You’ll need to read this General George C. Marshall quote several times to absorb all the lessons hidden within it.
When you are commanding, leading [soldiers] under conditions where physical exhaustion and privations must be ignored, where the lives of [soldiers] may be sacrificed, then, the efficiency of your leadership will depend only to a minor degree on your tactical ability. It will primarily be determined by your character, your reputation, not much for courage—which will be accepted as a matter of course—but by the previous reputation you have established for fairness, for that high-minded patriotic purpose, that quality of unswerving determination to carry through any military task assigned to you.
General George C. Marshall, Speaking to officer candidates in September 1941
Here are a few of the takeaways:
- The “starting line” for leadership in combat is that one must accept, ignore, and discard the physical hardship that accompanies it. Exhaustion is the innate price of participation. Thus, leaders should maintain a physical fitness level that allows them to fulfill their command duties despite fatigue.
- Tactical ability in combat is not as important as character. This is a tough concept to grasp, but it helps to ask, “Which is more dangerous in combat – a lack of tactical ability? or a lack of character?” Marshall seems to indicate that inexperienced commanders can still succeed in combat by making common sense, informed decisions – and that an organization can absorb a leader’s lack of tactical ability. However, a commander lacking character will have more destructive and permanent effects on an organization.
- Courage is the default for a combat leader. Similar to endurance under privation, Marshall says that courage in combat is a given, and expected by Soldiers. Is this concept in line with our view of courage in combat today?
- What does create success for a commander in combat? Marshall says plainly that character is decisive above all else. Character accompanied with perseverance under any conditions, fairness in decision making, and a clear attitude of service to the Nation.
Questions for Leaders
- Does your organization know what traits are assumed and expected of them?
- How prepared is your team to face the physically and mentally exhaustive realities of combat? Have you replicated them in training?
- How does a leader measure/assess the qualities of perseverance, courage, and character that are necessary in combat?
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Go ahead and admit it – you’re just like me…you check your phone during meetings. But have you ever thought about what you are communicating to your team when you do?
This short post from Psychology Today explains what you’re really saying when you distract yourself in meetings and is a good reminder to set the example for focus, discipline, and common courtesy.
Here’s a Tip: I had a battalion commander who decreed, “If your spouse calls during one of our meetings, you have to answer the call.” He set the example when his own wife called and enforced the rule around the room. It sent a clear signal that family is always important.
Questions for Leaders:
- Have you published your expectations for behavior during meetings?
- Are your meetings engaging enough to keep people from becoming distracted?
- In what other ways might you be distracted when engaging with your team throughout the day?
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“A Summer with Grant” Reading Series by ‘From the Green Notebook’
Check out this professional reading opportunity using the Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant, hosted by the “From the Green Notebook” Blog. Get a free digital copy of the book and connect to a group of professionals for discussion and debate. Topics include “Professional Military Education,” “Leaders at War,” and “Developing Strategic Thinking.” Be sure to pass it on to your team.
Starts June 23rd, so click here for details or email Read2Lead2014@gmail.com for questions.
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Sutton’s #9 from 12 Things Good Bosses Believe has significant, daily application for the military leader. You definitely need to read his expanded blog post on #9, which provides details on how successful companies become more effective at cultivating the right ideas. Here is #9:
“Innovation is crucial to every team and organization.
So my job is to encourage my people to generate and test all kinds of new ideas.
But it is also my job to help them kill off
all the bad ideas we generate, and most of the good ideas, too.”
Good staff officers surge right away on mission analysis
after identifying a new problem or receiving guidance from the commander.
Even though the task suspense may not be pressing, they ‘get after’ the problem because doing so:
- Defines the problem as a result of the design process
Gives the staff (and the commander) immediate perspective on the problem- Injects a surge of energy into the organization
- Allows everyone to analyze the problem with the commander’s guidance and situational conditions fresh in mind
- Results in a reference product (e.g. staff estimates, Mission Analysis Brief, or at least pages of notes)
- Shapes immediate coordination/guidance to give subordinate headquarters.
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The Iron Major Survival Guide is 29 pages of advice on how to succeed as a field grade officer. It includes everything from how to arrive as the new S3/XO to how to set up systems for unit property accountability. This document will make you a better manager and leader, period.
(Hint: it’s not just for field grades. NCOs, junior, and senior officers need to read this, too.)
Iron Major Survival Guide V2
Here are some excerpts:
- The ability to anticipate and fix problems before they happen is why FG officers are paid the big bucks. Key to this is time to think. Get yourself out of the knife fight early and often. Hold your staff to extremely high standards early so you can build a level of trust and confidence in them that allows you to decentralize taskings and grants you the space and time to ask the “what if?” Spend your time anticipating what could go wrong then take steps to avoid failure.
- Apply some analysis to emails; don’t manage/lead your staff by forwarding higher HQ/or the boss’ orders. Make them your own. An “FYI” on a forwarded formation time is acceptable, but when the boss writes you and says “I’m tired of units submitting their Green 2 reports late”, don’t simple forward to company commanders and write “please note BN CDR comments below.
- If you can’t get out of the office most nights by 1800, then you are doing a poor job of time and task management.
- If you think staying up for 48 hours will make you more efficient and garner the respect of your subordinates, then you are probably oblivious to the poor decisions you made or the irascibility you demonstrated for them over that time.
- Figure out how to assign tasks, give guidance, establish suspenses, follow up, and quality control. It’s easy to hand out tasks, it’s harder to remember to keep track and follow up.
- Remember, that in addition to managing your staff, you still have to ‘lead’ your staff. Many a good junior officer has decided to bail on the Army because of a bad experience on a staff, most of which were instigated by a leader who didn’t care enough to lead them.
“In the military, they give medals to people who sacrifice themselves so that others may gain…and in business, we give bonuses to people who are willing to sacrifice others so that we may gain.”
Simon Sinek gives another poignant and enlightening leadership talk at TED. In this March 2014 talk, he describes how the best leaders shape their organization’s culture to develop trust.
“If you had hard times in your family, would you ever consider laying-off one of your children? You would never do it…then why do we consider laying off people inside our organization?”
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“Leadership is deliberate: You don’t accidentally have successful teams.”
Lieutenant General (ret) Frank Kearney, US Army
This short read about leadership lessons from Lieutenant General Frank Kearney is worth a few minutes. LTG Kearney was speaking t0 business leaders at the Thayer Leader Development Group at West Point and explained several of the basic military leadership principles. His thoughts are a good reminder to do the basics, which we sometimes take for granted.
A few of them are:
- “You have a responsibility to everyone you bring into an organization and that means having the courage to give candid feedback.”
- Effective communication is a three-part process: Issue Orders, Backbrief, and Refine Guidance
- “You have to know what right looks like for each role in the organization.”
This article was originally published by Jenna Goudreau at Business Insider online on May 27, 2014.
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