Tag Archives: Resources

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The Top 15 Posts from 2014

I’m proud to report that 2014 was the most successful year ever for The Military Leader!!! …Ok, fine. If you want to split hairs, yes…2014 was also the first year for The Military Leader website and social media platform. Still, it’s been an amazing journey since the first post on March 24, 2014, which basically said, “Welcome to The Military Leader. Be sure to ‘Like’ me on Facebook!”

Since then, you (a community of engaged leaders) have grown from zero to almost 3,000 and have accessed the site’s content over 90,000 times! Truly remarkable! And here are the 15 posts that gained the most traffic this year, with a few insights following the list.

Start Here

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10 Microsoft Excel Shortcuts to Make Your Life Easier

by Dan Hudalla

Microsoft Excel is one of the most widely used software tools in the military.  We use it more than we fire our weapons.  Many a staff officer and commander have spent countless hours creating that perfect spreadsheet to accomplish the mission.  And if you’ve ever frustratingly uttered, “there has got to be a more efficient way to do this,” check out these Excel tips.

Productivity

Thanks to Army Captain Dan Hudalla for contributing this post!
If you found it useful, also check out “11 Keyboard Shortcuts You Must Learn.”
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The Science of “Mission First, People Always”

Is there a more nebulous, often clichéd phrase in our military than “Mission First, People Always?” I’ve long-struggled with how to first logically explain the idea, but then turn the concept into a tangible leadership strategy.

And for military leaders whose job it is to expertly place people at grave risk to achieve the mission, at what point is it acceptable for the “People Always” part to fade away? Clearly a complicated topic.

Maybe the real proving ground of “Mission First, People Always” is the road to combat, not combat itself. It’s all the training and leadership interactions that go into making a unit lethal while maintaining the cohesion of its people (and families) along the way.

Mission First, People Always

U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jonathan Baird, left, provides security during a vertical assault at Combat Town, Okinawa, Japan, Dec. 10, 2014. Baird is a rifleman assigned to Echo Company, Battalion Landing Team, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit. U.S. Marine Corps. Photo by Lance Cpl. Richard Currier. Link to photo.
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Rangers Get a Legitimate Voice in New Book

Ranger

Rangers from Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment and a multi-purpose canine pause during a nighttime combat mission in Afghanistan. Courtesy U.S. Army. Link to photo.

“Violence of Action: The Untold Stories of the 75th Ranger Regiment in the War on Terror”

Veterans often feel underwhelmed by accounts of war that carry a tone of glory-seeking or inaccurately represent the reality of combat. Today’s media landscape affords any veteran the opportunity to publicize his/her thoughts, and only a few of those accounts will be widely lauded. Almost none will be so highly regarded that they serve as a literary memorial to those who served.

Violence of Action: The Untold Stories of the 75th Ranger Regiment in the War on Terror will be one of those books. And I want to recommend a review of the book on Task and Purpose, made by a colleague of mine whose prose grabs the heart of the book and does it justice.

Here are some excerpts, but read his review here:

Glory abounds in this piece of work, but it presents as a byproduct of raw honesty; it lacks the familiar omnipresent undertone of self-aggrandizement. Rather, Violence of Action transcends the pettiness that, truthfully, turns so many veterans off from reading first-hand accounts from other “warriors.” Glory here goes to the unit that produced so many fine Americans, their parents, their families, and their hometowns. Rangers don’t seek glory, and only relish it among one another, no books required.

Violence of Action has more healing power than any prescription. This book belongs on the bedside table of so many service members and veterans — Rangers or otherwise — when they wake up in the middle of the night, because there is a story in this book that will help them reconcile. It is so very hard to relate combat experiences to others, even veterans from other wars. Yet it is vital to relate and to connect with those who have shared, suffered, and lost on the same ground.

Read the rest and be sure to leave your comments on the page and on Amazon.

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Sleep that Sabotages Leadership

Today’s HBR recommendation, “Your Abusive Boss Is Probably an Insomniac,” is a summary of findings from a study published in the Academy of Management Journal. The researchers studied 88 leaders and their teams to find out if the leaders’ sleep habits affected performance at work. The result?…you guessed it, but there’s a twist:

We found that daily leader sleep quality, but not quantity, influenced the leader’s self-control and abusive supervision behavior, and ultimately the degree to which his or her subordinates were engaged in their work that day. It is not clear why sleep quantity did not have the effect we predicted, but the effect for sleep quality was very clear; a given leader engaged in more jerky boss behavior after a poor night of sleep than a good night of sleep, and this influenced his or her subordinates to disengage from work.

sleep

Photo by Odi Mitch. Link to photo.
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How to Write a Change of Command Speech

Chances are you’ve been in one of the following situations:  a member of a formation suffering under a long change of command speech; an audience member embarrassed for the speaking commander because his speech is really bad; or a soon-to-be ex-commander staring at a blank page on the morning of your own departure speech. Sound familiar?

Don’t worry, we’ve all been there. The change of command speech is important but it can sneak up on you in the distracted days before the big event. Here are some thoughts to consider as you prepare for the transition. There are sections for Incoming Commanders, Outgoing Commanders, and some general tips.

Change of Command

Maj. Brian Harber, executive officer for the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, salutes Lt. Col. Jeff Stewart, outgoing commander of the 1-24IN, signifying the Soldiers are ready for inspection during a change of command rehearsal ceremony at Ladd Parade Field here June 29. Lt. Col. Stewart relinquished command of the battalion to Lt. Col. Matthew MacNeilly during a ceremony at Fort Wainwright, Alaska July 2, 2012.
(U.S. Army Photo By: Sgt. Thomas Duval, 1/25th SBCT Public Affairs) Link to photo.
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A Powerful Way to Discover Your Bias

“Whoa, whoa!…What bias?!?! I don’t have any biases!” Was that your response to the title of this post? Well, I had the same thought before I took this test and now I think differently.

Here is a fascinating resource that will help you discover what you think about the world on levels beneath conscious thought. It reveals how your past experiences, upbringing, or even your morning scan of the news can skew your beliefs about race, gender, ethnicity, disability, age, sexuality, and weight.

Why wouldn’t you want to know, especially as a leader, if an unhealthy bias is getting in the way of your leadership?

Bias

Soldiers from Honor Guard Company, 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) and the U.S. Army Special Forces Command stand in formation prior to the start of a wreath laying ceremony, Oct. 18, at the John F. Kennedy gravesite in Arlington National Cemetery, Va.
(U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Luisito Brooks)
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Article: “A Military Leader’s Approach to Dealing with Complexity”

Here is a short Harvard Business Review article from Air Force Brigadier General John Michel (@JohnEMichel and GeneralLeadership). Brig. Gen. Michel was most recently the commander of NATO Air Training Command Afghanistan and shares several grassroots leadership lessons in this article, entitled “A Military Leader’s Approach to Dealing with Complexity.”

complexity

U.S. Army Sgt. Robert Newman, Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, U.S. Army Europe, watches the sunrise after a dismounted patrol mission near Forward Operating Base Baylough, Zabul, Afghanistan, March 19, 2009. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Adam Mancini/Released)