The Military Leader

http://blogs.hbr.org/2010/05/12-things-that-good-bosses-bel/

Posted on Tuesday, April 8, 2014

12 Things Good Bosses Believe (Rule #3)

3. Having ambitious and well-defined goals is important, but it is useless to think about them much. My job is to focus on the small wins that enable my people to make a little progress every day.

More important than creating big goals is to actually connect those goals to each level in the organization.

This is the process of translating a Mission Statement into Commander’s Intent into actionable tasks. (“There’s the hill we’re going to take…but nevermind that because first we have to cross a minefield…and to do that I need you to mark the lane.”)

It’s also vital for the team members to see that their small win contributes to the team’s big win. And even though Soldiers will dutifully execute any task assigned them…leaders will shift from positional power to transformational power if they can connect at the Soldier level and show how their contribution matters.

Posted on Monday, April 7, 2014

Tragedy and Readiness

Fort Hood's Lesson

Last week’s shooting at Fort Hood was a sad, unnecessary tragedy that no community should have to live through. And until the fabric of our society grows past this trend in violence, we will have to continue to prepare for such events. When these tragedies do occur, how the involved leaders respond can determine how damaging the events become, as well as how the public reacts to them.

Unpredictability will be a hallmark, it seems, as will national media attention. This means is that the small-town sheriff, or the unknown hospital supervisor, or the base’s commanding general could progress from ‘business as usual’ to ‘nationally-televised responsibility’ in a matter of hours.

Put another way…the most challenging event in a leader’s life could be just around the corner.

Even though Fort Hood’s commanding general is no stranger to summoning peak performance at critical moments…he didn’t start April 2, 2014 thinking he’d be mitigating a terrible crisis with an audience of millions. What does this example show?

Leaders must live in the mindset that their talents will be put to the test in some unimaginable, untested way…caused by an event that is alarmingly unpredictable. Leaders will have to show staunchness in seeing the tragedy through, while at the same time empathizing and consoling their organization. They’ll have to find a surge of energy at the end of an already-long day, and then continue that pace for weeks. Which means they will have had to live a life of readiness, having developed both the talents and the physical/mental capacity to endure the test.

Questions for Leaders:

What tragedies could appear on your organization’s horizon?… Financial loss? New competitor? Loss of a key team member?
Do you have a system for preparing for crises? Does your organization think about and prepare for worst-case scenarios?
When tragedy strikes, will your organization look to you for guidance, inspiration, and support? What type of leadership does it respond to?

Posted on Sunday, April 6, 2014

12 Things Good Bosses Believe (Rule #2)

“My success — and that of my people — depends largely on being the master of obvious and mundane things, not on magical, obscure, or breakthrough ideas or methods.”

Robert Sutton’s second belief about good bosses reminds us that while it is important for leaders to create vision for the organization, the more important work deals with leading people through the tangible steps to achieve that vision.

bosses Consider commanders you’ve seen that set out “Command Philosophies” containing lofty goals and the challenge to reach ill-defined levels of “x” capability. These documents may chart a path but they’re not what the junior leader will rely on when he’s trying to do his part to reach those goals.

Our military typically operates in a complex environment during combat and a muddled, overtasked environment in garrison. It is the leader’s job to sort through the muck to clearly define the steps/systems the team must perform to reach his goal. Task – Purpose – Endstate. Teams need this clarity to perform well.

Incidentally, consider that our system affords certain perks and comforts to commanders (his own vehicle, good accommodations, etc) because it expects them to get their head out of the weeds and identify the “obvious” when the team is rowing too hard to see what’s ahead.

Posted on Friday, April 4, 2014

12 Things Good Bosses Believe (Rule #1)

“I have a flawed and incomplete
understanding of what it feels like to work for me.”

This statement comes from Robert Sutton’s “12 Things Good Bosses Believe,” which is a pointed and humbling summary of lessons stemming from years of leadership research. Sutton is the author of the very successful books “The No A$$hole Rule” and “Good Boss, Bad Boss.”

His series of articles in The Harvard Business Review dives into each of 12 Beliefs and provides illuminating examples about how easy it is to become a bad boss, and what to strive for in becoming a good boss.

Do the lessons apply to military leadership?…you be the judge.

Soldiers stretch during sunrise before an early morning run at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, June 13, 2016. Army photo by Sgt. Brandon Hubbard.

Posted on Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Putting Ego in its Place (pt. 2)

“Never let your ego get so close to your position,
so that when your position goes, your ego goes with it.”
– General Colin Powell

The other valuable lesson to find in General Powell’s statement is how ego should relate to future jobs and career goals we seek.

A few years ago I had the opportunity to compete for a highly-competitive position on a team that holds unmatched regard in the military. It was the kind of job that, if chosen, would give me instant credibility and esteem in my professional community.

As you might imagine, this opportunity draws the most motivated and talented Soldiers from across the military. Unfortunately for most, the opportunity is also highly and dispassionately selective. Incredibly capable Soldiers prepare for years, only to find out they don’t meet the narrow bandwidth of acceptable talent and are sent home.

Which is what happened to me. During the process, however, I saw peers become obsessed with being selected, making it the ultimate validation of their military career…the definitive stamp of individual self-worth and achievement. They clearly aligned their egos with the position…and many took an emotional hit when they weren’t accepted.

Powell’s advice is clear wisdom for those seeking competitive career goals. It’s wise to remain stoic about the outcome, particularly if the goal is highly-selective. Becoming psychologically-tied to a career outcome can easily cause one to:

Miss other opportunities during the process.
Make poor decisions because of the emotional investment and fear of failure.
Fail to see the positive aspects of the resulting situation.
Set a poor example for peers and subordinates who are striving for their own goals.
Place an emotional toll on peers and family who will provide support in any outcome.

Bottom Line

No organization, job title, or status can invalidate the commitment, talent, and influence one achieves during an entire career. Separate who you are from what you do and be selective about where you place your self-worth.

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Posted on Monday, March 31, 2014

Putting Ego in its Place (pt. 1)

“Never let your ego get so close to your position,
so that when your position goes, your ego goes with it.”
– General Colin Powell

It’s easy to assume a position of leadership or take the guidon of command, and think that we were made for the job…that the organization and its people need us there…or that we were ordained to lead.

The responsibility and the recognition of being a leader makes it easy to align our self-worth with our job. It can become who we are, our identity. Similarly, many of us display attitudes/emotions that fluctuate with how we think we are performing in our jobs (i.e., a bad day at work means a bad day at home).

General Colin Powell warns against letting the job overcome who we are, because one day the titles and responsibility will drift away, then what are we left with?

We should keep in mind a few key characteristics about leading in the military:
1. The unit you are leading is not yours…it’s the government’s.
2. The government didn’t create the job for you; it exists for the Nation’s people.
3. The unit and its members will continue to excel even after you leave.

So, it’s prudent to find a way to display passion for the work while appropriately divorcing emotional stability and self-worth. We can’t take the work’s esteem with us when we go. We can only focus on making a positive impact in the unit that outlasts our tenure.

Achieving Influence

If you don’t see the ‘leader within you’ developing in the leaders around you, it may be time to assess whether you are achieving the influence you want in the organization.

Are you being intentional about your influence? How often do you communicate lessons, values, and positive examples?

Military organizations (particularly staffs) are very efficient at turning leaders into ‘task executors.’ The tempo of operations can easily overwhelm intentional leader development and personal mentorship…and influence suffers.

As an Operations Officer, it was a struggle for me to connect with subordinate team members when I had two dozen tasks to review with them. I felt like I was simply running an organization instead of leading a team. So, we decided to allot dedicated weekly time to discuss professional topics, capture lessons, and share insights. And throughout the day, I tried to personally connect with the team member before we talked business.

Simple steps…but ones that deliberately created opportunities for influence.