Tag Archives: Resources

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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
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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

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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.

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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

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Professional Development, One Paragraph at a Time (ProDev2Go)

A New Blog by Ross Coffman

What does an Army Colonel do after he finishes killing it in brigade command? …Start a professional development blog, of course! Today, let me highlight a new blog that you’ll definitely want to make part of your professional development plan.

ProDev2Go just fired up last month, but is the continuation of a groundbreaking leader development approach by one of the most successful brigade commanders in the Army today.

ProDev2Go

Breaking Barriers

While in command down at Fort Bliss, Colonel Ross Coffman sought a new way to connect his Troops with his leader development vision, something better than the usual death by PowerPoint. So, he got a Twitter account, then created a YouTube and podcast channel called Ready First. He and his Command Sergeant Major used this novel approach to communicate with the command, relay their leader development and tactical experience, and show that Army leaders are capable of getting out of their comfort zone to reach their people.

Rapid Fire Mentorship

Now, as a testament that the best leaders never stop looking for ways to have positive influence, Colonel Coffman dove head first into the blogging world and created ProDev2Go as a way to provide high quality leader development in short bursts. The concept is simple:

As a “Leader on the Go” we understand that you desire a succinct learning opportunity that provides a written glide path for success.  This leader development site is a single paragraph of lessons learned that you can use in a practical role in your workplace, job, business, or employment. We are changing Leaders one Paragraph at a time!!!

Plugging into ProDev2Go is like being mentored by a brigade commander, something we all could benefit from. You’ll find insight on trust, mission command, leader development, warfighting doctrine, and many other useful topics.

Head on over there now and check it out!

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Insight from TED You Can Use Right Now

This TED video featuring collaborative engineering expert Tom Wujec is 9 minutes long…and yet you’ll be hard-pressed to find another way to find so much insight packed into 9 minutes. The task Wujec presents his clients is simple:  “Draw how to make toast.” What seems like an elementary exercise explodes into a multi-faceted lesson on collaboration, organizational creativity, decision-making, motivation, and leadership.

In case you don’t get to sit down with this video and take notes, here are some clear connections to military leadership that I observed through his talk. As I watched, I saw application to a wide range of situations:

  • A commander and Command Sergeant Major bringing the new team together to cast the vision statement for their time in command
  • Any staff member staring at a blank Excel spreadsheet or map of the training area, tasked with planning the unit’s next phase of training
  • A supply sergeant frustrated with how to reorganize the broken shop she just inherited
  • Unit leaders piecing together the events that tragically led to a Soldier’s death
  • Any one of us handling a piece of military equipment and wishing there was some better way to do X
  • Unit leaders searching for how to implement Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault Program guidance
  • Strategists writing future policy and operating guidance
  • An icebreaker exercise for unit team building and leader development events
  • Visualizing alternate courses of action for a tactical problem
  • A lesson on simple versus complex systems and plans
  • Advice on how to communicate complex ideas to your team
  • Insight into how the team members perceive situations, analyze problems, and express their thoughts
  • An after action review process for reverse-engineering events like training exercises, unit functions, and campaign plans
  • A way to explain the abstract Design Process and simplify the convoluted Military Decision Making Process
  • A method for walking out of meetings feeling like you actually accomplished something.

Ready to watch?

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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

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Command Performance Worth Plugging Into

Today, I’d like to highlight the work of military blogger Dale Wilson, the creator of Command Performance Leadership. Dale is a former Navy logistician and has two decades of experience in business management and leadership. He writes on a wide variety of leadership-related topics and is bringing a resurgence to his blog in 2015.

Command Performance

An MH-60S Knight Hawk helicopter passes the USS Chafee while delivering supplies to the USS Carl Vinson during a vertical replenishment mission with the USNS Bridge in the Pacific Ocean, Jan. 2, 2012. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class James R. Evans. Link to photo.

What I appreciate about Command Performance Leadership is that Dale takes great care to thoroughly develop his topics, providing multiple perspectives to consider, and cites other work to support his arguments. He balances the “no rules” nature of online blogging with academic legitimacy, which is refreshing.

My favorite example of this is Dale’s expanded look at Schofield’s Definition of Discipline, where he provides historical context and personal insight.

Here’s an excerpt:

The foundation of discipline is not accountability or punishment, but respect.  A leader must establish trust and credibility, communicate effectively, employ empathy, intimately know their people’s capabilities, and move their people into positions to be most successful.  Nobody should be the ‘bad guy’ when leading people.  No leader should be a bad guy intentionally, or go out of their way to be one.  If a leader is working to perfect his ‘bad guy’ image, he is dishonoring his responsibility as a leader, and is creating a hostile environment for his followers.  If a leader has successfully become a ‘bad guy,’ shame on them.  Their subordinates deserve better than that; and, so does the service they represent and the Command (organization) they are responsible for.[xi]  Ultimately, a good leader will lead through respect instead of leading through fear.  When you treat people right, word gets around.

And this post on toxic leadership tells how to avoid letting self-interested attitudes interfere with quality leadership:

Integrity of character is the foundation of a great leader.  To use a metaphor, it is what you build your very being up from, if you so choose.  The building blocks of leadership are built upon the value of integrity and trust.  Each block represents the values, virtues and principles that will house your team.  It will be built with duty, honor, courage, commitment, selfless service, respect, justice, judgment, dependability, initiative, decisiveness, tact, enthusiasm, bearing, unselfishness, knowledge, loyalty, and endurance.  It will be a strong structure if you build with these traits properly and effectively.  You need to make sure the leadership “structure” your team works in is built with these things.  Within that strong structure, under the strong roof of your leadership, your team will be safe and secure.

Also check out his posts on Leadership Defined and Authoritarian Leadership vs. Democratic Leadership ~ The Officer Corps Explained.

You can find Dale actively developing his 3,000 Twitter followers at @5starleadership.

Question: Do you have a military blog that people need to check out? Leave a comment below!

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