The Leader's Pyramid
A Balanced and Consistent Approach to Leadership
by
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I was given the honor by the committee of serving as the host and escort for Sergeant Benavidez during his visit to Colorado Springs from his home in Texas. When I met him at the airport, as I shook his hands, I noticed the scars and other signs of his hand-to-hand combat that represented great personal sacrifice to his nation. For the next several days, I would spend a lot of time with Roy, inviting him to the house for supper, spending time with him in his billeting room, and really just enjoying his company. He had recently written his book, Medal of Honor: A Vietnam Warrior's Story, so I arranged for a book signing event at one of the local bookstores. Despite running him ragged, I asked Sergeant Benavidez if he would speak to my leadership class and he graciously agreed to do so. Roy made sure that I referred to him as a Medal of Honor recipient --not winner. As he joked, “This isn't a prize you win at a raffle, you earn it.” As I learned, he was entitled to some unique protocol privileges. Even though he retired at the rank of Master Sergeant, he stayed in the finest Academy Distinguished Visitor quarters. We were assigned a staff car that I used to escort him around the base. Although these perks were impressive, there was one form of protocol that I thought outweighed all the others. Being a Medal of Honor recipient meant that all military persons were to salute him, regardless of their rank (including officers). Before visiting my class, I was told that the Academy Superintendent and the Academy Commandant-of-Cadets wanted to meet Roy and thank him for being able to spend some time with the cadets. As I escorted the aging warrior to the front office, I saw the Commandant waiting for us outside in the hallway. The General was showing respect to Roy by “coming to him” rather than the other way around. This was the same General Officer that had graciously accepted to hear the cadet presentations, the day that the Leader's Pyramid was created in an Academy classroom. When we approached, the General snapped to attention, and saluted smartly to Sergeant Benavidez. I have to admit it was a special moment to watch but Roy just seemed to take it all in stride. When I knew that Sergeant Benavidez would be our guest, I assigned a special project to the leadership class. The cadets were reading a book entitled, Platoon Leader, written by a lieutenant who served during the Vietnam conflict. To honor Roy's own service during that time period, and where he had earned his Medal of Honor, the cadets were formed into three small groups and each of them gave a short re-enactment from a segment in the book and then explained the leadership implication. Roy seemed to really enjoy himself, and the cadets, as always, did a magnificent job. Some dressed up in camouflage fatigues, wore camouflage paint on their faces, and obtained helmets and wooden rifles (not a weapon) for their role-playing. Instead of being confined to a classroom, we met in one of the cadet halls, that I would occasionally reserve, and order donuts and orange juice as a change of pace and a special treat. I thought the small personal expense to me was always worth it. After the group presentations, we had just a few minutes left but I wanted to give the cadets a chance to speak to a real American hero and ask a few questions. As they arranged their chairs to face Sergeant Benavidez, I could see the cadets were enjoying themselves and the moment. When they were settled, I chose one of the cadets, out of many, who had raised his hand to ask a question. It was a simple question, but a powerful one. “Sir,” the cadet asked, “Why did you do it?” The cadet was referring to the Medal of Honor citation that captured Roy's heroic efforts. I was also fortunate to find a rare clip in the Academy library, of President Reagan reading the entire citation before presenting Roy his medal. The video was shown to them at the beginning of the class. Why had he risked his life so many times that fateful day in Vietnam? Before I share his answer, let's review what he could have said. Roy's call sign was “Tango-Mike-Mike” which stood for That Mean Mexican. Roy grew up in tough barrios and had to defend himself, sometimes from racial prejudice (being part Indian and part Mexican). He, therefore, could have replied that he did it because he was one mean hombre. Instead, Sergeant Roy Benavidez did not say anything bravado or cocky, or even about himself at all. He answered the cadet's simple question with a simple answer. “I did it for my unit; I did it for my team.” Roy had gone through what he would later call “six hours of hell” for his team. He kept getting shot and stabbed by the enemy but he kept fighting on to lift up his teammates' spirits and rally them to persevere. If the power of the team can motivate a person to sacrifice his life for them, surely we can get people to work together to advance an organization's mission, goals and objectives. But in order to do so, a leader must rally all the troops, not just a select few.
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About the Book
In his book, The Leader's Pyramid, Joseph Garcia provides a leadership tool that is both easy to remember and easy to apply to most management situations. Garcia offers proven leadership success based on a challenging military career and while serving as a CFO for a national nonprofit and most recently as the “Katrina CFO” for FEMA in New Orleans for three years. Garcia's Leader's Pyramid tool has allowed him to do his part to meet extraordinary mission requirements in extraordinary places. The Leader's Pyramid is built and grounded on proven principles and is valuable to all types of leaders -- experienced manager or newly promoted supervisor. Joseph blends his "walked in a leader's shoes" perspective with extensive research and academic principles. He taught a Leadership course at the Air Force Academy and received his Executive Masters in Leadership from Georgetown University. His desired outcome for his readers is a balanced and consistent approach to leadership. Using the Leader's Pyramid construct has allowed Joseph to be consistent in how he reaches decisions, especially tough ones involving people concerns, because he follows the same decision-making process. At the same time, he has gained the proper balance in his leadership focus and actions since his Leader's Pyramid allocates a 60/30/10 percentage mix for the Mission, People, and Ego factors respectively. Proof of Garcia's "recipe for success" includes many organizational and individual awards, including the “Male Boss of the Year” through the Federal Women's Awards Program. Joseph builds the Leader's Pyramid with his readers one block at a time, using his wealth of personal experiences along with illustrating scenarios that helps explain and reinforce the Mission, People, and Ego components. Garcia even uses the Leader's Pyramid to advocate how to become a better spouse, parent, and well-rounded individual. Finally, his "pyramid maintenance tips" promote continuous professional and personal development. In short, Garcia takes his readers on an enjoyable learning journey throughout The Leader's Pyramid.
About the Author
Joseph Garcia was the first and only Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for FEMA Gulf Coast Recovery operations in their New Orleans, Louisiana oversight office. He performed in this Senior Executive Service position for nearly three years. His mantra was, “to not sacrifice the recovery mission, but to honor the sacrifices of the American taxpayers who entrusted us with their resources.” He led the development of the first ever budget for recovery operations, and initiated a Good Stewardship Council for the entire Gulf Coast. At the time of his departure, the administrative cost ratio was down to six percent, significantly lower than the Office of Management and Budget expectation of 14 percent for disaster overhead costs, saving taxpayers millions of dollars. He served as a CFO for a national nonprofit in Washington, DC, and sits on the Board of Directors for another nonprofit that supports job training and placement for spouses of military members. Joseph spent 28 years in the Air Force where he served as a squadron commander, spent a tour at the Pentagon, was deployed for six months in the Middle East, and served in numerous overseas assignments including South Korea and Germany. While assigned to the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, he taught a Leadership course to upper-division cadets, in addition to being a Training Director and a Regional Director of Admissions. He retired at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He holds an Executive Masters in Leadership from Georgetown University, in Washington, D.C. His awards include the Federal Woman's Program Male Boss of the Year, Department of Defense Comptroller of the Year, and a Superior Mission Achievement award from the Department of Homeland Security. He and his wife, Brenda, reside near Washington, DC.