Those Idiots Up At HQ

I remember seeing this cartoon in which two young soldiers were in a foxhole and trading complaints about how the idiots up at the platoon headquarters were far removed from reality and had no clue about the true situation on the ground. Soldiers like to gripe and the complaints about "the idiots up at HQ" are probably among the more common ones.

The cartoon is funny on a couple of levels: One, a platoon is pretty much the smallest element in a military formation. The men and women in a platoon, to include the platoon leader, are truly down where the action is. It's funny to see these low ranking troopers offering complaints at that level about the separation between them and their leaders.

The real humor comes from the realization that even at that low level, people gripe about how their leadership doesn't have a clue. At least in the Army, there is always this underlying grumbling that people above them don't understand the real situation on the ground and can't possibly relate to what they are dealing with. Soldiers, and my assumption is people in every organization, like to complain about how their leaders don't get it, can't possibly understand their situation, and are isolated from reality inside their "Ivory Towers."

Which brings me to General Stanley McChrystal. As you know from the events of this week, the General was removed from his command after some negative comments about his boss (President Obama) and other civilian leaders were made public through, of all sources, Rolling Stone Magazine. It was the same sort of complaints that one might get from those troopers in the foxhole, only the stakes were a lot higher and they were broadcast to the entire world. Just like that, General McChrystal was out and General Petraeus was named the top commander in Afghanistan.

President Obama had no choice but to make this move. Insubordination at that level is clearly grounds for removal. It was clear that General McChrystal could control neither his tongue or his men and that the lack of respect for his civilian leaders necessitated a change. That he would say the things he did about his chain of command, in front of a reporter who clearly would love nothing more than the sort of salacious quotes that he offered up, demonstrated a real lack of judgement and gave the President no other option. The General crossed the line. At that level, with those stakes, there is no second chance.

Before we point fingers at the General, it is probably worth reflecting on our own leadership. How often do we complain about our "higher headquarters?" And when we do, is it in front of our teammates? Are we sometimes guilty of voicing negative thoughts about our superiors -- out loud and in front of our troops?

My guess is we all are like those soldiers in the cartoon. We all want to complain about the leaders above us, how they don't understand what we are dealing with down at our level. Yes, it is human nature to believe that we are not the problem but rather the idiots above us! Admit it...you've felt this way...and you've been guilty of expressing your opinion in front of your people. (Or maybe it's just me, and I know I am guilty. But I'm guessing I'm not alone.)

It's a common issue. The leadership take-away is that it has consequences. On the rare occasion it can get back to the boss and cost us our job, as it did for General McChrystal. More often though, this attitude is contagious and will spread rapidly throughout the ranks. People hear what we say and will repeat it. Gradually you get a team with no confidence in their leaders. It's a virus whose symptoms include a breakdown in cohesion, a lack of trust and loyalty within the ranks, insubordination, and chaos.

We can all learn from this event. Let's ensure we stop ourselves before we offer complaints about our higher HQ, especially around the troops. Save that sort of talk for our spouse or our pets! Better yet, let's keep our focus inward. Let's deal with our own problems before pointing out others. The Bible says we need to take the log out of our own eye before we worry about the splinter in someone else's eye. Good advice. When we do this, we'll realize that we've got enough to worry about addressing our own failings, and that we don't need to point out where our leaders come short.

Bite your tongue, watch what you say, don't let your guard down, don't spout off to Rolling Stone Magazine. I don't know about you, but the events of the week were a good reminder. I need to remember that very often I am the "idiot up at HQ!" I don't need to spend time trying to fix my higher headquarters. I've got enough to do just fixing...ME. That's...Leader Business.

Selfless Service

Selfless Service can be defined as service which is performed without any expectation of result or award for the person performing it. The Army thought enough of this characteristic to make it one of its 7 core values:

Selfless Service: Put the welfare of the Nation, the Army and your subordinates before your own. Selfless service is larger than just one person. In serving your country, you are doing your duty loyally without thought of recognition or gain. The basic building block of selfless service is the commitment of each team member to go a little further, endure a little longer, and look a little closer to see how he or she can add to the effort.

I like to think of it this way: Selfless service is not thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less.

Leaders can always have confidence in their skills and abilities. They are comfortable in their own skin and know where they fit on the team. But their actions are not driven by concern for self. They don't act based on how it will impact on their own careers or if it will make people like them. They don't worry about individual statistics. They act in the best interest of the TEAM. They put others before themselves.

So how do you measure up? Do you put others first? Do you measure your actions based on how it will make you look or what it will do for your own promotion potential? Do you serve yourself or others?

The Army believes that a team of selfless servants can go further, endure longer, and become an "Army of One!" Any organization of people like this, led by leaders who embrace this concept, cannot be stopped. Selfless service is...Leader Business.

More Plebe Poop

At the United States Military Academy at West Point, we were required to commit several things to memory during freshman, or plebe, year. While they seemed like nothing more than an attempt to "haze" new cadets, much of this knowledge has stayed with me and helped shape my thoughts on leadership. Occasionally I'd like to share a few key pieces of "plebe poop" with you and see what you think. Keep in mind that not all "poop" is created equal. Some is for leader development. And some is valuable only in humoring my kids. Here is one of each:

Duty - Honor - Country (West Point Values as espoused in the Motto)

"Duty-Honor-Country. Those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, and what you will be. They are your rallying points: to build courage when courage seems to fail; to regain faith when there seems to be little cause for faith; to create hope when hope becomes forlorn."
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur Speech Upon Receiving the Sylvanus Thayer Medal United States Military Academy May 12, 1962

How is the Cow?

She walks, she talks, she's full of chalk, the lacteal fluid extracted from the female of the bovine species is highly prolific to the nth degree.

I still don't know what the issue was with the cow! But my kids love it and I am regularly paraded in front of their friends to recite this. 27 years of still now knowing what it means!

But I understand General MacArthur's message. We need a rallying point, some place to reassemble in times of turmoil or chaos. We need a place to look, to reassure ourselves that we are doing the right thing. We need some place to go when we are lost that can inspire us to keep moving forward.

Those are our values. They are not simply words on a poster or, in this case, in a motto. They are why we do what we do. They are what we stand for, what we believe, what our customers and teammates should see in our words and actions. Our values are who we are -- when no one is watching!

For a Soldier, they are why they fight: Duty, Honor, Country! Those three words....

Hooah!

Military Leadership in the Real World

Recently on LinkedIn, I answered a question on the applicability of military leadership to the business world.

Q? Is the military model of leadership really applicable to the business world?

A: Short answer...yes. I believe there is great applicability between the military model for leadership and the business world. I am still in the military but am in my second stint working within a civilian organization - now a public engineering organization with nearly a $1B annual program. I write extensively about leadership lessons from both worlds in my newsletter and my blog. Bottom line - in my opinion - business is not combat. But...leadership is leadership.

What is important to understand is that the leadership model seen in the movies, or even what is commonly understood as the top-down, command and control model - is not what you will see in today's military. This is especially true in places like Iraq and Afghanistan where this approach simply won't work. What you will find instead is much more aligned with today's business environment:

- Decentralized, intent-based, empowering leadership. When you cannot be everywhere in which your mission takes place (mid to higher level officer ranks to be sure), you cannot tell people how to do stuff. Instead, you focus on what must be done (tasks, mission orders) and why (purpose, intent). Empowered subordinates, trained and resourced for success, will take care of the rest. No difference.

- Information, network-centric operations. Today's military is totally wired, completely networked, often down to the soldier on the ground. Distributed operations based on a shared common operational picture allow leaders to make quick decisions, shift resources, and focus on what is (versus what was, i.e. traditional stove-pipe, analog reporting) and what will be (again, enabled by an understanding of the operational picture). All of this only works when people communicate, when leaders circulate the battlefield and move to where the action is, and when the team understands that information is everything. Technology, equipment, etc. are focused on enabling the success of the people who do the work. No difference.

- Values and culture. Military leadership focuses on creating a culture based on values (things like duty, honor, loyalty, integrity), trust, and a belief that every member of the team is important. It's not who you know, it's what you do. Successful leaders understand that it is all about people...and ethical performance. No difference.

Again, business is not combat. Life and death leadership principles may not work in the real world. But this is not the norm. What will work is selfless leadership, a passion for execution, and a belief in themselves (confidence and competence) and the team which they serve. No difference! Hooah!

I do feel pretty strongly about this issue (hence this blog site!). But I also know that not everything we do in the military is directly translatable to the business world. Pushups, marching, court martials, etc. won't necessarily work well in most organizations. But the core issues, things like empowerment, communication, values, learning, discipline, people...these are the components of military leadership that we would want to see in any team.

So what do you think? Did I answer this one right?

This is Leader Business.