Resilient Leaders Chapter Summary

In the book Resilient Leaders, Robert Dees (2013) very clearly points out that leadership is a contact sport in which tribulation can and will occur. In order to successfully navigate inevitable challenges, a certain amount of resiliency must be present, both in the leader as well as in those who are being led. He also discusses selfless service. When hearing someone talk about selfless service the first thing that comes to mind is doing something for someone with no thought or hesitation. You should never put yourself before others. Dees (2013) explains how using resiliency and selfless service tools can benefit organizations and help guide them toward organizational success.

After reading chapters five, six and seven of the book “Resilient Leaders”, the three concepts I found most interesting that General Dees discussed are Condition Setting, Shielding Subordinates/ Leading by Example, and being a Merchant of Hope.

Throughout this course, most of the subject matter focused on, or related to, the art and science of successful management and leadership. Robert Dees’ book ‘Resilient Leaders’ is about the qualities it takes to not only be a successful leader, but to bounce back when times are difficult. True leadership stands the tests that time throws its way. The takeaways and lessons learned are valuable in every aspect of life which involves working with others and managing hostile,

When one sees the word selfless-service, he or she literally sees the words self and less, followed by service. Self refers to an individual (in this case, it refers to one’s own interests) and less indicates a lack of, or without. Service can be a synonym of the word volunteering or duty. Therefore, the term selfless service must literally mean the lack of the pursuit of one’s own interests for the betterment of others. There is no measurement of selfless service. No matter what the scenario or who is involved, everyone who is involved benefits from one’s selfless acts. The one who shows selflessness may benefit by receiving a “thank you,” or even just a good feeling of helping others. Of course, the ones who receive the selfless acts benefit from obvious reasons. Selfless-service can be shown by anyone and everyone, including a soldier putting his/her life on the line to save a fallen comrade, a husband and father protecting and spending time with his wife and children, someone donating his/her time by volunteering as a tutor or with the American Red Cross or some other goodwill charity, and the teamwork of two or more athletes. Those four examples provide different scales in which selfless-service can be displayed. Selfless-service can be displayed in regards to one’s nation/military, one’s family, one’s community, and any team sport.

“Service is the rent we pay for being. It is the very purpose of life and not something you do in your spare time.” - Marian Wright Edelman. To service others is to serve them selflessly and compassionately. There is always going to be an opportunity to service another human being. Helping others may connect us to those we serve, and it gives us the satisfaction that self-interest cannot offer. "Our motivation? We just wanted to serve, and quickly discovered that such a practice of selfless giving is something that we all have access to, no matter who we are and what we do." (Mehta 1)

To me “service before self” means giving up some of your time in order to help someone else improve. Service is a responsibility and a privilege and its using it in order to help those that lack those benefits. In this case self would represent what I could be doing for me and instead choosing to give your time and energy to someone other than yourself. It’s a stepping stone.

Destructive Leadership describes a leader that has the abilities to lead and form groups. They are very convening and able to brain wash their followers. In most cases they are able to follow out their immorally behaviors. Osama Bin Laden was the head leader of Al-Qaeda, a terrorist organization. The leader undermined followers to promote violence and destruction. The leader was effective enough to order followers to smash a plane into one of America’s busiest businesses in New York. America was in an uproar; because these where innocent lives that were taken. Osama Bin Laden was powerful enough to pursued followers to carry out orders. The moral leader was effective enough to lure followers to carry out the given orders.

What makes a great leader? This is a question the world had been striving to answer for centuries. Three important things that can pull the great leaders from the ordinary leaders are: honesty, quick-thinking skills, and being able to communicate well.

Resilient Leaders   Per Dees (2013), “in the context of resilient leadership, resilience means leading with excellence over time through the realities of success and failure in the tough marketplaces of life” (p. 47).   No argument could be successfully made that an individual can successfully walk in to an organization and immediately be an effective and trusted leader.   It takes time to build a person’s leadership competency and credibility.   Every successful leader has had trials and tribulations which have caused setbacks in their professional careers; however, through resilience, have bounced back to become some of the most effective leaders of our time.

Selfless service is the practice of altruism and is marked by self-sacrifice for the needs of others (Dees, 2013). The servant leader is one that works towards a goal that benefits others while building character and respect of his or her followers (Varghese, Nolan, & Bihm, 2017). Selfless service is a mentality that some are born with and others must learn. The concept of selfless service is not a new concept developed in recent years by military leaders but was modeled by the acts of Jesus in the Bible.

Giving things up in order to help others is what comes to mind when hearing the word selflessness. Being raised in a single home I was taught early on that no matter what may come my way to always think about self last. Learning values and morales at

“Selflessness is simply putting someone before yourself with absolutely no expectations of a favor or service returned.”

“Service above self” acquires a certain meaning to me that goes beyond volunteering at a planned community service event. At face value, it could be seen as people stacking service events on their plate and piling up hours for personal interests. Though, it goes beyond that ideology entirely. To me, service above self means to help or assist others without the need of any benefit or recognition from anybody. I conduct service for the sole purpose to make a difference in the community and people’s lives, and beyond the recorded hours on a piece of paper.

The reading for this assignment covered chapters five through seven of Resilient Leaders. Dees (2014), in this week’s video, says that crisis defines the character of the leader. A leader will need to be wise, affirming, seek historical parallels, shield his subordinates, and lead by example. Dees (2014) said leadership during a crisis is the result of preparation; a person does not become a leader by accident.

Robert F. Dees, Major General, U.S. Army, Retired, in sharing about leading in times of crisis states, “crisis defines the character of the leader” (Dees, 2013, p.204). He shares three important questions that should be considered by any leading through crisis. “Do you know your soldiers?” “Do your soldiers know your voice?” “Do your troops know you need them?” These key questions are answered through the concepts of leading with vision, Leading by example, and empowering others (page ref??).