Posted on

Leadership Speed and Why It Matters

In another post, I shared some of the guidance I issued during my company command time years ago. In How Do You Spot a Leader?, I suggested the notion that leaders naturally move faster than everyone else.

If you are a leader and you find yourself moving slowly throughout the day, you are probably not doing enough to help out the team.  Most of the time, leaders dart from one event to the next, or are focusing to create a new product/presentation that will help the team.  They are always looking to identify problems in the organization and tackle them quickly, so that the organization can become better or more effective.

Leaders create and disseminate energy throughout the organization to keep it moving in the right direction and responding appropriately to the environment. There is an inherent risk, however, for naturally driven leaders who move quickly towards success. Today, I want to talk about this risk.

Leadership

Paratroopers with the 82nd Airborne Division’s 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, sprint to emplace an M240-B machine gun as they demonstrate crew drills to Afghan National Army soldiers prior to a foot patrol May 8, 2012, Ghazni Province, Afghanistan.
U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Michael J. MacLeod.
Posted on

Making Sense of Battalion Command Selection

Every year, hundreds of officers approach a professional development milestone that will determine whether they achieve what many consider a lifelong goal. That milestone is the Battalion Command Selection Board. Though they’ve put in hard work over countless hours to become competitive for this board, most officers are uninformed about how the Army selects battalion commanders and slates them to specific units.

Even officers I worked with at Human Resources Command were not aware of the intricacies of the process. This post aims to close that knowledge gap by explaining the Centralized Selection List (CSL) process. It is immediately relevant for Army officers competing for battalion command this year. It is ultimately relevant for anyone who wants to compete for battalion command at some point in his or her career.

The full version of this infographic is available at the end of this article.
Posted on

4 Keys to a Successful Military Transition

by Robert Gowin

It’s not easy to plan your post-military life in the waning days of your active duty time. Deployments, field training, family time, and the normal everyday challenges stand in your way as obstacles. The time you have is usually filled with friends, loved ones, or just focused on you. For me, it was easy to get caught up in the “bubble” I lived in – if it didn’t have an impact on my world, I didn’t give it much attention.

I separated from the Army twice – the first time after four years and the second after twenty. There was a huge difference in how I approached each of those transitions. There were no transition assistance programs available during my initial transition, but I’m not sure it would have helped me much due to a terrible economy. The lessons I learned and the struggle I experienced following my first transition made me aware of the challenges ahead and how I needed to overcome them before I planned my second transition.

transition

U.S. Air Force illustration by Airman 1st Class Jensen Stidham
Posted on

This is #Slack…and Here’s How Your Unit Can Use It

One week spent in a military unit will show you that efficiency isn’t its shining characteristic. Not only does information bombard the unit from multiple levels of the chain of command, but within the organization there are hundreds of conversations taking place to prepare for, synchronize, and execute the myriad of events on the calendar. (And I’m sure the same is true for the business world.)

These conversations happen over thousands of emails, in meetings, face to face, and on the phone. And if your experience is like mine, almost everything goes out over email.

But what if there was a way to customize your conversations based on your team’s requirements instead of relying on the single “channel” that is the email inbox? What if you could have your conversations in the right place, instead of all over the place?

Enter #Slack.

slack

Posted on

Work and Life

Advice for finding a balance

I listened to this yesterday and thought it was impactful enough to send out as perfect Sunday personal growth material. It’s from the EntreLeadership Podcast, which is Dave Ramsey’s creation and in the Top 20 Business Podcasts on iTunes.

Two aspects in particular make this podcast powerful: the big name influencers they interview and the clips of Dave Ramsey giving priceless leadership and business advice. I’ve used more content from this podcast than any other, as it is highly relevant military leaders. Several times as an Operations Officer, I’d listen to an episode on the way to work, and then immediately implement its insights.

Dave RamseyThis episode is all about finding purpose and meaning in life, which requires that we deconflict work and life. Dan Miller, author of 48 Days to the Work You Love, talks about how to live a life of meaning, then Dave Ramsey follows with in-your-face advice for figuring out how to keep your family while being successful at work.

His philosophy is one that leaders can take to their units tomorrow and make a difference with. It’s well-worth your time…and theirs!

For the EntreLeadership Podcast episode, click here.

To access Episode #110 through the iTunes Store, click here.

Subscribe to The Military Leader!

Complete Archive of Military Leader Posts

Back to Home Page

Posted on

When the Military Profession Isn’t

by Tony Ingesson

Ever since Huntington published his seminal The Soldier and the State in 1957, the concept of a military profession has been embraced by military educational institutions worldwide, and particularly in the West. I argue that the focus on professionalism in general, and Huntington in particular, obscures the timeless complexity of military decision-making and leadership by reducing it to the status of a profession.

Military leadership actually demands considerably more than what most professionals have to cope with, due to the fluidity of political policy and the need to prevail over an adversary.

profession

The Fort Sill Marine Corps Artillery Detachment’s youngest Marine, Pfc. Todd Nichols, 18,
salutes the U.S. flag as colors are posted during the USMC birthday celebration Nov. 7, 2013. Link to photo.
Posted on

Stop Calling Your Soldiers Your Children

And stop telling your subordinates to treat them that way

And Crispin Crispian shall ne’er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered-
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;

Shakespeare’s St. Crispin’s Day speech from Henry V is one of the most iconic speeches ever given. It, perhaps better so than any work save the Illiad, captures what it is like to be a fighting man (or woman).

It’s refrain about a “band of brothers” has been repeated and echoed countless times: Eisenhower’s “in company with brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts” on D-Day, HBO’s mini-series of the same name, and in countless addresses by senior leaders to their formations prior to crossing the berm in Iraq.

The idea of soldiers as brothers-in-arms – of the fraternity of arms – goes back well before Shakespeare to the feudal era and possibly even earlier. The concept of shared struggle, and thus equality, is essential to the concept of American soldiering and always has been.

And yet, under multiple well-meaning commanders in both active and reserve component, I have been instructed to treat my soldiers as my children. Not as my brothers or my sisters, but my children. As a troop commander, I once argued the point with my squadron commander that my soldiers were not my sons and was told “you know what I mean” – and I did.

And what he meant was wrong.

posts

An Army Special Forces member fires a Mark 19 belt-fed grenade launcher at a training target on Eglin Range, Fla., Oct. 30, 2013.
U.S. Air Force Photo/Staff Sgt. John Bainter.
Posted on

Quotes for the Military Leader

I observed early on in my career that quotes have an cornerstone place in our military’s professional development. (Perhaps it was the hours of reciting them in the hallways of a Colorado Springs campus that gave me this notion.)

QuotesThe best quotes deliver rich insight with the fewest words. They elevate mediocre discourse and inspire fresh perspective on today’s challenges. They also cover the topics that we don’t typically weave into daily conversation…courage, service, inspiration, perseverance, honor, duty, sacrifice. But it seems that unless we structure quotes into our lives, it’s easy to forget about the long history of advice available to us.

To help, I invite you to visit The Military Leader Quote Page. I just added a bunch of new quotes like the ones below and will continue to build the list. And be sure to add your favorite quotes to the comment section on the page and share the ones that inspire you.

 

“When things go wrong in your command, start wading for the reason in increasing larger concentric circles around your own desk.”
– General Bruce D. Clark

“The good general is simply the good company commander in his post-graduate course. The idea that more godlike qualities are required of him and that he above others can achieve miracles through the working of his will is dismissed as idle superstition.”
– S.L.A. Marshall in “Men Against Fire”

“Success is peace of mind that is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best that you are capable of becoming.”
– Coach John Wooden

“There are three kinds of people: Those who are immovable, those who are moveable, and those who move them.”
– Li Hung

Subscribe to The Military Leader!

Complete Archive of Military Leader Posts

Back to Home Page