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This episode is brought to you by HigherEchelon, Inc. HigherEchelon is a leadership development & organizational performance consulting firm providing human capital and technology services to optimize performance. HigherEchelon can help prepare your organization to meet the rapidly changing, complex and often ambiguous requirements of today’s world by developing Resilient and Adaptive leaders, modernizing and enhancing processes, and implementing transformational technology solutions. Visit HigherEchelon.com to connect with the amazing team at Higher Echelon and learn more about how they can help you and your team. Check out this great interview of HigherEchelon’s President, Dr. Joe Ross, on the Beyond the Uniform podcast.

It is an honor and pleasure to welcome back Lieutenant General (Ret.) Robert Caslen, who recently served as the 29th President of the University of South Carolina. On this episode, General Caslen discusses his time at the University of South Carolina and recent controversy surrounding a speech he made at their graduation ceremony.

General Caslen served 43 years in the United States Army. His military career culminated in 2018 as the 59th Superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Under his direction as Superintendent, West Point was recognized as the number one public college in the Nation by Forbes Magazine and the number one public college by U.S. News and World Report. Through the establishment of Centers of Excellence at West Point, General Caslen connected the operational Army with West Point research and intellectual capital. He refined West Point’s leadership program by making professional ethics a priority and essential part of leadership and character development. He worked tirelessly to expand the diversity of cadets and faculty alike, and he dramatically expanded West Point’s minority and women populations to reflect the demographics of the Army that West Point’s graduates help lead.

Working with the Director of Athletics, he revamped the athletic program, made it self-sustaining, and fielded 25 competitive intercollegiate teams. He created partnerships with the NCAA and Department of Defense to conduct research into preventing and treating concussions and traumatic brain injury that have led to significant improvements in prevention and care. He stood up the Army Cyber Institute to build expertise and Army leaders prepared for the new cyber fight. And, fulfilling a pledge he made soon after becoming Superintendent, he led a sweeping reversal of Army’s football program and developed a culture of excellence through winning with character, culminating in Army defeating Navy in 2016 for the first time in 14 years, and beating both Air Force and Navy in 2017 to win the Commander-in-Chief’s trophy for the first time in 21 years.

Before becoming the West Point Superintendent, General Caslen served as the Chief of the Office of Security Cooperation in Iraq, where he served as the senior military commander in Iraq after the drawdown of U.S. and allied forces in 2011. Caslen held several other notable positions including commanding general of Multi National Division-North during Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Chief of Staff of both the 101st Airborne Division (AASLT) and the 10th Mountain Division, where he also served as the Division’s Chief of Staff during Operation Enduring Freedom. He also has served in combat and overseas deployments in Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm, Joint Task Force Bravo in Honduras, and Operation Uphold Democracy and the United Nations Mission in Haiti.

He is a graduate of West Point and he holds an MBA from Long Island University and a Master of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from Kansas State University. He was also recognized with an honorary Doctorate from Long Island University. He is a member of the Kansas State Engineering College Hall of Fame, received a Life Time of Service Award from the American Red Cross, was recognized with the Honorary Rock of the Year Award for his efforts in diversity as the Superintendent of West Point.

He also received the 2018 Gerald R. Ford Legends Award for lifetime service, and was the 2019 recipient of the NCAA Theodore Roosevelt Award, joining the ranks of Tony Dungy, John Wooden, and Presidents Eisenhower, Reagan, Ford, and George H.W. Bush. Caslen also serves as the Special Advisor on Executive Leadership and Character Development at Higher Echelon. He is a nationally recognized authority on leader development and author of The Character Edge: Leading and Winning with Integrity.

The Character Edge: Leading and Winning with Integrity

By Caslen, Robert L., Jr.

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Doug Crandall is a graduate of West Point and the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Doug Crandall is a graduate of West Point and the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He has led multiple units in the Army, and spent time in operations at Amazon. For five years, Doug taught leadership, advanced leadership, and leading organizations through change at West Point, where he won the Excellence in Teaching Award and exceeded the academy average in every area of teaching feedback during each semester that he taught. In this interview, you’ll see why Doug was such an effective teacher at West Point. He’s very approachable and an incredibly gifted story teller. His stories and personal examples have a way of sticking with you.

He’s the co-author of four books: Permission to Speak Freely, Say Anything, Leadership Lessons from West Point, and Hope Unseen, which is the inspiring story of Scotty Smiley, the US Army’s first blind active-duty officer. Three of Doug’s books were Amazon Top New Releases, and his books have sold more than 60,000 copies worldwide and continue to gain momentum in Europe and Asia. Doug has also published articles in the International Journal of Servant-Leadership and written case studies for both Stanford and Harvard business schools.

Hope Unseen: The Story of the U.S. Army's First Blind Active-Duty Officer

By Smiley, Cap. Scotty

He was a Founding Partner of the “Blue Rudder” Leadership Development Company, where he delivered high impact leadership development programs throughout the US, Europe, and Asia. He currently works at The Referent Group, a company in the healthcare leadership coaching industry, with another one of my good friends and mentors, Dr. Tom Hustead. Doug lives in Washington State and is passionate about his family and his faith. You’ll hear him talk about many of the leadership and life lessons he pulls from everyday life like coaching girls basketball.

A special thank you to my friend Lance Dietz for helping me craft some questions for Doug.

I really think you’re going to enjoy learning from Doug. Despite all Doug has accomplished, I’m impressed by his humility and authenticity. He’s also an incredible story teller. We discuss integrity, the struggle between being competent as a leader and authentic, his biggest lessons after years of teaching and coaching leadership, how to create a culture where people can speak freely, and many other powerful topics.

Below are books we discuss during the interview (note: these are Amazon affiliate links so I receive a small percentage for each purchase made through these links):