The Real Men in the Arena

As I have written on these pages before, it can be a real leadership challenge to avoid the cynicism that often comes with work in complex environments. Life -- and experience -- can harden us to the point that we forget how hard it really is down in the trenches. We criticize, find faults, and push too much blame for our shortcomings down to them. As we move further up, and further away from those whose efforts produce the product, service, or revenues of our organization, we tend to neglect the people who truly make a difference.

Or not! It really is those men (and women) in the arena, who give purpose to leadership. It's not about us! It is about making others successful, about creating opportunities, inspiring greatness, and aligning the resources that people need to do their jobs. It is about developing a shared vision, creating strategies that make sense and align the abilities of every member of the team, and accomplishing the mission with the people we've got. It's not about board meetings, the hard hours we work, or the pressure of our responsibilities. Nope...leadership is not about us. It is truly about that man in the arena.

In Afghanistan, it is too easy to become cynical about the men who are struggling to build for themselves and their families a better tomorrow. Most are not well educated. They certainly are new to things like construction, elections, and so many things that we take for granted in most of the rest of the world. And yet, most of those men give it their best. They are willing to learn new crafts. They want education for themselves and their families. Most want to see their country succeed and will give it all they have, some paying with their lives, to give their collective efforts a chance to work.

It is these men in the arena, and those who work hard to make our organizations successful, whom we cheer. It is them whom we must inspire to achieve greatness. It is about them, who President Theodore Roosevelt once wrote (lines which I have shared with you before but which inspire me still):

It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.

Leadership is about people. It is not about position, rank, or prestige. In the end, none of those things get the mission done. People do. None of those can build a Nation. People will. Nothing matters but those men in the arena. It matters not whether we are talking about construction workers in Afghanistan or Los Angeles. If we believe in people, and make them believe in themselves, they will toil with every ounce of energy to achieve victory. That's Leader Business!

Leading in Chaos

Here in Afghanistan, not unlike many of the environments in which you operate, everything seems to be difficult. We have too much work and too few people to do it. We lack the resources to be as efficient as we would like. Our contractors struggle to meet schedules and operate within budget. We answer to too many bosses, all of whom have different priorities. Turnover among our employees is incredibly high (3% per week). Movement to project sites is complicated by lack of roads, complex terrain, a ruthless enemy who creates security challenges at every turn, and the logistics of moving around an area of responsibility about half the size of the state of Texas.

Life is hard. There are any number of reasons we use for why we fall behind on our schedules or exceed our budgets. Lots of reasons...but none of them matter. We have to find a way. As leaders, we are challenged to sort through the chaos, bring order to complex situations, identify and resource priorities, and get the mission accomplished. NO MATTER WHAT!!

Do you find yourself in these sorts of situations? This is where we as leaders have to sort through the chaos, we have to bring clarity to the situation. We have to be the ones to maintain calm, to help people sort through the friction of the moment and still accomplish the mission.

I like to remind people (and myself) every day...IN TIMES LIKE THIS...THIS IS WHY THEY NEED US! If everything ran perfectly smoothly, why would they need leaders? If decisions didn't need to be made, if difficult choices among competing demands did not need to be discerned...why would they need us? They could just figure it all out themselves, right?

Well, usually...they can't! And they do need us. Leaders bring order to chaos. Leaders sort through the fog of war and point the team in the right direction. Leaders realize that stuff happens. Always has...and always will. How we are defined, where we add value to the team, is in what we do when the stuff happens. Do we fail in our tasks because of these problems, or do we succeed in spite of them? This is the true measure of our leadership, when we are tested the most, and when we either stand and deliver...or succumb to our enemies.

Whether here in Afghanistan or wherever you serve as a leader, keep reminding yourself...this is why they need us. Problems are not something to complain about, they are opportunities to teach, to grow, to solve problems, to increase communication, and to add value. I love this stuff!!! This is what leaders do. That makes it...Leader Business!

Note: Can I take the chance to thank those of you who have either ordered the Leader Business book or who have forwarded the link to your friends, colleagues, or anyone else who might benefit from a focused examination of the battle-tested principles of leadership. We sold about 150 books in the first two weeks. I'm thankful to have sold one. The rest..is gravy! Here is the link should you want to learn more. Thanks to all! Hooah!