Eisenhower vs. Rommel

I have been working my way through D-Day by Stephen Ambrose. One of the chapters compares and contrasts Dwight Eisenhower and Erwin Rommel. Eisenhower and Rommel both shared some similar traits. Both liked dogs. Both chose very simple places for their headquarters. Each one would rather have built something rather than destroy in war. However, when it came to their approach to leadership they differed a bit. Rommel was a great genius, but Eisenhower was a superior leader for two major reasons. I’ll share the first one in this post and the second in a later post.

While Rommel was very pessimistic, Eisenhower had an incredible optimism. After a defeat in Fall of 1942, Rommel said to one of his young commanders, “That’s the end.” Eisenhower on the other hand said, “optimism and pessimism are infectious and they spread more rapidly from the head downward than in any direction.” Realizing how great his mood affected his men, he said, “With this clear realization, I firmly determined that my mannerisms and speech in public would always reflect the cheerful certainty of victory – that any pessimism and discouragement I might ever feel would be resolved for my pillow.” Eisenhower could confront the brutal facts with unwavering optimism that he would succeed.
To lead others well, we must learn how to lead our own emotions. It also requires humility to put others welfare ahead of our own need to express our emotion. I must admit I struggle to live this out. I left a meeting a few weeks ago after receiving some brutal facts and made some comments that revealed some of my frustration about those facts. As a parent, I often lose my temper with my kids when they don’t listen to me. Or I come home from a bad day at work and allow my mood to affect my home life.

So as a fellow struggler, I am learning two lessons when it comes to being a good emotional leader. First, apologize when I blow it. When my mood negatively affects my kids or volunteers, I have gone back and apologized for it. As I apologize, I am admitting my mood affects them and it reminds me that is not the person I want to be.

Second, I am learning to battle out the negativity on my knees and give it to God. Eisenhower brought his pessimism and discouragement to the pillow, David would yell at God in the Psalms. With all due respect to Eisenhower, I think David’s approach is better. I’m not as good as Eisenhower. Vent your frustrations and pessimism to God. He can handle it and somehow it seems to just make things better.

How do you handle pessimism and disappointment?