27 May UNBROKEN “TEAMWORK, TONE, TENACITY” (T3) LEADERSHIP: LOU ZAMPERINI

On this date in 1943, Lou Zamperini, U.S. Army Air Corps Captain and former US Olympic distance runner, survived his B-24’s crash into the Pacific during WWII. He then spent 2+ brutal yrs in Japanese POW camps.  His inspirational spirit to overcome extreme adversity was featured in the amazing book and movie: “UNBROKEN.”  Lou’s leadership style included:

• TEAMWORK:  Patriotic. Joined the Army Air Force prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor in order to serve his country.   Servant leader. Cared for others before self.   Survived 47 days at sea after his crash with practically no food or water.  Credited with keeping his surviving crew alive as long as possible in shark infested waters. 

• TONE:  “The one who forgives never brings up the past to that person’s face. When you forgive, it’s like it never happened. True forgiveness is complete and total.”  After WWII, Lous was angry, bitter and suffered from Post Traumatic Stress (PTS) abusing alcohol and enduring fits of rage.  He experienced flashbacks and nightmares and was obsessed with vengeance. He even tried to save up money to fly to Japan to strangle the prison guard who had tortured him.  After finding solace in Christianity at a Billy Graham sermon, he returned to Japan as a missionary in 1950 and forgave his former captors.  Zamperini later travelled across the U.S. as an inspirational speaker and established the Victory Boys Camp, a wilderness camp for troubled youth.

• TENACITY:  After years of malnourishment and torture, Zamperini could not be a runner anymore following WWII. Fifty years after breaking the National High School mile record, Zamperini made a triumphant return to the Los Angeles Coliseum to carry the Olympic torch in 1984. In 1988, he ran a leg of the Olympic torch relay at the Nagano winter games on a portion of the route not far from the POW camp where he was held.  “All I want to tell young people is that you’re not going to be anything in life unless you learn to commit to a goal. You have to reach deep within yourself to see if you are willing to make the sacrifices.”   

In 2008 Zamperini was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.  In 2015 he was named “The Class Exemplar” for the U.S. Air Force Academy Class of 2015.   Whenever I share a keynote address that includes focus on “The Three T’s” of leadership, I am sure to highlight the virtues and actions of this amazing American. We need more like him.

– Rear Admiral Paul Becker, USN (Ret) is a leadership professional.  He is a leadership professor at the U.S. Naval Academy and the CEO of The Becker T3 Group, a platform for his motivational and national security keynote speaking. A former Naval Intelligence Officer, he’s successfully led large, diverse, high-performing teams afloat and ashore in peace, crisis and combat.  In 2016, The Naval Intelligence Community established “The Rear Admiral Becker ‘Teamwork, Tone, Tenacity Award for Leadership” in his honor.