Major General Dan Caine on Becoming a Great Leader

Oct 9, 2021

Major General Dan Caine, Director of Special Programs at the Department of Defense, brings his vast experience as a Command Pilot to the conversation. He emphasizes the critical role of defining success in leadership, warning against imposing personal standards on others. Caine discusses the impact of crisis management, sharing insights from his time during the September 11 attacks, and the value of emotional intelligence in motivating teams. He champions continuous learning as vital for effective leadership and encourages leaders to foster open communication and accountability.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Books

Transcript

Episode notes

ANECDOTE

9/11 Experience

Major General Dan Caine recounts his experience on 9/11, being one of the first pilots airborne after the attacks.
He describes the initial confusion, the direct call from the White House, and the clear, trusting guidance from his commander.

INSIGHT

Proactive Leadership

Open communication and flexibility are essential, even in hierarchical organizations.
Leaders must be proactive, not reactive, and seek ways to contribute during crises.

ANECDOTE

Flight 93

The passengers of Flight 93, though not official leaders, acted courageously.
They chose to fight back against terrorists, preventing a potentially worse tragedy.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

On today’s podcast, Ryan talks to Major General Dan Caine about the importance of defining success before you set out to try to solve a problem, the responsibility of leaders to be as prepared as possible, the ineffectiveness of holding others to the standards you hold yourself to, becoming a lifelong student of leadership, and more.

Maj. Gen. J. Daniel Caine is the Director of Special Programs and the Department of Defense Special Access Program Central Office (DoD SAPCO), the Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia. He has commanded a joint special operations air directorate, a joint task force and a group. Maj. Gen. Caine is a Command Pilot with more than 2,800 hours in the F-16 and has served as a Joint Terminal Attack Controller in a special mission unit assigned to the U.S. Special Operations Command.

Talkspace is an online and mobile therapy company. Talkspace lets you send and receive unlimited messages with your dedicated therapist in the Talkspace platform 24/7. To match with a licensed therapist today, go to Talkspace.com or download the app. Make sure to use the code STOIC to get $100 off of your first month and show your support for the show.

Cometeer partners with the best locally owned roasters in the world and through their breakthrough brewing technology, provides a delicious, high-quality, balanced cup of coffee for a fraction of the price. For a limited time, you can save 20 Dollars off your first order - that’s 10 free cups on your first order, and shipping is always free - but only when you visit cometeer.com/STOIC

LinkedIn Jobs is the best platform for finding the right candidate to join your business this fall. It’s the largest marketplace for job seekers in the world, and it has great search features so that you can find candidates with any hard or soft skills that you need. And now, you can post a job for free. Just visit linkedin.com/STOIC to post a job for free.

SimpliSafe just launched their new Wireless Outdoor Security Camera. Get the new SimpliSafe Wireless Outdoor Security Camera, visit https://simplisafe.com/stoic. What’s more, SimpliSafe is celebrating this new camera by offering 20% off your entire new system and your first month of monitoring service FREE, when you enroll in Interactive Monitoring. Just go to https://simplisafe.com/stoic to claim this deal.

Follow Dan Caine: Twitter, Homepage

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.