From Poverty to Corporate Executive: If I Can Do It, so Can You!

By Jesse L. Calloway PhD

As the architect of a corporate leadership development program, he has paved the way for many aspiring and emerging leaders to accelerate their growth and development. He has incorporated that same strategic and visionary thinking into the design and delivery of all offered products and services including published books, seminars, confidential career advisement and speaking engagements. Rising from blue-collar worker to corporate executive, Dr. Calloway fully understands and openly shares what it takes to get to the next level.

Book Review:

How is leadership manifested? In this memoir and motivational book, Dr. Calloway outlines a program for aspiring leaders that answers this question. For those looking to improve and develop skills and step up the leadership ladder the strength of this book supports the notion that regardless of the circumstances of early life, in Dr. Calloways case poverty, anyone with the right drive and commitment can rise above difficulties and be all that they can be. I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone!

~ Pacific Book Review

From Poverty to Corporate Executive is an outstanding book that combines real life experience with classical, business, and technical theories. This book is synonymous with a great motivation story which inspires the reader it is clear that family, friends and the entire community are great sources of support in achieving ones purpose in life. [This book] was written for people in learning institutions and the working class. The book addresses why the mind behaves in a particular way during hard times and how one should utilize his or her brain to make a difference in future. The books main point is for one to take charge of life, finding people and opportunities that support their talents and dreams.

~Hollywood Book Reviews

The wise counsel offered by Jesse Calloway throughout [this book] should provide a solid platform for achieving success and becoming a leader. The first section of his book is autobiographical and candidly shares memories from his precarious childhood, including living in poverty with five siblings, the death of a parent, and a home life under the care of an aunt and uncle who had six children of their own. Rather than overwhelming or defeating Calloway, however, these challenges steeled him One of the most useful chapters, Lessons Learned and Lessons Shared, is a potpourri of topics, including mentors, bosses, peers, customers, collaboration, feedback, first impressions, second chances, and telling the truth [it] reads very much as if Calloway is providing one-on-one coaching to the reader.

~Foreword Clarion

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Apr 17, 2018
• ISBN: 9781984517883

Jesse L. Calloway PhD

Jesse Calloway, PhD, President of Leadership & Motivation Consultants LLC, and adjunct professor at Old Dominion University where he completed his PhD in Engineering Management is also a proven and experienced executive, a certifi ed executive coach and recipient of the prestigious TMCF Corporate Leadership Award. Completing his doctoral dissertation in the area of leadership, Dr. Calloway has been recognized for stellar academic achievements as reflected by his membership in the distinguished Engineering Management Honor Society.

Book preview

Copyright © 2018 by Jesse L. Calloway, Ph.D.

Library of Congress Control Number:      2018903847

ISBN:                  Hardcover                        978-1-9845-1786-9

                            Softcover                           978-1-9845-1787-6

                            eBook                                978-1-9845-1788-3

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

While this book is based on the real life experiences of the author, certain parallels will be made between author experiences and classical and contemporary management, business, and technical theory. As such, the publisher and author have earnestly worked to prepare and deliver this book. However, they offer no representations or warranties regarding the accuracy or completeness of its contents and specifically disclaim any and all implied warranties of merchantability or suitability for a specific situation or purpose. The advice, strategies, and concepts contained herein may not be suitable for every situation, and professional or expert consultation is always recommended. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any damages including but not limited to loss of profit, commercial damages, special, incidental, consequential, or other claimed damages. Any related character or event resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 06/18/2018

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CONTENTS

Preface

Acknowledgments

1.    Let’s Begin Here: The Early Years

1.1 Life-Changing Events: Hello, Maslow

1.2 What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up?

1.3 Blue-Collar Days

1.4 Opportunity Knocks

2.    Quality Is Key to Mobility

3.    Leverage the Power of Your Power

3.1 Power and Leadership

4.    Never Stop Building Your Capability

5.    Communicate Effectively and Efficiently

6.    Understand the Role of Organizational Politics

7.    Ethical Leadership Is Essential

7.1 The Face of Leadership

7.2 The Face of Ethics

7.3 Unethical Leadership

7.4 Behavioral Models

7.5 Leadership Styles

7.6 Traits and Behavior

7.7 Behavioral Associations

7.8 Impetus for Unethical Behavior

7.9 I Thought It Was Okay

7.10 Give Me Results

7.11 Possible Preventive Measures

7.12 It Begins with Leadership

7.13 What’s in It for Me?

7.14 Hello, It’s Your Conscience Speaking

7.15 There Is Hope

8.    Lessons Learned and Lessons Shared

8.1 Mentors and Advocates

8.2 Remain Relevant

8.3 Collaborate with Human Resources

8.4 About Bosses

8.5 About Feedback

8.6 About Peers

8.7 About Customers

8.8 About Email

8.9 About Dropping the Ball

8.10 About First Impressions

8.11 About Second Chances

8.12 The Truth about Telling the Truth

8.13 About Stick-to-itiveness, Commitment, and Reliability

8.14 About Assumptions

8.15 About Education

8.16 About Asking the Right Questions

8.17 About Decision-Making

8.18 About Balance

8.19 About Interviewing

8.20 First-Time Leaders—A Letter to My Daughter

9.    Bringing It All Together

References

PREFACE

A T AGE FIFTY-ONE, I retired from the corporate sector (where I served in multiple executive levels) to complete a PhD in engineering management, successfully defending my leadership-oriented dissertation and graduating in May 2015. I am currently president of my company, Leadership and Motivation Consultants, a certified executive coach, adjunct faculty member at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, and recipient of the prestigious TMCF Corporate Leadership Award. Through faith and prayer, I have indeed achieved critical aspects of the American dream (a beautiful family, vacation home, luxury cars, boat, Jet Ski, graduate education, etc.). I share this information not at all to boast but, instead, to point out that if I can do it, so can you!

As will become apparent, life for me—particularly my childhood—was far from gratifying. Daily meals, staying warm in the winter, and affording clean and suitable clothing to wear were among the many challenges that I faced in the early years. Oftentimes, I wondered if I had a purpose and, if so, what it was.

To the above end, responding to requests from family, friends, and colleagues, I have decided to publish this book in hopes that it may serve to inspire or motivate someone to look within and leverage the most intimate life learnings to exceed even the highest personal expectations of success. It may interest you to know that, although this book is written in first person, such is only the case as the story is told by me. You should keep in mind, however, that anything remotely resembling any sort of accomplishment was achieved only through the help of others (family, friends, supporters, and colleagues). I would also add that any of my siblings could write a book addressing many of the same childhood challenges presented herein.

It was no coincidence that I placed finishing touches on this book on Thanksgiving Day. Indeed, despite the tumultuous and often very challenging times that I experienced, there is still a great deal to be thankful for, including community, friends, and family.

As you read this book, your focus should not be on the less than happy times presented, although there are many. Instead, you should focus on how I learned from and leveraged those times and circumstances to fuel my academic, corporate, and spiritual growth. I also encourage you to consider how you might leverage similar situations as a true learning upon which you can build to propel yourself forward.

Enjoy your reading, and if there are aspects of this book (particularly the questions/cases posed in each of the chapters), that you do not understand and would like to discuss further, feel free to use the contact form located on my website at www.leadershiplmc.com or to look me up, and, perhaps, we can have a cup of coffee. Actually, I don’t drink coffee, but I think you get the idea.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I N HIS POEM Ulysses, Alfred, Lord Tennyson wrote, I am a part of all that I have met. Likewise, this book would not be possible were it not for the tremendous contributions of my family, friends, and colleagues. My mischievous brothers are to indeed be commended for their part in making this book possible. Likewise, the unbiased feedback offered by my wonderful daughter and the patience exhibited by my beautiful wife of more than thirty years deserve special recognition.

In loving memory of my family members who are reading this book from the heavens, I am donating 20 percent of all proceeds from sales of this book to charitable organizations, including dementia and cancer research centers.

CHAPTER 1

Let’s Begin Here: The Early Years

I N MANY RESPECTS, I had a normal childhood: two parents, five siblings, friends, a dog and a cat, a home, cars, and lots of imagination. I was the youngest child, and my favorite color was blue. My parents were as caring as any parents could be, despite having six rowdy children.

Like so many parents in the fifties and early sixties, they sought to achieve the American dream. It could be argued that, if only for a while, they actually succeeded in achieving that dream when they became owners of a three-bedroom ranch, two cars, and a neighborhood store. Our dad, a veteran of the US Army, often found pleasure in having us ask him how much he paid for our house. He would reply, Five thousand dollars. At the time, this represented a very significant financial commitment that required tremendous personal sacrifice. That was a key lesson that I learned very early in life from the two of them. Both parents worked full-time jobs at a munitions plant and several part-time jobs (mostly janitorial in nature) to keep us children warm and fed.

One other very important lesson learned from my parents was the importance of family time. Despite long working hours, they always found time to join us in watching our favorite Sunday afternoon television show: Lost in Space. There were other shows that they each favored, including Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In for my mom, which she referred to as the ha-ha program, and The High Chaparral, a western, for my dad. As would be expected, the boys tended to watch the western with our dad while both girls often watched the comedy with our mom. There was also some crossover where we all watched a little bit of both shows.

We also visited places as a family, such as our favorite amusement park, which was just over an hour from our home. En route to the park, we often stopped at a roadside picnic area to have a bite to eat. The picnic area was quite nice. It offered a rather large creek that provided a home for ducks and other wildlife as well as unsupervised swimming. There was also a rope affixed to a tree that my brothers used to swing on. It took them over the extended creek and back to the bank. I recall one particular occasion when the sister closest in age to me (trying to demonstrate her capacity to hang out with the boys) swung out on the rope. I must admit that she went about as far, if not farther, as any of the boys. The issue, however, was her return landing. For some reason, she got confused on when she should let go of the rope. Upon return, she held onto the rope, hit the bank, and then released the rope, causing her to roll down the bank and into the creek. It was really quite humorous, and it all happened so fast. She was soaking wet but not hurt—at least not hurt physically. Her pride was quite bruised. After dinner, we loaded the car, and my mom resourcefully tied my sister’s clothes to the radio antenna in an attempt to dry them out as we drove to the amusement park. What a spectacle that must have been to passing motorists! Of course, we all teased her en route but quickly forgot about it once we arrived.

Another lesson that I learned from my parents was the work required to sustain a happy marriage. In this regard, some of what I learned was what not to do. Of course, my parents did teach me about the importance of having God in my life. I remember walking to church with the brother closest in age to me on Sunday mornings—strutting a pressed white shirt and blue pants with shiny black shoes. At such a young age, I did not recall much from the sermon, but I did recognize this as a place of joy, comfort, and peace.

I also learned lessons from my parents on an individual basis. My mother demonstrated tremendous compassion by, in addition to caring for her biological children, welcoming a young girl to stay in our home for quite some time. While I’m not certain if my mom was doing so under the auspices of a foster parent, I remember the true love exhibited by her toward that little girl.

My father, in addition to holding full and part-time jobs, also exhibited a sense of ownership and personal accomplishment. Two examples come to mind. On one occasion, using a garden pick and shovel in the peak of summer, he dug a trench several inches deep, and it seemed to span forever from our house to the street to enable connection to city water. He also often boasted about his forty-eight-month perfect attendance record at the munitions plant.

As is perhaps typical of siblings, my two loving sisters helped me understand life’s critical lessons, including accountability and passion. I remember one particular time when my eldest sister escorted me to the doctor on Main Street (several miles from home) for a vaccination. This was, of course, in the early sixties. She, not being more than eleven or twelve at the time, walked me to the bus stop, paid the fare, and off we went downtown. Given the doctor’s office location, we had to exit the bus and walk for what seemed an eternity. Upon arrival, she held my hand as we walked to the counter, and I recall hearing her announce, This is my little brother, and he is here for his vaccination. How intimidating that must have been for her. Yet she spoke with such power, conviction, and confidence. In looking back on this event, I remember seeing many angry faces as we were told to wait in a small area somewhat out of sight from the main waiting area. Keep in mind this was the early sixties. We passed the time by playing patty-cake and laughing at her funny stories—many of them concerning the remaining siblings.

When my name was finally called, my sister told me to be a big boy, and after I got the shot she would take me to a department store and buy me a big bag of popcorn. The needle seemed to be several inches long and, needless to say, I did cry. But I otherwise acted like a big boy. I received my vaccination and, true to her word, got my big bag of popcorn prior to us catching the bus and returning home. This sister also taught me a little bit about order, particularly in relation to the actions of my older brothers, which I will detail in a moment.

My other sister, who was also the closest of all siblings to me in age, filled me with ambition and passion. I recall walking with her one day in a much smaller section of town located on the other end of Main Street. In this part of town were several apartment buildings and a few pharmacy stores. As a family, we had driven by the apartment buildings several times and often recognized how affluent they looked. (Although we lived in a house, the visible amenities offered by the apartments far exceeded those present in our house.) As we walked just in front of the apartments, my sister locked arms with me and said in her best British accent, Jesse, shall we go to our apartment? I responded in the same tone in the affirmative. We continued this line of discussion for several minutes. Then, almost prophetically, she said, Jesse, one day you are going to have a big house, and I will come over to say hi.

I never forgot the feeling from that day, and I never lost sight of the ostensible faith that she had in me. She did more than simply ignite the flame of passion. This sister also taught me much about love and caring. One of our favorite pastimes as the three youngest children—my sister and brother closest to my age and me—was to ride in the back of our station wagon and throw out little pieces of paper and watch them flutter in the air. (Just so you know, years later I realized this was actually littering, and in no way do I condone such action now. To this day, I comply with the letter and spirit of proper waste disposal and recycling recommendations and practices.) Whenever my brother or I threw out a single piece of paper, my sister immediately threw out another small piece and admonished us for only throwing out one piece. When we asked her why she was doing that, she responded, If you just throw out one piece of paper, it will be lonely because it won’t have another piece to be there with it. Yep, that was her perspective, and it was perhaps the beginning of what would be quite the gregarious and altruistic personality up to her last earthly days. So much love, compassion, and selflessness emanated from my sisters.

My three older brothers, on the other hand, teased me, challenged me, and attempted to make me tough. Although to this day I have trouble understanding the motives for some of their tactics, such as me being tied up, gagged, and buried under a mound of clothes in the closet. Another example was being forced to engage in a blowing contest whereby the brother closest to my age (my opponent in this case) and I were told to insert a clear tube filled with paint into our mouths and blow profusely until the paint transferred through the tube into the other’s mouth. Expanding a bit regarding the blowing contest, the good news here is that I developed a very workable strategy. My thinking was that if I began blowing as quickly as I could, using short breaths, doing so might catch my opponent off guard and give me the edge despite me having a great deal less lung capacity. Initially, this strategy worked, the paint was slowly moving away from my mouth. Unfortunately, I allowed the cheers I received from my two other brothers to distract me, and I began to celebrate with a big smile. Just as I did that, I remember such a caustic and chalky taste in my mouth. The hesitation resulting from my celebration allowed my opponent to push that paint into my mouth. Lesson learned, akin to the hare and the tortoise fable, don’t celebrate too soon.

I also question why my wonderful brothers felt the need to encourage me to run away from my mother as she prepared to give me a spanking instead of encouraging me to stand still and absorb my corporal punishment. (Keep in mind that, in contrast to the millennial generation, spanking was widely accepted in the baby boomer era.) Although my brothers were keenly aware of the consequential impact of my mom having to chase me to render punishment versus doing so from a more relaxed posture, I continued to follow their advice despite my mother’s urging me to stand still. So, I guess in the end, my brothers did have some role in making at least one part of me tough—my rear end.

Despite their not so nice actions, I did learn a great deal from each of my brothers about how to accomplish certain tasks and how to make things work. The brother closest in age to me taught me how to ride a bike without holding onto the handlebars. Accomplishing this required that I not give up and that I practice this feat many times prior to mastering it. In doing so he, unknowingly, taught me the importance of balance as well as stick-to-itiveness (take a moment to Google this if you are not clear on its meaning). He also taught me how to connect a battery to a lightbulb using hairpins of one our sisters and electrical wire—this was my first exposure to experimental electrical wiring and electrical circuits. Now that I think about it, he was also the brother who hit me in the head with a bat while swinging at a softball. To this day, I wonder if it was truly an accident as he claims it was. It’s not too often that the hind catcher takes a lick to the head as I did. Who knows, that may have knocked some sense into me, as the saying goes.

The next to the eldest taught me a great deal about constructing things, particularly as doing so involved wood or other construction type materials such as cardboard. One such construction lesson resulted from building miniature houses in our backyard using scrap cardboard and lumber retrieved from a factory in the neighborhood. There is an adage that says people living in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. My brother must not have been aware of this because I recall one time after spending a great deal of time to construct a cardboard house in the backyard, he subsequently decided to build a fire in it for warmth. Unfortunately, the flame grew much larger than he had anticipated and, in an instant, engulfed the entire house in flames. Fortunately, no one was hurt, and he learned a valuable lesson. He resigned from house building, at least for a while, and shifted his focus to tying a towel around his neck and climbing atop our parent’s vacated store only to jump off in an attempt at mimicking Superman. Nope, he did not defy the laws of gravity. But, the good news is he survived and immediately recovered from his fall into surrounding shrubs asking me to take my turn. I have to say that I neither gained interest in nor mustered the nerve to do more than act as a spectator for him. However, watching him did give me a sense of the importance of good risk management and life preservation. On the serious side, this incident also let me know that failure was not such a bad thing. After all, as you will see in chapter 8, you can stumble only if you’re moving. In other words, taking chances is not such a bad thing.

Moving to my eldest brother, later in life, he actually picked up where my