????琳達(dá)?辛格有兩個(gè)非凡的職業(yè),。她是咨詢業(yè)巨頭埃森哲（Accenture）的執(zhí)行董事,，同時(shí)還是美國(guó)軍方的一名準(zhǔn)將。她的履歷非常精彩：高中輟學(xué),，曾經(jīng)離家出走,，最終卻領(lǐng)悟到了領(lǐng)導(dǎo)力的真諦。在阿富汗服役兩年之后,，今年六月,，辛格從上校晉升為將軍，成為馬里蘭州國(guó)民警衛(wèi)隊(duì)（Maryland Army National Guard ）最高長(zhǎng)官,。49歲的辛格與我們分享了她的故事和有關(guān)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)力的經(jīng)驗(yàn)教訓(xùn),。

????去年我在阿富汗服役，有一天,，我負(fù)責(zé)將一批國(guó)防部平民護(hù)送到難民營(yíng),。我站在一個(gè)滿地垃圾的地方，向孩子們分發(fā)衣物,。當(dāng)時(shí)的情景就像是在一座動(dòng)物園里——孩子們爭(zhēng)搶著T恤和褲子,，根本不管衣服的尺寸。很顯然,，這些孩子肯定不會(huì)自己穿這些衣服,。他們會(huì)把這些衣服賣(mài)掉，或者用它們來(lái)交換食物,、燃料,，或是他們更需要的物品。

????這些孩子就靠這點(diǎn)簡(jiǎn)單的東西生存下去,，讓我想起我的祖母,。她會(huì)把老板的舊衣服拿回家給我穿。與難民營(yíng)里的孩子一樣,，我也曾經(jīng)無(wú)家可歸,。

????八歲之前，我一直與祖父母住在馬里蘭州，我從沒(méi)意識(shí)到我們很貧窮,。我們有的吃,，也有的穿，雖然都是別人用過(guò)的或者手工縫制的,。而且,，我的祖父母給了我很多的愛(ài)。九歲的時(shí)候,，我搬去和父母一起住,，從那之后，我的生活徹底亂了套,。我的童年經(jīng)常遭到虐待,。我甚至遭到過(guò)親戚的性騷擾。15歲那年,，再次遭到性騷擾之后,，我離家出走。實(shí)其實(shí)是我跟母親大吵了一架,，然后她讓我滾,。

????我在漢堡王（Burger King）工作過(guò)，后來(lái)在一個(gè)賣(mài)椒鹽卷餅的柜臺(tái)打工,。等我賺到足夠的錢(qián)后,，我從馬里蘭州弗雷德里克的一對(duì)老夫婦那里租了一個(gè)房間。每個(gè)月的租金是65美元,，但我很快就無(wú)力承擔(dān),。于是我搬了出去，有時(shí)會(huì)睡在朋友家的門(mén)廊,，或者在Francis Scott Key購(gòu)物中心卷餅攤后面的操作臺(tái)過(guò)夜,。我竟然一直堅(jiān)持了下來(lái),。

????同時(shí)我還得兼顧學(xué)業(yè),。我的學(xué)習(xí)成績(jī)很好，還加入了?；@球隊(duì)——司職大前鋒,，場(chǎng)均能得十幾分。但最后,，工作,、學(xué)業(yè)和無(wú)家可歸的壓力讓我不堪重負(fù)。我的成績(jī)開(kāi)始下滑,。我沒(méi)有足夠的錢(qián)參加SAT考試,。最終，我從高中輟學(xué)。

????后來(lái),，有一天下班后,，當(dāng)我在卷餅攤后臺(tái)休息的時(shí)候，我看到了美國(guó)國(guó)民警衛(wèi)隊(duì)在購(gòu)物中心里設(shè)置的征兵處,。我也不知道到底是什么讓我邁出改變命運(yùn)的那一步,。總之,，在1981年6月3日這一天,，我成了一名軍人。我不得不說(shuō)服我的父母在文件上簽字,，因?yàn)槲疫€不滿18歲,。這是他們?yōu)槲易鲞^(guò)的最好的一件事。我的命運(yùn)從此被徹底改變,。

????所以,，當(dāng)我站在阿富汗那個(gè)滿地污穢的地方，看著孩子們討要捐助品時(shí),，我意識(shí)到,，他們大多數(shù)人并沒(méi)有我當(dāng)年所享受到的微薄的支持。阿富汗的女孩不能借助參軍這條路來(lái)逃離糟糕的家庭生活,。當(dāng)時(shí),，我決定，我要說(shuō)出我生活的真相,，以及如何成為一名領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者,。如果我坦率地講出自己的經(jīng)歷，或許可以幫助人們克服困難,。那一天,，我看到的那些孩子和他們的父母，或許永遠(yuǎn)都沒(méi)有機(jī)會(huì)講出他們自己的故事,，但我可以,。如果我的故事能幫助一個(gè)人從無(wú)助走向成功，那么,，它也能解釋我到那個(gè)塵土遮天的地方到底是為了什么,。

????Linda Singh has an extraordinary dual career. She is a managing director at consulting giant Accenture (ACN) and a Brigadier General in the U.S. Army. She also has a remarkable history: She's a high-school dropout and onetime runaway who found a path to leadership. Promoted from Colonel to General in June and newly in charge of the Maryland Army National Guard after two years of service in Afghanistan, Singh, 49, shares her story and lessons in leadership here.

????One day last year during my service in Afghanistan, I accompanied a group of Department of Defense civilians to a refugee camp. I stood in the middle of a garbage-strewn lot, handing out clothes to children. It was a zoo—kids grabbing shirts and pants no matter the size. Clearly, the kids would never wear this clothing. They would sell or barter it for food or fuel or other things they needed more.

????These kids, wanting such simple things to survive, reminded me of my grandmother bringing home hand-me-downs from her employer. I wore those hand-me-downs. And like these kids in the refugee camp, I was once homeless too.

????Living with my grandparents in Maryland for the first eight years of my life, I never realized we were poor. We had food and clothes, even if they were used or handmade, and my grandma and grandpa gave me plenty of love. I moved in with my parents on my ninth birthday, and that's when things turned turbulent. Abuse occurred at multiple points during my childhood. I was sexually molested by a couple of my relatives. After one of those incidents, when I was 15, I ran away from home. Actually, my mom and I had a really big fight and I was told to leave.

????I got jobs at Burger King and later at a pretzel stand and made enough money to rent a room from an elderly couple in Frederick, Maryland. The room cost $65 a month, and soon enough I couldn't afford that. So I moved out. I slept on the porches of friends' homes or in the back office of the pretzel stand in the Francis Scott Key mall. I made it work.

????And I kept it together at school. I got good grades and played Varsity basketball—power forward, scoring a dozen or so points per game. But eventually, the stress of working, going to school and having no home did me in. My grades declined. I didn't have enough money to take the SAT test. So I dropped out of high school.

????Then one day, on my break from work at the pretzel stand, I spotted a U.S. Army National Guard recruiting booth in the mall. What possessed me to walk over and redirect my life, I'm not sure. But on June 3, 1981, at 17, I joined the Army. I had to persuade my parents to sign the papers because I wasn't yet 18. It was the best thing they ever did for me. It turned my life around.

????So, as I stood on that filthy lot in Afghanistan and watched the kids scrounge for handouts, I realized that most of them don't have even the tenuous support I had when I was their age. Girls in Afghanistan can't escape bad home lives by joining the military. At that moment, I decided I needed to speak the truth about my life and what it takes to be a leader. If I can be transparent, maybe I can help people overcome their difficulties. The children and parents I saw that day will likely never tell their story publicly, but I can tell mine. If that helps one person go from hopelessness to success, then telling my story will explain why I ended up at that dusty lot..