Tag Archives: Work/Life Balance

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What Becoming a Parent Taught Me About Leadership (pt. 2)

In yesterday’s post, I revealed a few of the ways in which I thought becoming a parent would change me. I anticipated the obvious, like that a new baby would transform my daily routine and thrust me out of my comfort zone, and that I would instantly become a persistent example of right and wrong to this little being. I predicted that having a child would also influence how I interact with Soldiers and perform as a leader. Turns out, I was only scratching the surface of lessons that parenthood can teach a leader.

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The 1177th MCT redeploys after nine months in Afghanistan. Photo by: US Army Public Images

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What Becoming a Parent Taught Me About Leadership (pt. 1)

Almost 3 years ago, I captured some thoughts about how I thought becoming a parent would change me. Of course I knew it would be a “crucible”…a test or trial that causes defining and lasting change…but how would it alter who I was as a military leader? Would I view my role differently? Would I react to deployment orders with less stoicism when I have little ones to leave behind? Would I treat Soldiers differently?

10th Sustainment Soldiers redeploy to Fort Drum. Photo by: US Army Images

10th Sustainment Soldiers redeploy to Fort Drum. Photo by: US Army Images

I was sure to get these answers (and plenty more) with the birth of our two daughters. Below are excerpts from what I predicted I’d learn as a new father. In the next post, I’ll elaborate on the myriad of other ways in which having children has changed me as a leader.

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Be a Smart Ranger! Stop Doing These 7 Things

Do you ever get to Friday and ask yourself, “Why does it feel like I didn’t get anything done this week?” The reality is that you probably didn’t get as much done as you could have. Which, is ok…as long as you’re committed to improving your productivity. (Hint…if you’re not in the mindset to regularly assess your work productivity, you need to start.)

This article from CamMi Pham Medium.com, 7 Things You Need to Stop Doing to be More Productive, Backed by Science, touches several topics that are routine challenges for military leaders:

  • Military leaders typically work long hours. Are we overtasked or just inefficient?
  • We say YES to ideas that help Soldiers, even if they’re not the unit’s priority.
  • The military is full of perfectionists who spend too much time refining products.
  • Money and bureaucracy prevent the military from automating many of the procedures that make it inefficient.

Here are the bullets from the article:

  1. Stop working overtime and increase your productivity
  2. Don’t say ‘yes’ too often
  3. Stop doing everything yourself and start letting people help you
  4. Stop being a perfectionist
  5. Stop doing repetitive tasks and start automating
  6. Stop guessing and start backing up your decisions with data
  7. Stop working, and have do-nothing time

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“7 Things You Need to Stop Doing to be More Productive, Backed by Science” was published on Medium.com by Digital Marketing Strategist CamMi Pham on April 29, 2014.
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“Iron Major Survival Guide v2”

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.

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Article: Manage Your Work, Manage Your Life (HBR)

Here is a very insightful article on balancing work and home life, and crucially relevant for we military leaders/commanders who typically feel a strong sense of duty to “stay engaged” at work.

Manage Your Work, Mange Your Life

Takeaways:

  • Define success for yourself (“what does it mean to have a balanced family and still meet goals at work?)
  • Manage technology (no brainer)
  • Build support networks (have an outlet at work and home)
  • Travel/Relocate selectively (involve family in decisions; make ‘time away’ a team decision)

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10 Life Lessons and Leadership

Here are 10 Life Lessons we all should pay attention to.

http://markmanson.net/10-life-lessons-excel-30s

What does this have to do with Leadership?

I recommend reading the entire article, but consider these:

3. Don’t Spend Time with People Who Don’t Treat You Well

Who we spend our time with determines who we are. Surround yourself with people who will elevate your intellect, talent, and confidence. Shape your organization so that your team doesn’t have to spend their day with someone who treats them poorly (i.e. get rid of the jerks).

5. You can’t have everything; Focus On Doing a Few Things Really Well

Prioritize your energy and your time, and do the same for your team. They’ll appreciate it.

7. You Must Continue to Grow and Develop Yourself

Simply put, when the individual grows, the organization grows. If you lead others, then you also have the responsibility to become a better person. Not doing so is arguably unjust.

Incidentally, #2 is “Start Taking Care of Your Health Now, Not Later”…so, get out and do some PT.

(thanks to my wife for sharing this article)

http://markmanson.net/10-life-lessons-excel-30s