I have talked about the military leadership principles before and this is a great article about just that. It’s not all about screaming and demanding … it’s about people that know what to do and do it. This is a model that will work in business because it does several things. It takes it private, it uses encouragement, it is direct, and the communication is clear.
My friend Dave was in the Army for ages. He’s out - he’s a civilian lawyer now. But you can tell that he was an Army officer, because he’s always cool and calm. I’m theatrical, he’s stoic.
I say, “Dave, you running any road races this year?” and he says, “No, I’m not really supposed to race, ever since I broke my neck.” He was a paratrooper, in the 82nd Airborne. Oh right, yeah, the broken-neck thing. Dave talks about breaking his neck like I talk about breaking the heel on my Steve Madden pumps.
Anyway, since Dave was in combat multiple times and has commanded lots of people, I asked him about leadership in the Army. We’ve all seen Platoon - military leadership is pretty much just a matter of screaming at people all the time, right?
THREE-PART STRATEGY. “It’s not what you’d think,” says Dave. “There’s very little of that sort of thing, barking out orders.” Why? I say. Isn’t the Army the epicenter of command-and-control leadership? Nope, says Dave. It’s just the opposite. Under fire, guys (a unisex term) have to trust you. Here’s a story, he says, to illustrate.
One time, says Dave, he was talking with a fellow in his command about an operation they were planning. There were several officers standing around, and Dave said: “So, here’s what I’d like you to do.” The fellow replied, “No, sir.” He didn’t want to do it.
Dave recalls standing there, with everyone watching to see his reaction. It was a bad moment. Then he asked the fellow to walk with him into his office. The way Dave tells it, this is what he said, “Lieutenant, you do a great job. This command relies on you.” (That’s part one.)
“Then I said, ‘It is unacceptable for you to refuse an order, much less to do so in front of enlisted men. I will not tolerate that. I expect you to follow the orders you’re given.’ (That’s part two.)
“And then I said: ‘You are a valued member of this command. You have an excellent track record and I have great respect for you. I need you on this team.’” (That’s part three.)
This makes perfect sense. Acknowledge, thank, praise — give the tough feedback — then acknowledge and praise some more.
[tags]Leadership principles, Army leadership, motivation[/tags]
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