custers ethical faults were, being
  abusive to those who disagreed with him, and
  wanting to take all of the credit for himself.
• As a result
• He received fewer warnings about the superior
  numbers of the Sioux,
• He ignored those warnings he did receive,
• He attacked without waiting for reinforcements.
• The rest, as they say, is history

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Are you a Custer or a Sitting Bull?
No one likes to hear about problems, but
sometimes its necessary. What do you do when an
employee or co-worker points up an ethical
problem? What if it would interfere with your
plans to hire an employee or get grant money that
you think you need? What if it would cause
problems because one of the people involved has
political connections?
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SITTING BULLS EXAMPLE
SITTING BULLS LEADERSHIP CONSISTED OF THREE
PHASES OF ACTION Phase One Assembly and
Integration of Forces Phase Two Projection and
Application Phase Three Adjustment and Reflection
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PHASE ONE
Assembly and Integration of Forces (Steps 1 6)
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Step 1. Create Commitment(What kind of leader
are you?)
Leadership starts with commitment the bonding
between leader and followers behind a common
purpose. (p. 4) Sitting Bull Led through
commitment, through service to
others, Custer Led through contempt, through
selfishness and exploitation. For each, their
vision set priorities for those under their
command (p. 4)
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Do You Use Your Position for Personal Gain?

• Have you hired relatives over others who were
  more qualified?
• Do you travel on tribal business and then spend
  your days shopping or sight-seeing?

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Step 1. Create CommitmentThree Acts of Personal
Courage
According to the Lessons of Sitting Bull . .
. the first step on the path to leadership is a
private one, in which a leader solves the great
paradox that lies at the heart of leadership
success that self-fulfillment comes from service
to others. (p. 5) 1. Recognize the need to
change. 2. Search for knowledge needed to
accomplish change. 3. Share the struggle to make
the change a new reality.
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You A Courageous Leader!
We congratulate you on taking this path. You are
taking this course because you recognize the need
for change and are willing to change.
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Step 1. Create CommitmentCommitment and Freedom
Fact . . . Commitment to others represents an
act of individual freedom. The desperation and
finality of his commitment freed Sitting Bull
from petty ambitions for control and glory. (p.
11) Sitting Bull Fused his destiny with that
of his people. Custer Unlike Sitting Bull,
Custer and leaders like him look for leverage,
for ways to advance their own careers, sometimes
at the expense of their people.
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Step 1. Create CommitmentCommunity of Commitment

• There are seven distinct phases a good leader
  goes through to infuse commitment into a group of
  people.
• Establish a context within which people can
  understand the cause.
• Inspire hope in the cause.
• Build a consensus.
• Develop a plan for action.
• Assemble and prepare the team for action.
• Implement the plan.
• Evaluate team performance for improvement.

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Step 1. Create CommitmentCommunity of Commitment

• Establish a Context This course discusses the
  loss of money and trust that comes from unethical
  behavior.
• Inspire Hope in the Cause How often have you
  heard,
• Nothing will ever change.
• It wont make any difference.
• In this course, we want you to know, to believe,
  that you will make a difference.
• Build a Consensus We see this happening on
  reservations now. More and more people are
  demanding change from the old unethical ways.

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Step 1. Create CommitmentCommunity of Commitment

• Develop a Plan for Action This course ends with
  an action plan.
• The last phases of creating commitment
• Assemble and Prepare the Team for Action
• Implement the Plan
• Evaluate Team Performance for Improvement
• will be addressed in future courses.

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Step 2. Build Trust
All leaders must instill trust in their people.
Without trust, commitment will die and the
community will lose the constancy of purpose that
strengthens the group bond. (p. 24) Sitting
Bull Built trust as part of a strategy
for revitalizing the Sioux. Sitting
Bulls people trusted him to guide them, to
serve their needs. Custer Custer cast
distrust throughout the ranks of his men they
did not like him.
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Are You a Person ThatYour People Trust?
Do you treat people in a fair manner, so that
your employees and co-workers like you? If you
think you could use a little help in this area,
please see our section on Emotional
Intelligence. Also, read our section on Moral
Collapse to see the warning signs of mistrust.
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Step 3. Increase Power
Practice Strategic Humility The first step to
power involves denying it for yourself,
subordinating the self-centered urge for personal
gain to the collective benefit. (p. 51) The
greater the need for power, the more a leader
must understand the need for strategic humility.
(p. 51) Acquiring strategic humility is not
something you are born with. It is a learned
skill. It requires immense self-control over
selfishness and arrogance.
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Step 3. Increase PowerShare Power to Increase
Power
Sitting Bull His people were able to channel
their own power through him because they trusted
him. Sitting Bull harnessed his peoples power
by not competing with it. He subordinated
personal ambition and showed others the need to
do the same. He merged his needs with those of
his people. Custer His arrogance undermined his
ability to build trust and increase power through
others. Custer drew power from his rank, and
through fear he inspired in his men. Custer
often harshly punished his men for the most
minute infractions.
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Step 4. Live the Experienceof Your People
Sitting Bull knew that he must first seek to
understand his people before he could expect to
be understood by them. (p. 74) Sitting Bull He
lived among his people claiming no special
privileges. He ate what they ate, slept where
they slept, traveled among them, and shared the
responsibilities of daily life. Custer He
remained aloof from his people. He treated them
with the same contempt he treated his enemies.
Custer rode the best horses, ate the best food,
and slept apart from his men. He did not know
them.
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What Kind of Leader are You?
Do you claim no special privileges? Do you come
to work whenever you want, work however many
hours you want, and then expect those you
supervise or your co-workers to put in a
forty-hour week? Do you stay in four-star hotels
in Washington while your people dont have heat
in their homes?
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Step 5. Be a Healer
Sitting Bull Leaders bestow beneficence,
generosity and compassion upon their people.
They are responsible for their peoples
welfare. Custer was taught to be a
one-dimensional thinker. His goals were based
solely on his personal ambitions and the careers
of his benefactors. He was after personal
glory. For Custer, charity and compassion were
alien concepts, unmanly acts demanded by weak
underlings and provided by misguided leaders.
(p. 96)
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Step 5. Be a Healer
Yes, we need to adhere to policies and
procedures. However, do you have the strength
and courage to show compassion? For Example
Rose was a tribal worker who had been sober for
two years. After the death of her son, she was
drunk for three days and missed work. The tribe
had a no tolerance policy and she should have
been fired. When she tearfully admitted her
reason for absence, her supervisor did not fire
her, but gave her a warning that she would be
fired if it happened again, citing Roses two
years of excellent work as a justification for
not terminating her.
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Step 6. Communicate onMany Levels
Sitting Bull Sitting Bull gathered information
from all levels of his people other chiefs,
scouts, tribesmen, elderly, women, children, etc.
He was in touch with all locations of the
Sioux world. Custer Isolated himself so he
and his men entered the Battle of the Little
Bighorn deaf, dumb, and blind. He failed to
cooperate with superiors, ignoring orders he
failed to listen to advice, and he paid the
price.
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Do You Listen?
Are you a leader who listens to advice, from
whatever source? Do you listen to the concerns of
youth, of elders, of community members served by
your program?
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Communicate!

• Our Tribal Leaders with Character project
  offers multiple means of communication
• Post on the Spirit Lake Forum
• www.spiritlakeconsulting.com/forum/
• Send your opinion through the Your Turn forms
  on our website.
• Write an article for Miniwakan News

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Communicate on Many Levels!
If you feel the need to remain anonymous, we will
respect your privacy. You never need to include
your name or email on our, Your Turn forms. You
can log in to the Spirit Lake Forum as anonymous.
The password is tribaljoe.
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SITTING BULLS EXAMPLE
SITTING BULLS LEADERSHIP CONSISTED OF THREE
PHASES OF ACTION Phase One Assembly and
Integration of Forces Phase Two Projection and
Application Phase Three Adjustment and Reflection
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SITTING BULLS EXAMPLE
SITTING BULLS LEADERSHIP CONSISTED OF THREE
PHASES OF ACTION This Completes Our Study of
Phase One, Assembly and Integration of
Forces. Phase Two, Projection and Application,
Begins Now
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PHASE TWO
Projection and Application (Steps 7 11)
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Step 7. Think Strategically
Sitting Bull planned for the welfare of
generations Custer planned for one moment of
personal glory. (p. 148) When thinking
strategically, you break down your challenge into
manageable pieces. There are six distinct
sub-steps to strategic thinking. Sub-Step 1.
Commit to Thinking Strategically Sub-Step
2. Conduct a Self-Assessment Sub-Step 3.
Assess Your Strategic Position Sub-Step 4.
Identify Opportunities for Improvement
Sub-Step 5. Test the Usefulness of the
Opportunities Sub-Step 6. Take Action
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Think of the Future!
When YOU make decisions, are you planning for
the future? Do you look at giving a per capita
payment so you can receive more votes in the next
election, or are you looking at economic
development, making the tribe financially sound,
investing in our schools and early childhood
programs?
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Step 8. Respect Your Competition
Never assume you are better/smarter than your
opponent. Sitting Bull Sitting Bull fully
respected their the Bluecoats potential to
inflict harm. (p. 174) Custer His disdain
clouded his judgment, leading him to
underestimate their the Indians ability to
mount an effective action. His own
self-assurance, and his lack of respect for his
competition, prevented him from learning. (p.
175)
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Are You Respectful?
Do you blame others for the conditions in your
community, or do you look to yourself? Do you
look down on leaders who dont meet your
expectations or who misuse tribal funds? Are you
courteous to people you disagree with? Do you try
to work out your differences with others? Do you
expect others to change to accommodate you? Or do
you try to change to accommodate others?
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Step 9. Redefine theRules of Battle
Creative leaders redefine the rules of battle to
turn their enemys strengths into a weakness.
(p. 200) Sitting Bull He questioned all the
standing assumptions. He encouraged team
learning, where people create new ways to tap
their potential. All for the good of the
team. Team learning depends on shifting peoples
focus from their own individual performance to
the way that performance fits into the whole
unfolding strategy. (p. 200) Custer Shunned
team learning. He held his men in disdain. He
cared little for team goals or team welfare.
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What Kind of a Leader are You?
Do you share power? Do you support the decisions
of those who work for you? Do you allow others to
ignore the chain of command? Do you overturn the
decisions of your subordinates when asked for a
favor by a relative or a council member? Do you
think rules apply to others, but not to you?
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Step 10. Know the Terrain
Effective leaders get to know the environment
they will be working in. 1. They analyze their
position. For any campaign there must be a
starting point. 2. They test their
position. 3. They ally themselves with
decision-makers. 4. They identify any roadblocks
or warning signals that might jeopardize their
mission. 5. They measure the readiness of their
people.
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Step 10. Know the Terrain(Analyze Your Position)

• Choose a target what do you wish to accomplish?
• Identify relevant changes what is the current
  situation and what needs to be changed? What
  will change given the current situation?
• Rate changes as positive or negative.
• Stay focused on your objective dont lose sight
  of what you are trying to accomplish.
• Heroic leaders always keep in mind what they
  are trying to accomplish. (p. 230)

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Step 10. Know the Terrain(Test Your Position)
Intuitively evaluate your relationship with
others The level of emotional connection
leaders and their followers feel with their
objective directly influences their ability to
accomplish that objective. (pp. 230-231) If
they lack confidence in either their own ability
to accomplish an objective or in the validity of
the objective itself, the resultant lack of
connection can sabotage their efforts.
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Step 10. Know the Terrain(Ally with
Decision-Makers)
A leader must be able to identify four types of
decision-makers and help them answer their
questions. 1. The Economic Decision-Maker
Evaluates Cost Question Can we afford this
campaign? 2. The Technical Decision-Maker
Evaluates the Plan Question Will it work?
3. The User Decision-Maker Evaluates How
Question How do we implement this plan?
4. Facilitators Work to Coalesce Forces Behind
Plan Question Who can we get to help?
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Step 10. Know the Terrain(Identify Roadblocks
Warnings)
A heroic leader is not overconfident. He/she
must constantly look for signs of trouble that
might interfere with what the people are trying
to accomplish. Constant reassessment allows for
course corrections before serious trouble can
derail achievement of the objective. (p.
245) Effective leaders identify potential
problems early, before the problems grow into
concerns that are difficult to solve.
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Step 10. Know the Terrain(Measure Readiness)
There are different states of readiness.
1. Growth A Society is growing, increasing
power, territory, and/or quality of living.
2. Trouble People are focusing on current
issues. At this point, a leader might remind
people of past accomplishments and future
possibilities. 3. Equilibrium A society is
existing, neither growing or in trouble. People
are complacent. 4. Overconfidence These
people need a healthy dose of realism.
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Are You Ready for Change?
Is Change Necessary in Our Society Today? Are
people living well? Are people happy? Are you
focusing on todays problems or planning for the
future? Are most of your neighbors at peace or
are they cranky and belligerent, or depressed and
hopeless? If you and your neighbors are unhappy,
depressed, angry, and/or frustrated, change is
necessary.
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Step 11. Rightsize Your Forces
To achieve an objective, you must place the,
right people, in the right place, at the right
time, for the right purpose, doing the right
work, at the right cost. (p. 248) This is
called rightsizing. Rightsizing means you start
by identifying, what work needs to be done? Then
you decide who should do the work, where the work
will occur, etc. In other words, the work gives
rise to the need for an organization. You dont
develop an organization and then go out and find
some work for it to do.
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Are You the Right Person to do Your Job?
The Right People? Do you vote for the most
qualified person in an election, or the person
that can help you, personally, the most? Are you
doing your job to the best of your ability? When
at work, are you working or visiting with
others? The Right Place? Do you show up for work
on time? Are you at work all the time that you
are punched in?
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SITTING BULLS EXAMPLE
SITTING BULLS LEADERSHIP CONSISTED OF THREE
PHASES OF ACTION Phase One Assembly and
Integration of Forces Phase Two Projection and
Application Phase Three Adjustment and Reflection
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SITTING BULLS EXAMPLE
SITTING BULLS LEADERSHIP CONSISTED OF THREE
PHASES OF ACTION This Completes Our Study of
Phase Two, Projection and Application Phase
Three, Adjustment and Reflection, Begins Now
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PHASE THREE
Adjustment and Reflection (Steps 12 13)
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Step 12. Welcome Crisis
even the best planning and the most cohesive
team can still fall victim to crisis. (p.
294) Crisis engenders emotion, and that emotion
can cloud a leaders judgment. The heroic leader
learns to control his or her emotion and view any
crisis as a natural phenomenon. Even when the
unimaginable occurs, the heroic leader remains
calm, approaching the crisis dispassionately and
with supreme confidence (p. 277)
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Step 12. Welcome Crisis
A crisis is a critical decision point, when we
choose between two or more paths that could
change our way of living forever. Native
Americans have been living in a state of
immediate crisis for the last century. This
course is an opportunity for us to improve our
situation. During this course, we have
identified obstacles to individuals speaking out
publicly for fear of retribution. We saw this as
an opportunity to create a forum, anonymous
forms, places where tribal members could speak
freely and let others know they are not alone in
their ethical concerns.
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Step 12. Welcome Crisis

• To manage crisis, you must
• Anticipate Crisis acknowledge that crisis can
  and will occur.
• Take Charge in Crisis two kinds of crises
  demand two different coping strategies.
• Is the crisis high-intensity, short term?
• Is the crisis low-intensity, long term?
• Learn from Crisis long term crisis requires
  long term tactics, while short term crisis often
  requires bold and courageous action.

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Step 12. Welcome Crisis

• CASE STUDY Shell Oil Company
• CRISIS A 1990 explosion in the pump room of the
  Rapana, a 227,400-ton oil tanker.
• SHELL established an objective put out the
  fire.
• SHELL identified further possible scenarios and
  prepared plans to deal with them.
• More explosions might have occurred, so the ship
  was abandoned (to save lives).
• The abandoned ship mightve drifted ashore, so
  the country most likely to find the ship on its
  shore was notified (prevent spill).
• SHELL learned from the crisis evaluated
  results.

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Step 12. Welcome Crisis
Be Prepared An ill prepared team is itself a
crisis waiting to happen.
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Step 13. Measure the Results
The final act of heroic leadership involves
measuring the results of your leadership,
evaluating the consequences of all your plans and
personal performance within the context of the
vision for which you initiated them. In this
way, the measurement process brings a leader full
circle, back to a recognition of the need to
learn and improve. (p. 298) An act of
strategic humility, honest measurement reaffirms
a leaders commitment to his or her people and
thereby strengthens the bond of community
interest through which everyone learns and
improves together. (pp. 298-299)
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Step 13. Measure the Results
too many of our business and political leaders
worry more about what the system can do for them
than what they can do for the system. What
drives such leaders? Fear. Fear of losing the
fast buck, of losing their hold on the reins of
power. (p. 300) Heroic leaders, however,
recognizing that a life driven by fear does more
harm than good, measure results to drive out
fear. (p. 300)
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Step 13. Measure the Results
What a leader measures defines what he or she
stands for. (p. 301) Sitting Bull Constantly
measured how his actions and his tribes actions
affected the future. Sitting Bulls commitment
to the interests of his nation made him a
hero. Custer Custers commitment to himself
alone made him an egotistical and selfish leader
and cost him his life. Unfortunately, as often
happens with selfish leaders, he took many good
men with him.
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Step 13. Measure the Results

1. Measure Commitment, not Selfishness Heroic
   leaders measure results in terms of shared
   benefits, not self-interest.
2. Measure the Challenge In terms of intensity and
   complexity, heroic leaders determine the risk to
   the lives and welfare of their people before
   undertaking a challenge.
3. Share the Results Results of an action affect
   the heroic leader as much as his or her people.
   An action is for the good of all or no one at
   all. An ethical leader lives the lives of his or
   her people!

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SITTING BULLS EXAMPLE
SITTING BULLS LEADERSHIP CONSISTED OF THREE
PHASES OF ACTION This Completes Our Study of
Phase Three, Adjustment and Reflection
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Conclusion
Without clear leadership criteria, we will
continue to place our country in jeopardy of
being manipulated by individuals who, like
Custer, take advantage of the absence of such
standards to establish their own self-serving
criteria for what effective leadership
means. Could it be that in the 21st century, we
are more like Custer than Sitting Bull in our
leadership styles? Measuring our leaders against
ethical criteria is one way to return to our
traditions.
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REFERENCES
Heroic leaders are made, not born (p.
xxx). Murphy, E. C., Snell, M. (1993). The
Genius of Sitting Bull, 13 Heroic Strategies for
Todays Business Leaders. Englewood Cliffs, NJ
Prentice-Hall, Inc. Brininstool, E. A. (1952).
Troopers With Custer, Historic Incidents of the
Battle of the Little Big Horn. Lincoln
University of Nebraska Press.
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Learn Even More
We highly recommend the following book, quoted
throughout this presentation Murphy, E. C.,
Snell, M. (1993). The Genius of Sitting Bull,
13 Heroic Strategies for Todays Business
Leaders. Englewood Cliffs, NJ Prentice-Hall,
Inc.
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The End
This Concludes our Presentation on
Leadership. Thank you for Coming!