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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.
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Taming Your Imperfections

by Phil Walter

If you enter my office you would see what I call my propaganda wall. From the top of my desk to almost the ceiling I have taped up various quotes that inspire me. Closer to my computer, I have a printed slide of our organizational priorities and a broad list of tasks that frame what I do day-to-day.

On this wall of words, there is one piece of paper that is different from the others. Rather than being neatly printed, this one is a mix of printed text and my handwriting using various colored pens. The title across the top of this unique document, which garners both laughter and respect from those who see it, is:  Phil’s Self-Limiting Career Behaviors.

Self-Knowledge

Cpl Peyton L. Simmons, a scout sniper with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit’s Ground Combat Element, Battalion Landing Team 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, sites through an M-110 Semi-Automatic Sniper System, or SASS, during a Visit, Board, Search and Seizure exercise at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., July 17, 2014. Photo by LCpl Dani A. Zunun.
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Leaders, Your Facebook Phobia is Holding You Back

Let’s start off by coming to an agreement that your Facebook feed probably looks like most people’s…vacation photos, social quizzes, kitten videos, weddings, parties, and babies. You might post a few thoughts about the latest political buzz, but you’re not writing to change anyone’s opinion or move them in a new direction. Facebook is a window to the social You, not the professional You. Am I right?

Now a question…where is your largest connected network? Is it at your workplace? Your gym? Through your family? Or is it through Facebook?

If you’re not in the business of influence, then this discussion is irrelevant. But if you are a leader, then its worthwhile to consider how you use your most expansive network. If you care about changing people in positive ways, then you need to rethink Facebook.

Facebook

Soldiers and Families now have another outlet to receive updated information about Fort Drum deployed Soldiers and upcoming events at the “U.S. Army Fort Drum 10th Mountain Division” Facebook page. Photo by Mrs Michelle Kennedy (IMCOM).
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Simon Sinek’s Advice for the Military’s Sexual Assault Problem

by John Gassman

Simon Sinek is an ethnographer who has written two books on leadership: Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action and Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don’t. His books are a study of leaders in action and he often uses military examples to illustrate his points. (In fact, Major General Jimmie Jaye Wells at US Army FORSCOM is using Leaders Eat Last as a part of his Professional Reading Program Forum.)

Simon Sinek is also a TED contributor and his two recorded talks are powerful tools for military leaders. His first talk, recorded in September 2009, is about How Great Leaders Inspire Action. If you haven’t watched it yet, stop reading right now and go watch it. If you ever found yourself looking for a way to explain why commander’s intent is so important, this is the kick-starter you wanted.

His more recent TED talk, titled Why Good Leaders Make You Feel Safe, holds a mirror up to military leaders and offers some fantastic insights into trust, safety, and teamwork. If you’re looking for a way to talk to your leaders about sexual harassment, equal opportunity, or suicide prevention, this can be a powerful tool to start the conversation.

Simon Sinek

“We need to learn to set our course by the stars, not by the lights of every passing ship.”
     ~ Omar Bradley

“Opportunity is missed by most because is it dressed in overalls and looks like work.”
     ~ Thomas Edison

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How to Leverage Digital Leader Development

by Mike Denny

As an Army National Guard officer, I get infrequent opportunities to connect in person with my junior officers. To hold effective leader development sessions, I learned that I have to engage outside of our 63 days together a year. But in the past few months, I felt that I was not effectively developing a cadet or my staff Lieutenants, many of whom are relegated to assistant to the assistant duties.

Luckily, some talented and more seasoned officers posted leader development content that caught my attention, particularly Lieutenant Lessons…Continued and Iron Major’s Survival Guide. I shared these articles with my officers and gave them a simple homework assignment:  write a one page essay outlining their views on the articles.

(It may sound asinine to tell Army officers to write a simple report, but as often discussed on #CCLKOW and #MILPME on Twitter, the ability to write coherently and simplistically is dying art in the midst of today’s PowerPoint decision making methodologies.)

Then, Joe Byerly provided inspiration with his Company Command Article on developing a team through a digital LPD. Digital leader development typically refers to professional products stored on mobile devices for easy access, and but also represents the methods leaders use to connect external enablers to the unit (videos, speakers, or directly by phone or Skype).

I took action to develop our own. Here is how we did it.

Leader development

Sgt. 1st Class Jason Wright, Observer Controller, HHC Joint Multinational Readiness Center, coaches, teaches and mentors Canadian Soldiers from I Company, 2nd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment during practice for a live fire event Wednesday during Cooperative Spirit 2008 at JMRC near Hohenfels, Germany. Cooperative Spirit 2008 is a multinational Combat Training Center rotation intended to test interoperability among the American, British, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand armies (ABCA). Link to photo.
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Forging Adaptive Leaders Through Crucible Training

by Chris Ingram

Are your teams capable of adapting to a rapidly changing environment? Do you have the best people in positions of leadership to deal with chaos? There are two ways we find out: in combat, or before. To answer these critical questions about our teams and our leaders, we often use a historically successful model: the crucible training event.

To do this, at the Company, Battalion, Brigade, or even Division level, crucible training must be well-defined, include the proper mix of participants, and evaluate the right set of skills in a way the challenges individuals and grows adaptive teams.

This is a guest post by Army Infantry Officer, Medium blogger, and Military Writer’s Guild member, Christopher Ingram. Connect with him on Twitter @chrisgingram.

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