Dartanian Warr

Throughout his 27 years of service to his country, Dartanian Warr, a retired Air Force Colonel and current candidate for the position of City Councilman in Shaker Heights, Ohio, has served in a number of leadership and mentor roles, guiding young subordinates to reach their full potential both within the military and in their private lives. His road to developing leadership skills began when he entered a vocational program when he was 14 years old. At his guidance counselor’s urging, the young Dartanian Warr applied for and received a full scholarship to Culver Military Institute, where he learned how to cope with stress and serve as an effective leader, through study and the examples set by his instructors.

The philosophy Colonel Warr teaches centers around selfless behavior and recognition of everyone’s worth. He explains that there will be times when one must give up something that is to one’s own personal benefit, such as a promotion or other opportunity, in favor of something that will benefit the group or organization as a whole. By doing so, Dartanian Warr believes a leader demonstrates that power and esteem are not central to a position of responsibility; passion for and a desire to see the group succeed are most important.

Dartanian Warr strives to instill his belief in the importance of each position at every level of an organization in the strong leaders he mentors. From a janitor to the Chief Executive Officer, each associate has a set of tasks to accomplish, the absence of any one of which can set off a chain reaction leading to failure of daily operations. Colonel Warr sums up this part of his belief system as “leading to serve” by focusing on and meeting the needs of all people, no matter their job title.