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The Military Leader

Every hour be firmly resolved… to accomplish the work at hand with fitting and unaffected dignity, goodwill, freedom, justice. Banish from your thoughts all other considerations. This is possible if you perform each act as if it were your last, rejecting every frivolous distraction, every denial of the rule of reason, every pretentious gesture, vain show, and whining complaint against the decrees of fate. Do you see what little is required of a man to live a well-tempered and god-fearing life? Obey these precepts, and the gods will ask nothing more (II.5).

Your days are numbered. Use them to throw open the windows of your soul to the sun. If you do not, the sun will soon set, and you with it. (II.4)

Marcus Aurelius
The Emperor's Handbook (New York: Scribner, 2002), 28
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Article: “A Military Leader’s Approach to Dealing with Complexity”

Here is a short Harvard Business Review article from Air Force Brigadier General John Michel (@JohnEMichel and GeneralLeadership). Brig. Gen. Michel was most recently the commander of NATO Air Training Command Afghanistan and shares several grassroots leadership lessons in this article, entitled “A Military Leader’s Approach to Dealing with Complexity.”

complexity

U.S. Army Sgt. Robert Newman, Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, U.S. Army Europe, watches the sunrise after a dismounted patrol mission near Forward Operating Base Baylough, Zabul, Afghanistan, March 19, 2009. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Adam Mancini/Released)
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What Mastery Means for Military Leaders [TED Video]

Art historian and critic Sarah Lewis delivers a thought-provoking TED talk on “The Near Win,” a concept that espouses the immeasurable gain resulting from just-missing one’s ultimate goal. She highlights examples of artists, musicians, and Olympians in explaining that developing Mastery in a craft is all about “staying at our own leading edge.”

There is parallel connection to the military in that we, like an Olympian archer, must hone our craft through repetition after repetition. Sarah Lewis comments that:

Success is hitting the 10 Ring, but Mastery is knowing that it means nothing if you can’t do it again, and again, and again.

But success in battle requires not only individual Soldier Mastery, but also organizational Mastery. Do we work military organizations with enough repetitions to reach Mastery?

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The Military Leader at 100

I’m happy to share that today marks the 100th post from The Military Leader since its inception in March of this year! What started as a personal venue to capture thoughts and resources on leader development has evolved into an actively connected community of nearly 2000 leaders!

U.S. Army Rangers assigned to 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, fire at an enemy bunker during Task Force Training on Camp Roberts, Calif., Feb. 1, 2014. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Steven Hitchcock. Link to photo.

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How to Build a Team of “Yes Men”

Listening to Michael Hyatt’s superb podcast on creating team unity, my first reaction was, “We’re good! The military has got this team alignment thing figured out. We’re focused on the mission, we have a clear command structure, and we follow orders.” But as Michael explained the steps to creating team alignment, he said that to get the most powerful results, leaders must:

Create an environment that is safe for dissent.

Ouch! Ok, that’s not the first phrase most military members would use to describe their work environment. In fact, I think it’s rare that I’ve seen a military leader who embraces dissent in the name of creating unity. I know I’ve never prioritized it.

The result?…we get a team full of Yes Men who not only fail to speak up when they disagree with mundane issues, but are also trained to remain quiet in the face of critical decisions. If you want a team of folks like that, then make sure you do these things.

U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Caroline Chavez, a senior drill instructor assigned to Platoon 4023, November Company, 4th Recruit Training Battalion, commands her platoon during their final drill evaluation, June 25, 2014, at Parris Island, S.C.
(DoD photo by Cpl. Octavia Davis, U.S. Marine Corps/Released)

If you as a leader allow people to halfway do their jobs and don’t demand excellence as a prerequisite to keeping their job, you will create a culture of mediocrity. If you allow people to misbehave, underachieve, have a bad attitude, gossip, and generally avoid excellence, please don’t expect to attract and keep good talent. Please don’t expect to have an incredible culture.

Dave Ramsey
EntreLeadership (New York: Howard Books, 2011), 159
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The Post-Active Duty Leadership Environment – Part 2 (Leadership)

This is the second of three posts by an Air Force Major discussing the organizational changes he experienced after leaving active-duty to fly for the Air National Guard and a civilian airline. Read the first post here.

In part one of this series, I described my transition from active duty flying in the US Air Force to my current job as a civilian airline and Air National Guard pilot. I addressed how I found my concepts of service and excellence to be more aligned with my post-separation life than my active duty experience.

I also asserted that many leaders I encountered focused more on serving their careers than serving their subordinates and that this mentality has become a cultural issue within the Air Force’s Air Mobility and Training Commands, if not the Air Force itself.

Today’s post compares the active duty and civilian/National Guard leadership environments that I experienced.

Here’s a section from a very insightful book, which relates directly to the risk military leaders carry in being too busy to share information across echelons or worse, up and down the chain of command:

“…that’s a big reason why so many of us withhold information. It’s not that we want to keep people in the dark. It’s simply that we’re too busy. We mean well. We have good intentions. But we fail to get around to it. As a result we become bad at sharing information – whether it comes in the form of a news bulletin, or a heads-up, or instruction that teaches people how to do something that we don’t have the time to do ourselves. Over time it begins to look as if we are withholding information.

Being bad at sharing information doesn’t mean we are willfully withholding it. The two are not exactly the same. But the net result is the same in the eyes of the people around us.

How do you stop withholding information?

Simple answer: Start sharing it.”

Marshall Goldsmith
What Got You Here Won't Get You There (New York: MJF Books, 2007), 71