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Leon F. Lee Ellis

Presented to
Mrs. Perry Barton
MGMT2215-Team Project

By
Maury Rakestraw

Date
March 28, 2015

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Lee Ellis is a retired United States Air Force Colonel and Georgia native, who skills and
leadership took center stage when he and his fellow soldiers were shot down, captured, and taken
captive for five and a half years during the Vietnam War. Ellis was born in Commerce, Georgia
to Leon and Molene Ellis and, he has one sibling a brother by the name of Robert Ellis. Lee Ellis
was attracted to flying and planes early in life. When he was five he got a chance to actually
climb onto a world war two airplane at a local park and, he proclaimed that his dream was to fly.
Lees parents encouraged his dream pre-college and, when Ellis entered the University of
Georgia he fulfilled his calling by joining the Air Force ROTC. After graduation he was
commissioned as a second lieutenant and, entered into pilot training at Moody Air Force Base in
Valdosta, Georgia. Lee Ellis was granted his wings from flight school and, shortly after was
assigned to a U.S. bomber with orders to Vietnam. Ellis and his comrades were captured on
November the seventh in the year of nineteen sixty seven on his fifty third mission and, he was
released on March fourteenth in the year of nineteen seventy three. One of Elliss comrades who
were captured with him is the well-known two thousand and eight Republican presidential
candidate and, the former senator of Arizona John McCain. Since his release Ellis has become
an international author and speaker who regularly consults with various organizations on
leadership, human performance, operational effectiveness and personal accountability. Elliss
time in captivity as a prisoner of war led him to outline fourteen leadership principles that helped
him and his comrades resist, survive, and return home with honor. Elliss fourteen principles
include knowing yourself, guarding your character, staying positive, confronting your doubts and
fears, fighting to win, bouncing back, clarifying and building your culture, over communicating
the message, developing your people, balance mission and people, building cohesive teams,
exploiting creativity, treasuring your trials and celebrating your success, and freeing the captives
. These leadership principles are shared across military branches and are the foundation of being
a good solider and a leader in life. Good leaders exemplify these values and even in the face of
adversity they never compromise their position.
One of the first elements outlined in Elliss teaching and one of the core attributes of
leadership is to know yourself. Knowing yourself or know thyself is linked to an old Greek
saying or proverb. The proverb serves as a warning to the one whose boast exceed what they
really are and, cautions the boaster to not pay attention to the opinions of the multitude. Why
know yourself? Knowing yourself allows you to be able to lead others. A leader must first know
how to lead their selves before they can lead others and, leading yourself begins by knowing
yourself. Knowing yourself means opening yourself up to the public arena and sharing with
others. To get a closer look at ones self you have to take into account your personal beliefs,
working style, and the unique leadership strengths. It also means you must take an actual
assessment of those beliefs, styles, and strengths. There are many assessment tools available to
use that will help you begin to take inventory of yourself. One true way is to ask or discuss with
others that you know and trust about their honest feedback on you. Lastly, you have to reflect on
the life experiences that you have encountered. Life experiences and how we handle success and
failure tells a great deal about ourselves if we pay attention. These experiences tell how deeply

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we really know ourselves. Reflecting back gives us a chance to learn about ourselves, who we
are, what we can do, where we are comfortable, and where we are not. Reflecting allows you to
ask the difficult questions of what did I learn from the experience, what did I do well in the
experience and what should I do differently next time? Being surrounded by the enemy and
being taken captive and, operating in a hostile environment gave Lee Ellis a chance to get really
know himself and, the strengths and weaknesses that he possessed. Being a good leader requires
knowing about yourself, knowing your weaknesses, and being able to lean on your strengths to
minimize those weaknesses from becoming excuses as part of your performance. True
leadership flows from the inside out. Being a true leader requires that you clarify who you are in
terms of passion, purpose, and personality and lead truthfully from the core.
Leading with honor requires that you guard your character. Your character must be
intentionally cultivated and guarded through an ongoing process. The best way leaders do this is
by clarifying their values. As a leader your values must be clearly defined to make sure you
understand what they entail and what they do not entail. Values are non-negotiable commitments
that clarify who you are and what your beliefs are rooted in. Some examples would be honesty,
truthfulness, responsibility, honor, valuing others, respect, loyalty, faithfulness, and keeping
commitments. The best way to make sure that your values are aligned with how you believe is to
challenge your behaviors. Challenging your behaviors requires that you live and lead in
equivalence with your values and beliefs. Knowing yourself and guarding your character go
hand in hand in helping define yourself as a leader. Guarding your character requires that you
check in with others that you know and trust. Opening up and being transparent to those
individuals allows them to hold you accountable as well as provide support, encouragement, and
needed counsel if there are any questionable behaviors. The bottom line is authentic leaders
intentionally encourage and exemplify good character, and they clarify values with a high degree
of specificity and unprejudiced honesty .Good leaders structure accountability around their
values and they live in accordance with those values with courage and transparency. Ellis used
this principle to encourage individual growth and, to help with understanding the individual
talents that make up teams.
Leading with honor also requires that you stay positive. I couldnt even imagine
parachuting down from an exploding aircraft and, being surrounded by the enemy and being
taken into captivity. I would find it difficult to find something positive in that moment. However,
making it to the ground despite being shot at while descending and, firing a shot at the enemy
and them not killing me on the spot would be all positives in hindsight. Surviving being tortured
and being able to return home to my family are all positives that Ellis experienced as a prisoner
of war. Good leaders focus on the positives in the situation and, look for the favorable or positive
outcomes. Good leaders make quick notes of the positives displayed during the week, they slow
down and savor the good parts of life, they show gratitude, they practice self-love, they know
what life means to them, they banish negative thoughts and actions, they resist the urge to
exaggerate their problems, they connect with other people, seek professional help if needed, and

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most importantly they set a time to worry then move on to other things. Ellis didnt let a few
trying circumstances keep him from trying to survive. He knew that as a leader others
imprisoned with him would be looking for solid leadership. He quickly developed a way to
communicate without saying words. So he and the fellow prisoners could talk amongst each
other without having to verbally speak. Ellis didnt stay in the moment he was captured he
learned to move on as a leader that is an important quality to display. As a leader when you are
experiencing trouble its good to find a reason to be happy and healthy and stay positive. Its also
important as a leader that others see you with your chin up even if life is at its worst you are in
the right place.
Leading with honor also requires that you confront your fears. Confronting your fears
means embracing the possibility that the inevitable might eventually happen. Ellis knew that
being shot at was part of the job, and possibly being captured was also a possibility. He was
forced to face his fears once he ejected himself from the plane and, ended up on enemy soil. Ellis
did make and attempt to escape but, was already surrounded once his heels hit the ground. Once
he was surrounded he decided to fire a warning shot to see if there was another possibility of
escape. Once they kept approaching he realized that he was going to have to face his fears. He
tossed aside the revolver that he had and, in the moment faced the fact that he was going to be
taken captive. Confronting your doubts and fears can be difficult but, as a leader you have to face
them each and every day. Leaders find ways to cope with their doubts and fears. The first thing
that is true about fear is that you are not the only one who is afraid of that particular entity.
Being ashamed or embarrassed will not help you overcome the fear but, acknowledgement of it
is the step in the right direction in helping to overcome it. Some other ways of coping with fear
is to make a list of your fears and, decide whether the fear you have about the thing is rational or
irrational. Fear can be a healthy response that gives us an evolutionary advantage that allows us
to survive in hostile situations. Other ways of coping with fear include writing down your fears
from biggest to smallest, stop thinking about worst case scenario, arm yourself with statistics, see
a mental health professional, realize fear is learned, and lastly visualize success. Visualizing
your success is important because if you can see it you can conquer any obstacle that comes your
way.
Fight to win is another way leaders lead with honor. Followers like to know that there
leader is passionate about his or her responsibilities and, that they are putting their all into the
success of the project or mission. They like to see how there leader takes charge and, fights to
win. The United States Army has embraced this on every level they have a mission statement that
embodies this philosophy. The Army mission statement clarifies that their mission is to fight and
win our nations wars by providing swift, continuous land dominance across the full range of
military operations and range of conflict in support of combatant commanders. Passionate
leaders fight to win. Their followers follow them because they recognize the passion that they
put into their job and, handling their responsibilities. Passion produces energy and leaders do
their utmost off that energy and bring it into the work environment. Passionate leaders also have

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vision; they ignite others, raise influence, and provide potential for better opportunity and
success. Once Ellis was captured his passion as a leader caused him to strive to stay alive and, to
communicate with his fellow captives. He began tapping out words on the walls to communicate
and, to make sure others were okay. It shows he had heart and was fighting to win despite the
circumstances.
Leading with honor also requires that you bounce back. Bouncing back after disaster
takes guts, perseverance, and a willingness to survive. The first thing a leader must do is decide
whether it is worth the exhausting and expensive battle. The leaders next step is to acknowledge
and confront the failure and, quickly look to the future. The next step is to let others that are
close to you know that you need assistance and, what kind of aid is going to be the most useful.
Along with these steps a leader must tell his story, be consistent in his account of what happen,
and build his reputation. Ellis remembered the account of being shot out of the air, barely
escaping death on the decent and, being in captivity for five years. Ellis returned home and took
those details and, began to train, teach, and build his reputation as a leader while furthering his
career in the air force. Leaders such as Ellis bounced back by deciding quickly that they would
engage others, tell their stories, and put their careers back on track. As a leader you must come
back and rediscover your mission. Ellis used his career as a leader in the military to build another
career both inside and outside of the military setting. He recorded his triumph and failures as a
leader wrote about them in several books and, began teaching people how to develop themselves
into leaders. After going through such a traumatic event and, seeing so much disaster Ellis
overcame his insecurities and, in the process found courage to prove to others he was still the
man for the job. Ellis knew in his heart that they couldnt take away his dignity, hope, pride, and
no one could stop him from rebounding if he didnt give up.
Leading with honor also means that you must clarify and build your culture. Building
ones culture may come with a healthy price tag and sacrifice. I cant imagine being held as POW
for two and a half years and, finally the Democratic Republic of Vietnam allowing you to receive
packages from home. Lee Ellis received his package with enthusiasm and was moments away
from claiming the contents. The problem was he had to sign for it and, his signature meant he
was accepting the fact that the Democratic of Vietnam was allowing him to receive the gift. He
had heard about the receipt and he knew it was okay to sign but, ethically he didnt agree with
the statement printed on the receipt. Ellis didnt like the statement and was clarifying his dislike
of the culture when he refused to sign it and, to leave the contents of the package with the guard.
Ellis understood the culture and why his comrades were celebrating and, enjoying a piece of
home Ellis was standing firm in his belief of honor. Elliss comrades signed the receipt and took
the contents willingly because it was a normal part of the culture they were used to especially
around Christmas. Ellis understood the message on the receipt and, that it could be used for
influencing the attitude of the POWs and he didnt want to take part in it. The next time the
packages arrived the receipt no longer contained the message that caused him to deny the first
package. Ellis was quoted as saying our mission statement captured the essence of a culture in

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the three simple and powerful words: Return with Honor. This short phrase provided both vision
that kept us aligned toward one goal. (Ellis, 2014) Ellis was clear about the culture he wanted to
be a part of and, he was building that around him. Leaders must sometimes make the hard
decisions to stand on what they believe and sacrifice their happiness for the greater good. Ellis
made the choice that took away a moment of comfort so he didnt get beat up by his conscience.
Ellis also knew that he had to clarify and build a culture that would guide and protect all of the
POWs during those difficult times. That culture would help them sustain until they could surface
at the end of the war victorious.
Leading with honor also requires that you over communicate the message. Over
communicating the message is used by leaders to improve reputation and, to get results. When
leaders are vulnerable and genuine they build trust with the people that follow them. Building
trust is one of the keys to leading a successful group and maintaining a healthy relationship. The
other elements that help with reputation and results are clarifying and over-communicating the
message, creating a safe environment, encouraging debate, and being courageous. Leaders need
to clarify and over communicate to insure that everyone on the team understands what direction
the team is going and why. Leaders who create a safe environment encourage creative conflict
and, are interested in the most effective way of resolving issues. They listen and learn from their
people and are interested in understanding the desires of the team. Leaders have to be
courageous, face their fears, and do what is right. The message that goes out about being
courageous is powerful and, shows your followers that leaders go first.
Leading with honor also requires that you develop your people. Developing your people
requires that you build a culture and environment that is conducive for talent development.
Followers are looking for leaders who act as role models, reinforce the values of learning, build
sustainable processes to support development, reinforce shared values, and leverage problems as
opportunities for real world learning and development. Leaders are constantly learning
themselves and are transparent about their need to learn and about their development. They learn
and share with others how to complete task effectively. The help their followers grow as they
grow themselves. Leaders have to coach and help others to improve their performances and, look
for opportunities within the organization to plug the talent into. Leaders challenge themselves
and, challenge those who have high potential around them. Leaders also link their followers
everyday tasks and responsibilities with those of the organization. Leaders have to make sure that
their followers understand that what they do and why they do it is important. Lastly, leaders see
problems as opportunity for real world learning and development. There are acceptable failures
and, followers must know what they are. Leaders have to make sure followers feel comfortable
in the work environment and, that every mistake that they make will not set them back or
jeopardize their jobs. This point on the fourteen principals of leadership was informative and, has
helped me a great deal with my current employment situation. I realize I work in a hostile
environment and, that I am trying to learn a new process. The fact is that some mistakes are
going to be made, but that shouldnt be grounds for termination. My current boss wants write-

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ups on everything that comes up. Some of them are prime opportunities to learn and develop the
talent that he has around him. He does have a large amount of knowledge about the business and,
should be imparting that knowledge willingly. The past couple of months he has been trying but,
only after a problem arises. Development of your people is important to insure that you are being
effective in your role as leader and shouldnt just be done when things go wrong. Development
should be solidified in the culture and development of an organization.
Leading with honor requires that you balance your mission and people. Balancing the
mission and people means achieving results, taking care of people, and building relationships.
Leaders must identify which way they are naturally bent to determine if they are result oriented
or relationship oriented. Knowing which way you are bent as a leader will help you identify
natural strengths and, help you adapt new behaviors to bring you into balance. A balanced leader
understands his or her deficiencies and, how to overcome them and how to balance the mission
and people. Results oriented leaders are more rigid and need to soften up and listen, understand,
and support the ideas of others. Relationship oriented leaders are too easygoing and need to
toughen up and be more decisive, direct, and conduct the difficult conversations. Leading with
honor requires that you balance the scales by adapting new behaviors on the opposite side of the
spectrum. The key is moving forward with execution, growth, and changing your behaviors to
balance the mission and people.
Leading with honor requires that you build a cohesive team. After being captured Ellis
continued to build relationships with his fellow POWs. There are several steps that go into
building a cohesive team. The steps include: establishing a mission, looking for diversity,
practicing teamwork, utilizing individual strengths, communicating effectively, giving feedback,
asking for feedback, and celebrating successes. Establishing a mission is the first priority and
should come before selecting team members. Secondly, you have to decide the goals of the team
and establish what resources and revenue is available to accomplish the goals. Next select the
team members who will make the best contribution to the overall teams success. Leaders have to
also look for diversity. Diverse teams consist of many people with different skills and
experiences. Having a diverse group with many experiences gives the group a baseline to pull
from to help achieve the mission. Practicing teamwork is essential to team development.
Practicing teamwork and working together allows you to see who naturally leads and, who works
well together. Observing teamwork allows the leader to see the individual strengths and, allows
him to properly delegate assignments based on strengths. Communicating precise and effectively
is what gives the team cohesiveness. Clearly outline the instructions and goals and, make sure all
the messages benefit the team. To insure that the Vietnamese guards couldnt hear what they
were saying they began tapping on the cell walls and, coding messages to pass from cell to cell.
This allowed them to communicate effectively with one another they could give feedback and
ask for feedback as well. As a leader you must recognize and show appreciation for the team and,
celebrate the accomplishment of the mission. Building cohesiveness with the team is an ongoing

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and continuous process. The team will encounter new projects with different difficulties and,
each one will require working together to achieve the best results.
Leading with honor also calls for exploiting creativity. Denton one of the high level
commanders for the United States and a POW along with Ellis was repeatedly tortured. During a
tape interview in Vietnam with a communist reporter, Denton boldly proclaimed that he didnt
know what Americas policy was about the bombing on Vietnam but, he supported them.
Creatively he kept the conversation going in order to blink in Morse code the word torture. To let
the individuals watching know that they were being tortured in the POW camps. At the moment
he was taking advantage of one of the forms of communication that they had been continuously
using since being captured in Vietnam. The Vietnamese would also not allow them anything to
write with but, they found rocks to study calculus on the cell floor with while being held in the
POW camps. Leaders have to exploit creativity it enhances mental health, builds confidence,
attracts and inspires those around you, and gives you a brighter outlook. Denton had to feel
enlighten to have gotten the message to the state side commanders that they were being tortured.
They had been in the situation for some years and, they probably thought that they werent going
to ever escape. In the moment of truth the courageous leader seized the opportunity to give a
message that inspired those around him. Leaders have to block out distractions and, schedule
time to use the creative portion of their thoughts. Leaders also have to challenge themselves to
do and not try to rationalize everything. Denton had probably hoped he get that type of
opportunity. The opportunity finally presented itself and, he had come up with a sure way to get
his message across without the Vietnamese reporter even knowing.
Leading with honor requires that you treasure your trials and celebrate your successes.
Trials are the circumstances that are used to forge wisdom and maturity. Trials are to be treasured
because they provide the foundation that shapes our character and helps develop our talents. A
trial gives us self-awareness and is one of the main requirements in self-development. Leaders
find meaning in trials and adversity and, recognize the crucible experience that helped to
improve their performance. In other words Ellis believed that the POW camps helped to shape
and develop his leadership qualities. Leaders also learn indirectly from the stories of others and,
apply the lessons documented in their trials to avoid even greater trials. Overcoming trials should
be followed by celebration. The celebration doesnt require an elaborate setting you can do it
alone or share it with others. The celebration could be just taking a deep breath, sharing the
news with friends and colleagues, taken a one day break, sleep, thanking everyone that supported
it, or just except and enjoying the compliments. Celebration is one of those things that should be
done immediately after reaching your goal and, should be completed before moving forward to
the next goals. Leaders have to remember before rushing into setting new goals take the time to
celebrate what has already been accomplished.
Leading with honor also requires that you free the captives. Ellis had been captured and
held captive for five and a half years and, he was extremely excited to get the things we normally
take for granted. He was given a sack lunch and a pair of shoes which he gladly took. Ellis was

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afraid he had forgotten to wear shoes and, was ecstatic to find out he hadnt. He realized very
soon after his release he had to free and release himself from being held captive by the
Vietnamese. Ellis was no longer there physically but, subconsciously he was revisiting there
every day. Ellis offered these key points to freeing the captives they include: avoid bitterness,
connect with their emotions, and do the right thing in spite of difficulty. He knew that bitterness
would hamper his ability to be a good leader and, would consume him with anger. Ellis had
concluded that bitterness, blaming others, and focusing on his loses and misfortunes would make
him a poor leader. Ellis knew the only way to improve and make his life better was to free the
captives and, he would accomplish that by looking forward, forgiving others, and loving himself.
Ellis concluded that he wouldnt let someone or some situation that was out of his control to ruin
his life. Ellis knew he also had to be connected with his emotions and, not let anger from being
in the situation rob him of even more life. Ellis knew as a leader he had to be emotionally aware
of his feelings and, he had to try not to suppress his feelings like he did in the POW camps.
Leaders are emotional and passionate and, should not just express anger. Anger is not a bad
emotion if handled correctly and, should be used to get results and bring about change. Ellis kept
his emotions incased in concrete for so long it was hard to connect with anyone. Lastly Ellis
knew that leaders should do the right thing. Doing the right thing sometimes is tied to emotions
and, sometimes causes impatience anger and fear. Ellis concludes when in doubt about what is
right doing what honors God, family, and your country should direct your course of action.
Elliss fourteen principals of leadership were very informative. These principals of
leadership have opened my eyes and, as a leader myself I understand these concepts well.
Authentic leadership is missing in many companies and organizations. Its the leadership that
sets the foundation and, allows the business to thrive in adverse situations. Ellis was a true
leader who overcame those adverse situations and, his reflection back allowed him to see the
need to help others. Coming from a military family I appreciate the sacrifices that these
individuals make so that we live the lifestyles that we do. Many of us take for granted that we
live in the land of freedom and opportunity and squander away our talents on frivolous nonsense.
Its hard to imagine being captured, tortured, and not letting those things hunt you for the rest of
your life. Ellis took on the captives and, once freed from captivity he freed himself and, uses
those experiences to teach others how to lead and direct their goals and dreams. Leadership has
many facets not all of them are attractive to deal with but, leading with honor is the one I admire.
To do what is right despite the circumstances is an honorable way to live and lead.

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Bibliography
Ellis, L. (2014, December 16). Christmas in the POW camps and clarifying your
future. Retrieved March 26, 2015, from Linked to Leadership:
http://linked2leadership.com/2014/12/16/christmas-in-the-pow-camps-andclarifying-your-culture/
P/