5. My job is to serve as a human shield, to protect my people from external intrusions, distractions, and idiocy of every stripe — and to avoid imposing my own idiocy on them as well.
What a relevant rule for military organizations. How many times has your unit or your team been assigned some inconsequential task that prevents you from accomplishing your priority tasks? The challenge of balancing external influences and mission-focused activity is nothing new and some would say impossible to perfect.
Nonetheless, good leaders believe they are a shield for their organization. They look for ways to safeguard their team from distraction and filter the mission-essential tasks from the administrivia. This frees the organization to focus and excel.
http://blogs.hbr.org/2010/05/12-things-that-good-bosses-bel/