As Chair for the Study of Leadership at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Frances Hesselbein is responsible for helping to advance the study and practice of leadership at the Academy. Since her appointment last year, Frances has focused on engaging cadets and faculty with leadership experts, bringing top thought leaders to West Point for Leadership Dialogues with cadets. Last Tuesday, Alan Mulally, President and CEO of Ford Motor Company, accompanied Frances and the Leader to Leader staff to the hallowed grounds of West Point.

Visiting the campus at West Point is a true military microcosm, complete with it’s own culture, moral code, dress code, and way of life. The school is a living memorial to great military leaders of the past. We were greeted by Colonel Kolditz, Professor and Head of the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership.

Col. Kolditz introduced the Leadership Dialogue by explaining that the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership focuses on “building a leader identity,” which requires cadets to not only aquire a leadership skill set, but “to create a self concept that they are a leader wherever they go,” and therefore “subsequent to military service, they can be leaders of the nation—leaders of personal character.”

Mr. Mulally then engaged in an open dialogue with cadets who were members of the Black and Gold Leadership Program. Answering questions from the cadets, he described the characteristics he looks for in leaders, and pointed out the importance of fundamental values: “honesty, integrity, being what you are and saying what you think.”

Mr. Mulally talked about transitioning from aviation to automobiles and described a leadership secret he has learned: the importance of making the organization credible in the eyes of the consumer. He also spoke about the challenges he faced while at Boeing after the attack on 9/11, noting that he “never thought airplanes would be used as a weapon,” and this now “changed the way airplanes are created.”

The most striking element Mr. Mulally touched on was the similarities in culture of the corporate world created at Ford and the culture of the U.S. Military Academy. Just as cadets wear a decorated uniform symbolizing honor, duty, and respect for their country, Ford employees carry blue and white cards, created by Mr. Mulally, emblazoned with the words: One Ford. Both sets of individuals embrace the code of their culture, and conduct themselves by the essence of leadership demonstrated by their leaders.

 -Risa Cohn