Symbols are objects or pictures that represent a much larger idea. Symbols have played a significant role throughout history in how ideas become and influence our culture. It has been said that symbols represent and communicate who we are and what we value as a society.

No matter where you live on this great earth—when one sees the five intertwined rings we think of the Olympics. And wherever we live in this world and see steeples we observe it as a place to worship. So how did these symbols become universal?

The Olympic rings and flag were designed after the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm. This was the first Olympic Games that participants from all five continents competed. This represented a union of the five original major continents, Africa, America, Asia, Australia and Europe.

Thus the five interlocking rings stand for the five continents and the color of the rings symbolic of the national flags in the world. The six colors being black, blue, green, red, yellow on a white background. At least one of these colors is on every national flag in the world. The flag and rings symbolizing the universality of the Olympics.

Wikipedia describes a steeple, in architecture, is a tall tower on a building, often topped by a spire. Steeples are a universal symbol on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a religious structure.

Buildings with “pointy tops” trace back as far as architecture itself. Since the inhabitants of Babel erected a tower to “reach to the heavens,” nations have followed and built structures that point upward.

Ancient cultures have shared the conviction that God and heaven are up. This can be seen in the upward design of the pyramids designed by the Egyptians.

Towers became part of Churches around 600AD being adapted from military watch towers. Originally they were separate structures that became integrated into the church building and capped with more elaborate roofs that resulted into the steeple which we recognize today.

The steeple is the only surviving external architecture accent the puritans would allow to remain in the design of American church buildings.

The symbol most recognized on churches old and new is the steeple, often built with bells in the upper portion, providing the finishing touch. In early times these bells served a variety of purposes; called worshipers to service, summon citizens for special announcements or emergencies.

In terms of size and shape, steeples vary depending on the architecture of the buildings they are placed upon. But even in their variety, steeples still serve their traditional purpose—to guide people’s eyes toward the heavens.

Character and integrity embodies tradition and universal symbols. While styles are continually changing, the symbols of the five intertwined rings for the Olympics, and the steeples continue to mark a place of a house of worship. They are unlikely to change. The elegant design and ideas have influenced our culture. These symbols speak volumes about the values and priorities of our forefathers.

Elda Titus, owner Prairie Rose Country, an on-line business, specializing in top quality, unique, louvered, window or custom made cupolas. Cupolas that can be modified into steeples as an add on or integrated into the design of your building. Check out steeples @ => http://prairierosecountry.com

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During Black History Month we salute all of our military men and women serving our country. On January 30, 2010, CNN conducted a live interview with General William E. Ward, commander of U.S. Africa Command, discussing his experiences as the only black four-star general currently serving in the U.S. military. “I look at it as a chance to demonstrate that you can achieve those things if you set your mind to them, if you apply yourself in productive ways, if you’re prepared to accept opportunity that comes your way and then move on,” Ward said during the interview. He was also asked about U.S. Africa Command’s role in the Haiti disaster relief efforts. Ward explained that an Africa Partnership Station vessel that was en route to West Africa for military-to-military training events was diverted to Haiti along with several African ship-riders who were on board. Ward was in Atlanta, Georgia to accept the Trumpet Award, which recognizes the accomplishments of black Americans who have significantly contributed to enhancing the quality of life for all. The complete CNN transcript is available at archives.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1001/30/cnr.01.html

As our only black American four-star General currently serving in the U.S. Military, he represents the first General to fulfill the position of USA Commander, U.S. Africa Command, Stuttgart, Germany, commencing this assignment in October 2007. Prior to assuming his current position, Commander Ward was Deputy Commander, Headquarters US European Command, Stuttgart, Germany. The U.S. Africa Command is one of six unified geographic commands within the Department of Defense unified command structure. He previously served as the Deputy Commanding General/Chief of Staff, US Army Europe and Seventh Army. While in this capacity he was selected by the Secretary of State to serve as the United States Security Coordinator, Israel – Palestinian Authority where he served from March through December 2005.

General Ward’s awards and badges include: the Defense Distinguished Service Medal (with Oak Leaf Cluster); the Distinguished Service Medal; the Defense Superior Service Medal (with two Oak Leaf Clusters); the Legion of Merit (with three Oak Leaf Clusters); the Defense Meritorious Service Medal; the Meritorious Service Medal (with six Oak Leaf Clusters); the Joint Service Commendation Medal; the Army Commendation Medal (with three Oak Leaf Clusters); the Army Achievement Medal (with Oak Leaf Cluster); the Expert Infantryman’s Badge; the Combat Infantryman’s Badge; and the Master Parachutist Badge. See Commander Ward’s Oak Leaf Clusters by visiting www.saundersinsignia.com

His command and troop assignments include: Platoon Leader, 3d Battalion (Airborne), 325th Infantry, 82d Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Rifle Company Commander, 1st Battalion (Mechanized), 17th Infantry, 2d Infantry Division, Camp Howze, Korea; S-4 (Logistics), 210th Field Artillery Brigade, VII Corps, US Army Europe and Seventh Army, Germany; Executive Officer, 1st Battalion (Mechanized), 7th Infantry, 3d Infantry Division, US Army Europe and Seventh Army, Germany; Commander, 5th Battalion, 9th Infantry, 2d Brigade, later G-4 (Logistics), 6th Infantry Division (Light), Fort Wainwright, Alaska; Commander, 2d Brigade, 10th Mountain Division (Light), Fort Drum, New York and Operation Restore Hope, Mogadishu, Somalia; Assistant Division Commander (Support), 82d Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Commanding General 25th Infantry Division (Light) and US Army, Hawaii, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii; and Commander, Stabilization Force, Operation Joint Forge, Sarajevo, Bosnia.

His staff assignments include: Executive Officer, US Army Military Community Activity — Aschaffenburg, US Army Europe and Seventh Army, Germany; Staff Officer (Logistics), Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics, US Army, Washington, DC; Executive Officer to the Vice Chief of Staff, US Army, Washington, DC; Deputy Director for Operations, J-3, National Military Command Center, The Joint Staff, Washington, DC; Chief, Office of Military Cooperation, Egypt, American Embassy, Egypt; and Vice Director for Operations, J-3, The Joint Staff, Washington, DC.

Saunders Insignia is a major supplier of insignia for the military. We stock over 15,000 items including custom made patches, and custom made insignia. Earl F. Keaton the G.M. of http://SaundersInsignia.com has a B.S. from California Polytechnic University, USN reserve 4 years, USAF Technical advisor Korean War.

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Words from the wise never had a cryptic meaning until the Navajo ‘Code Talkers,’ later romanticized by the movie Wind Talkers, became the saving secret code during World War II. Recently, the National World War II Museum in New Orleans, were honored by a visit from four Navajo Code Talkers. Their native tongue foiled the Japanese attempts to further assault Americans after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Samuel Tso, Bill Toledo, Frank Chee Willetto and Keith Little, Navajo Code Talkers, enlisted in the war to defend and protect America, finding themselves to be members of the nations’ secret weapon during WWII. Enraged by the attack on Pearl Harbor, many Navajos enlisted to join the fight. A select group of Marines adapted a version of their native language to protect our communications. It was very successful. The Japanese never cracked the code. It was the unique weapon of the Navajo Indians, an unwritten language.

24 Navajo code Talkers were attached to the Third Marine Division serving from Guadal Canal to Iwo Jima and beyond. 8 Indian soldiers served in the U.S. Army Africa in the 168th Infantry, 34th Division 17 Comanche soldiers in Europe , in the 4th Signal company, 4th Infantry Division

The idea of using this almost archaic language came from Philip Johnston, a World War I Veteran who grew up in a Navajo Reservation as a missionary’s son. Johnston, a non-Navajo, who spoke the unwritten language, believed this was an undecipherable code. He was right! ‘It was a weapon for which they (Japanese) could never find an answer,’ remarked 84 year, old, Code Talker, Frank Chee Willetto while in New Orleans recently. The idea of using a foreign language was not novel, but Johnston knew the Navajos spoke English and a native tongue that no Germans, Japanese or any other enemy combatants knew existed or could be researched. The Navajo language never played such a significant role in American history until they provided secure authenticated oral communications to prevent eavesdropping. There was a company of Indian soldiers in France during WWI in the 142nd Infantry Regiment, 36th Division, who spoke 26 languages and dialects.

Code talkers were deployed September 1942 on Guadalcanal in the 3th Marine Division operating six Navajo radio nets sending more than 800 messages without error. They were responsible for the message that Marines had reached the summit of Mt. Suribachi, where the famous flag-raising took place. The flag-raising is memorialized as a statue in Washington, D.C. No coded messages were ever interpreted. Many English words did not translate in Navaho. For example, Commanding General was Bih Keh He; Warrior Chief, or Commanding Officer was Hash Kay Gi Na Tah, also translated as Warrior Chief. They had a sense of humor too. Tkele Cho G was jackass, whomever they were referring to.

The new technology of Navajo Code Talking was not accepted readily by their superiors until evidenced that their ‘talk’ was decoded faster than others. The Navajos were more efficient, but had to prove themselves. American Indians have served in the United States Military with distinction for the past 200 years. Their courage, determination and fighting spirit were recognized by American military leaders as early as the 18th century. During WWII their distinction as changing the course of the war wasn’t acknowledged immediately after the war ended. Their work remained classified until 2002 when Congress passed the Code Talker’s Recognitionj Act. President Bush had thanked them at a ceremony at the Capitol Rotunda, on July 26, 2001 in which they were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. The National Cryptologic Museum in Fort Meade, Maryland has a co de talker exhibit. They have a rightful place in the new International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C. These WWII Navajo warriors have come to be known as, ‘The Sons of the Land of Enchantment’.

Saunders Insignia is a major supplier of insignia for the military. We stock over 15,000 items including custom made patches, and custom made insignia. Earl F. Keaton the G.M. of http://SaundersInsignia.com has a B.S. from California Polytechnic University, USN reserve 4 years, USAF Technical advisor Korean War.

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As a leader you must be many things to many people. We have discussed in previous posts the need for a leader to be a visionary because involving people in realizing a compelling vision provides a beacon for the future and a standard of excellence. We have also talked about the leader’s role as a coach. A leader as a coach reinforces the results they believe people are capable of achieving as winning depends on execution.

In addition to the roles of visionary and coach there are two additional roles that round out an exceptional leader: The role of mentor and the role of director.

The Leader as a Mentor

While many aspects of the mentoring role are similar to coaching, the significant differences lie in the mentor’s advisory or teaching role. A mentor is a trusted advisor and tutor. Mentors share the benefit of their experience and knowledge. It is a critical role in developing individuals who will collectively be responsible for the success of the organization. As a mentor you should seek innovation, encourage experimentation, reward appropriate risk taking, drive out fear, and create an environment where everyone communicates freely, honestly, and positively.

Establish an environment that encourages and rewards people to develop their skills, improve their results, and learn new skills. Actively seek to help people learn from your experiences and knowledge. Develop a culture where people feel responsible for their own results and are supportive of others, as well as provide the model, knowledge, training, and freedom to achieve their goals. Today’s leaders must foster a culture where continuous learning and continuous improvement are the norm not the exception.

The Leader as a Director

In the director’s role, the leader is like a symphony orchestra conductor. Everyone knows their part, comes in on cue, and maintains the tempo that had been established. The conductor does not play the instruments, that is the role of the musicians. Each musician does not decide when to play, that is the role of the conductor. The role of the conductor is to elicit the best possible individual performance in concert with the entire orchestra to create a symphony of sound. The leader/director establishes the direction for the organization and for the people. This does not mean the leader is the authoritarian expert who knows all of the answers. Rather, it means that the leader, as director, gathers the input and ideas from everyone in the organization, establishes goals, and aligns the resources to achieve those goals. The director creates conditions under which peak performers can thrive. The director continuously evaluates whether the direction serves both the organization’s best interest and the best interest of all individuals involved.

All leadership behavior must create an environment in which people are encouraged to seek out innovative ways of doing things which will ultimately lead to more revenues or lower costs. Excellent leaders use their complimentary skills as a visionary, a coach, a mentor, and a director to accomplish just that. In the words of former President Dwight D. Eisenhower, “Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he(she) wants to do it.”

Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in business and management consulting, strategic planning, leadership development, executive coaching, and youth leadership. For more information visit http://www.resourceassociatescorp.com/ or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.

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Like it or not we all live and communicate within systems. A system being defined as a group of people with which we must interact on a regular basis. For most of us we all have to go to work, we all go home to our families, and many of us are involved in other systems such as Church, Teams, and School. That being said it is very important to learn to communicate effectively with the people within our systems. It is important to learn to appreciate and respect the different personality types, the different strengths that individuals offer within our system. Conversely it is important to recognize and respect the weaknesses of people within our system. We all have our behavioral strengths and weaknesses, respecting those differences creates healthy systems.

When the individuals of a system respect one another, work off each others’ strengths, then that system thrives. When individuals don’t understand or appreciate differences in others then the system becomes unhealthy and begins to fail. This is what makes effective communication and understanding the emotions of normal people important because all of us are different. Each of us interacts and perceives the world differently based on how we are mentally wired.

So, what are the major differences and how do we know the behavioral preferences of our peers, how do we know about their strengths, their weaknesses? Think of it like this, when a new business opens there was someone that drove the idea, someone with the determination that thought it could be done. Many business owners are dominant, direct, and decisive leaders. Without these behavioral characteristics we wouldn’t have new businesses popping up. In this scenario we will call the business owner a type “D”, and in general population only 10% of the world has this behavioral style.

After deciding the business could be built someone needed to help finish designing it. Someone needed to help create the infrastructure, the processes, how to track the company information. We needed someone that was calculating, creative, and careful, we needed a Controller. This person is generally more reserved and task oriented, they are very logical, they make great accountants and technicians within a company. In this scenario we will call the Controller a Type C, and in general population approximately 20-25% of the world has this valuable behavioral preference.

Once the Controller had designed the company with the supervision and input of the business owner. We needed someone to sell the idea, we needed someone to tell everyone in the world about it, we needed a sales person! This person is generally outgoing and people oriented, they are inspiring, influential, and interactive. We will call this person a Type “I” and they represent about 25-30% of the population.

After all had been organized the company needed customer service representatives. We needed people who were supportive, stable, and steady. This person is generally reserved and people oriented, they represent a majority of the population, approximately 30-35% of the world is a Type “S”. The “S” is the glue of an organization because they are so supportive, preferring team work and cooperation.

Together with these 4 behavioral preferences we have a fantastic team, we have someone that is in charge, someone who is good with all of the details and planning, someone to sell the product, and someone to work with current clients. If we lose one part of the team we stop functioning. Or if we don’t respect a certain type of behavior we end up with problems in our system.

One thing that is important to remember is how difficult it is to do someone else’s job. You can ask almost any sales person if they would like to do the accounting and they will almost always tell you, no way! Most accountants or system designers can tell you right away they don’t want to be a sales person, most don’t want to have to talk to people all day long or stand in front of a group and give a presentation. Respecting each other’s natural behavioral differences is critical when we are in a system. So if you are wondering why one of the systems you are in has too much tension and is uncomfortable, perhaps learning about the emotions of normal people, or studying DiSC, could help turn that system into a thriving respectful team again.

Sam Johnson teaches effective communication and leadership skills through personality theory. He is certified in DiSC Personality theory and Professionally trained in Myers Briggs. His acedemdic background is also rooted in communications skills and leadership.

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