Category Archives: Leadership

Podcast Interview with The Military Leader

Hi Everyone,

I’d like to highlight that my first-ever podcast interview is now available on the Elite Achievement podcast! Thanks a ton to Mike and Tristan for giving me an opportunity to talk about all things leadership. Great work and I look forward to collaborating and making a difference on future projects!

Check out the Elite Achievement website at www.eliteachievement.us.
Follow them on Twitter (@achieveelite) and on Facebook.
Finally, follow the podcast on iTunes.

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Success Depends on a Proactive Mindset

by Alan Hastings

Recently, a West Point Cadet asked me what I, as a Troop Commander, expected from a Platoon Leader. I provided four traits that I believe define successful lieutenants: unquestionable integrity, an aggressively proactive attitude, a willingness to engage in open and candid communication, and a commitment to self-study.

I want to highlight the second trait, maintaining a proactive mindset, which in my mind separates mediocre and outstanding junior leaders. Being proactive, especially in the face of potential obstacles and failure, is a key determinant of one’s level of success.

Lieutenants share four common situations that can lead to failure:

  1. You don’t know how to accomplish a given task.
  2. You know how to accomplish a given task, but (you think that) you can’t.
  3. You know how to accomplish a given task, but choose not to.
  4. You know how to accomplish a given task, but make mistakes or errors that cause you to fail.

For each cause of failure, there is a proactive response that leads to success. Let’s explore each of the reasons for failure and corresponding reactive and proactive responses.

success

U.S. Army Capt. Chad Pilker (right) and a lieutenant from Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 2nd Cavalry Regiment discuss strategy during a decisive action training environment exercise, Saber Junction 2012, at the Grafenwoehr Training Area in Grafenwoehr, Germany, Oct. 15, 2012.  U.S. Army photo by Specialist W. Ryan Livingston/Released.
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On Good Ideas and Hard Work

Peter Drucker's Insight for Military Organizations

Have you ever looked at your team or organization and thought, “Wow, the people are working hard and we’re doing so many good things…but why doesn’t it feel like we’re a well-oiled machine by now?” I certainly have. And you’ve probably also been the one in the middle of the organization looking around you saying, “Despite all this good effort, why does it feel like we’re spinning our wheels?”

Organizations that suffer from this problem often exhibit a common behavioral mistake: they take on too many good ideas and don’t properly implement the ideas they do commit to. Reading Peter F. Drucker, the grandfather of modern business leadership and author of more than 35 books, I found some insight worth sharing.

ideas

Soldiers of the 184th Security Force Assistance Team (California National Guard) conduct basic range training
in Tarin Kot, Afghanistan, Sept. 27, 2013. U.S. Army photo by Cpl. Alex Flynn.
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It’s Time to Rethink 360 Degree Reviews

by Nathan Wike

The Military Times recently published an article discussing the usefulness of the 360 degree reviews in assessing leaders. This study (which was not included in the article) concluded that 360 degree reviews “probably should not be used as a part of the formal military evaluation and promotion process.” It cited “a long list of legal, cultural and practical concerns…(and that) Stakeholders were overwhelmingly against using the tool for evaluation.”

Given the integration and widespread use of performance feedback tools, this topic is clearly relevant. This year the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum asked its followers and readers to offer their opinion.

Here is my take.

360

Nathan Wike is an officer in the U.S. Army, and an associate member of the Military Writer’s Guild. The opinions expressed are his alone, and do not reflect those of the U.S. Army, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government.

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Insight from TED You Can Use Right Now

This TED video featuring collaborative engineering expert Tom Wujec is 9 minutes long…and yet you’ll be hard-pressed to find another way to find so much insight packed into 9 minutes. The task Wujec presents his clients is simple:  “Draw how to make toast.” What seems like an elementary exercise explodes into a multi-faceted lesson on collaboration, organizational creativity, decision-making, motivation, and leadership.

In case you don’t get to sit down with this video and take notes, here are some clear connections to military leadership that I observed through his talk. As I watched, I saw application to a wide range of situations:

  • A commander and Command Sergeant Major bringing the new team together to cast the vision statement for their time in command
  • Any staff member staring at a blank Excel spreadsheet or map of the training area, tasked with planning the unit’s next phase of training
  • A supply sergeant frustrated with how to reorganize the broken shop she just inherited
  • Unit leaders piecing together the events that tragically led to a Soldier’s death
  • Any one of us handling a piece of military equipment and wishing there was some better way to do X
  • Unit leaders searching for how to implement Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault Program guidance
  • Strategists writing future policy and operating guidance
  • An icebreaker exercise for unit team building and leader development events
  • Visualizing alternate courses of action for a tactical problem
  • A lesson on simple versus complex systems and plans
  • Advice on how to communicate complex ideas to your team
  • Insight into how the team members perceive situations, analyze problems, and express their thoughts
  • An after action review process for reverse-engineering events like training exercises, unit functions, and campaign plans
  • A way to explain the abstract Design Process and simplify the convoluted Military Decision Making Process
  • A method for walking out of meetings feeling like you actually accomplished something.

Ready to watch?

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8 Supervisor Tips For Getting More Done

by "Be Mission Capable"

When I took over my duty position, my supervisor told me that in order to succeed, I needed to get more involved in orders and taskings than the officer I replaced. I did the opposite and got better results. Here’s how.

Supervisor

Gen. Raymond Odierno presents a coin to a Soldier wearing a Level A, hazardous materials, suit Jan. 13. Soldiers from the Incident Response Training Department provided Odierno with a demonstration of the different equipment, training and techniques used in case of a chemical incident. Link to photo.
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Lessons from Uncle John

This post is a tribute. It’s a piece about John Derr, my great uncle. His life deserves a sizable biography, but what connects him to a blog about military leadership are the lessons that emanate from the almost unbelievable path his life took over the course of 97 years.

Uncle John has a boisterous personality, tempered by a conversational demeanor that is personable and warm, which makes his career as a radio broadcaster seem predetermined. Reading any of his three books ignites the feeling that you’ve somehow cornered the most gifted storyteller at a dinner party. And he has plenty to tell!

John Derr

My great uncle John Derr at his home in Pinehurst, N.C. Link to article by Jeff Neuman & photo by Bruce DeBoer.
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Adding Too Much Value (Habit Series #2)

Have you ever stood in formation and listened to a commander or senior NCO spout off a tangent of meaningless topics? There’s no coherent string of thoughts, just awkward pauses followed by ramble. The person adds comment after comment as if there’s a minimum time of talking required to be a good leader.

Or how about this one…every time you’re at a unit meeting and someone offers a good idea, the commander can’t resist the urge pile on with his own advice, diminishing the contributor. Or worse, the leader publicly states that the idea won’t work.

Those are frustrating situations because either it feels like the content we are receiving isn’t worth the time it takes to hear it, or because the leader creates an environment where his opinion is the only one that really matters. In any case, it’s exasperating.

Marshall Goldsmith says that these environments occur when leaders fall victim to Habit #2 of “Twenty Habits that Hold You Back from the Top”…Adding Too Much Value.

Value

Gen. George W. Casey, speaks with Master Resilience Training School students during a visit to Fort Jackson, S.C.
U.S. Army photo by Susanne Kappler.