The journey that led her to become America’s first female four-star general was more about leadership than gender.
That was the message from retired Army Gen. Ann Dunwoody, who addressed more than 50 people on April 19 in the University Student Center ballroom.
Her appearance was part of USFSP Celebrates 50, in conjunction with USF’s Women in Leadership & Philanthropy and the Kate Tiedemann College of Business.
When she retired, Dunwoody said, she was asked when she would write her story. People wanted to hear how she scratched her way to the top, but she believed that the real story was the journey that formed her into a leader rather than her struggle up through the ranks.
“I don’t believe there’s any magic recipe for good leadership,” she said. “If there was, everyone would buy the recipe and we would all be great leaders and that would be it.
“Good leaders never stop learning… Good leaders are not invincible… In reality, we’re all just human beings.”
According to Military OneSource, in 2014 men comprised nearly 85 percent of active duty military, down 5 percent since the 1980s – the time frame Dunwoody started making notable achievements in her career.
It’s easy to assume that a woman who spent 37 years in a male-dominated environment would revel at leaving male egos in her wake while accomplishing amazing feats in the face of adversity, Dunwoody said.
Instead of lowering her standards, she said, she tried to remain true to herself, stayed on the moral high ground and turned challenges into opportunity.
The Army has a standard for everything, said Dunwoody. A standard for conduct, a standard for physical fitness, a standard on how to wear the uniform and even what to do with your hands. A good leader exceeds those standards and encourages others to do the same, she said.
In her speech, she highlighted a few leadership lessons:
- Never walk by mistakes, deal with them.
- Treat others with dignity and respect and value diversity of thought.
- Believe in yourself, never give up, never let others dissuade you from something you believe in or are passionate about.
Good leaders try to make a difference and live to a higher standard, she said. But achieving a higher standard requires more than doing the bare minimum to get by.
Yes, earning a C is still passing, Dunwoody said. But if you have a team of C students, then you have an average team, and in the military, the difference between A students and C students can be a matter of life and death.
Dunwoody achieved many notable firsts along with her fourth star. She became the first female battalion commander in the 82nd Airborne Division and Fort Bragg’s first female general officer.
Since her retirement from the Army in 2012, Dunwoody has written “A Higher Standard,” a book on leadership strategies, and traveled across the country as a public speaker, encouraging men and women to inspire others, dream big and find ways to make a difference.
