Category Archives: Leadership

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The Good (and Bad?) of Mentorship

Mentorship in the military is one of those concepts that everyone agrees with but almost no one does. Plenty of up and coming leaders get advice from commanders, senior leaders, and enlisted advisors, but seldom does the intensity of influence extend beyond the time served together or delve into areas of personal development.

Mentorship

U.S. Army Pvt. 1st Class Jo Marie Rivera, left, and U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Rebecca Hamby provide security in the Tarnek Wa Jaldek district in Afghanistan’s Zabul province, Sept. 18, 2013. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Kandi Huggins
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5 Questions To Help You Get Ahead of a Crisis

I admit it. The fault was entirely my own. I had let myself get comfortable and now I was short on time, resources, energy, and just about everything else needed to make a successful operation. I was headed straight for a crisis and I could have prevented it.

Disaster

The 101st Airborne Division repositions in Bastogne during The Battle of the Bulge, December 1944.
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Addicted to Winning (Habit Series #1, pt 2)

As a follow-up to Part 1 in the Habit Series from Marshall Goldsmith’s “Twenty Habits that Hold You Back from the Top,” let’s take a look at why military leaders are routinely addicted to winning, which turns out to be both helpful and potentially destructive.

Winning

A U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft assigned to the 18th Aggressor Squadron takes off for a sortie at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, Oct. 15, 2014, during Red Flag-Alaska 15-1. (Link to DoD photo by Senior Airman Peter Reft, U.S. Air Force/Released)
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The “Phil-Osophy” of Life

by Phil Walter

On December 17, 2014 I read a post by The Military Leader that outlined General Colin Powell’s Rules. I am no General Colin Powell. However, I do have my own list. I developed this list of principles based upon experiences as an Infantryman, Infantry Officer, and more specifically during deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan as an Intelligence Officer.

Once complete, I hung this list in my office and jokingly titled it “The Phil-Osophy.” Visitors would read the list, like what they saw, and ask for a copy. Though they may seem overly aggressive, or excessively pragmatic, they work for me and I do my best to hold myself to them during times of weakness.

Phil-osophy

U.S. Marines from the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit Battalion Landing Team transmit messages during an embassy reinforcement exercise at the Arta Range training area near Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, Oct. 26, 2013. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Erik Cardenas.
Link to photo.
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Being “Somebody” Isn’t Good Enough

“I always wanted to be somebody,
but I should have been more specific.” –Lily Tomlin

Today, we can draw some insightful leadership lessons from an unlikely source in Lily Tomlin. Her pithy quote certainly resonates to each of our personal ambitions, as it is dangerously easy to get sucked into the milestones of life without clearly defining where those milestones will lead…or the type of person we will become along the path.

Similarly, new Privates and Lieutenants step into active duty as proverbial blank slates, ready to combine real-world experience with the second-hand, academic, and imagined impressions they have of military service. Most have goals in mind, some vision of what “success” looks like for their time in service. Some want to be generals…some prioritize getting a college education…others are just happy to have survived Basic Training.

But how many service members, these future leaders, take their vision beyond a rank or position and specify the type of leader they want to be? Then, how many people outline how to develop those skills throughout their career to reach that endstate?

Somebody

U.S. Army Specialist Anthony Esparza provides security on the perimeter of the Khyber Border Coordination Center at the Afghanistan-Pakistan border in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, Jan. 4, 2015. Esparza is assigned to the 3d Cavalry Regiment, Train, Advise, Assist Command – East. U.S. Army photo by Capt. Jarrod Morris. Link to photo.
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The Top 15 Posts from 2014

I’m proud to report that 2014 was the most successful year ever for The Military Leader!!! …Ok, fine. If you want to split hairs, yes…2014 was also the first year for The Military Leader website and social media platform. Still, it’s been an amazing journey since the first post on March 24, 2014, which basically said, “Welcome to The Military Leader. Be sure to ‘Like’ me on Facebook!”

Since then, you (a community of engaged leaders) have grown from zero to almost 3,000 and have accessed the site’s content over 90,000 times! Truly remarkable! And here are the 15 posts that gained the most traffic this year, with a few insights following the list.

Start Here

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Addicted to Winning (Habit Series #1, pt 1)

Have you ever browsed the bargain section of Barnes & Noble and been automatically skeptical about the quality of the books? “This looks interesting…but why is it so cheap?” Because the only thing worse than being slightly dissatisfied with a full-priced book, is being fully dissatisfied with a discounted one you got tricked into buying. Right? So, I spend some time investigating a bargain book before I buy it.

That’s what happened with What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, by leadership coach and best-selling author Marshall Goldsmith. This book that I was skeptical about turned out to be a wealth of applicable insights on leader behavior, team building, and interpersonal influence.

One section of the book should be mandatory reading for every leader, especially we military leaders who have command authority to “fall back on” when personal leadership talent falters. It’s called “The Twenty Habits That Hold You Back from the Top.” Reading this section is like getting the results of a 360° peer feedback process without having to take the survey…eye-opening and humbling.

What I will do for this new series of blog posts is highlight a habit or two and apply them to the unique leadership environment we face in the military, giving examples and recommendations along the way. I encourage your participation in the Comments section, as I am certain that other leaders have experienced these habits and have useful insight to share.

That said, the first workplace habit that is holding back military leaders is…winning too much.

Winning

Sapper competitors complete the rope climbing portion of the obstacle course before sprinting to the finish line. The Best Sapper Competition gives engineers throughout the Army the opportunity to compete in a grueling six phase and three-day competition to determine who are the best engineers in the Army. DoD photo by Benjamin Faske. Link to photo.
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The Science of “Mission First, People Always”

Is there a more nebulous, often clichéd phrase in our military than “Mission First, People Always?” I’ve long-struggled with how to first logically explain the idea, but then turn the concept into a tangible leadership strategy.

And for military leaders whose job it is to expertly place people at grave risk to achieve the mission, at what point is it acceptable for the “People Always” part to fade away? Clearly a complicated topic.

Maybe the real proving ground of “Mission First, People Always” is the road to combat, not combat itself. It’s all the training and leadership interactions that go into making a unit lethal while maintaining the cohesion of its people (and families) along the way.

Mission First, People Always

U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jonathan Baird, left, provides security during a vertical assault at Combat Town, Okinawa, Japan, Dec. 10, 2014. Baird is a rifleman assigned to Echo Company, Battalion Landing Team, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit. U.S. Marine Corps. Photo by Lance Cpl. Richard Currier. Link to photo.