Generations of young men and women have entered the military wondering if they will be able to lead. The thought of ordering any number of cynical, experienced servicemembers to do something dangerous, or menial, or just plain unpleasant can be very uncomfortable. Many of my student lieutenants expressed the same fears I had - would they have the respect of their platoon sergeant or non-commissioned officer-in-charge? would they look like a fool? what mistakes were they likely to make? what if their troops didn't follow their orders?
There are many great books on leadership, of course. And there are many more great articles and perspectives (like this one) available online, which provide great practical advice on the subject. But I've found that the reality of leadership is that experience does not transfer, and most books on leadership are mainly a memoir. So though they may be candid and clearly written, they don't necessarily help anyone develop leadership, because their experience is not transferable. I suppose a new leader could try to act like a leader he or she admires, but that is a little false, and it's common knowledge that false leaders are loathed and ineffective.
I was flattered to receive a telephone call from a young Marine second lieutenant earlier this week, asking if I could meet him and discuss The Basic School. That institution is abbreviated "TBS" (the "T" stands for "The," a fact which is amusing to most). He sought me out because I very recently taught at TBS, and so would be able to tell him how to succeed. We met last night at my house with another lieutenant in the area, grilled some bratwurst, and tried to talk about leadership.
But how? If I tell them anecdotes of my own leadership, I will be offering great sea stories, but since they will unlikely face the same situations as I did (and they're even more unlikely to remember my stories if they do), the anecdotes aren't much help. If I tell them common mistakes, they will remember what I say as forbidden practices, without really comprehending the underlying issues or considerations that made each mistake, well, a mistake.
In the end, I mostly talked to them about the perspective and attitude of a leader, and illustrated with examples from my experience. It was the best that I could come up with, because I reasoned that very few people are 'born leaders' in the sense that they showed up to TBS already knowing how to lead effectively, and that the only way to develop leadership is to just do it, to get out there and keep trying until either you are effective, or you realize that your efforts aren't helping your subordinates. In the latter case, if you care about anyone but yourself, it becomes obvious that you should do what's best for them, and get a new leader who actually is effective.
So to start with, I told them that the reason leaders exist is to accomplish tasks, and to do it correctly. In the military, officers carry the authority of the President of the United States as well as his or her special trust and confidence. Their leadership is burdened by the expectation that they will succeed in their orders; that they will do so in a ethical manner; that they will proceed with as much care as possible to the health and welfare of their subordinates; and that their actions will reflect well on their service, their country, and their president. It's kind of a big deal.
But sir, I read in their eyes, but sir, that's all well and good and we get it. But what do we DO? or better yet, what shouldn't we DO? Because while their commission and their oath of office is impressive, it doesn't really provide much direct input into the day-to-day actions and interactions of a leader. And because they were raised in our current educational system (through no fault of their own), they unconsciously expect every problem and every question to have one specific, correct answer. Unless they can write it down in their notebook, memorize it, and then present it in response to a question, they find it confusing. That is how learning is modeled today, and they have to learn a new way to learn...they must learn to come up with answers on their own, guided by vaguely phrased virtues and values. Faced with the chaos and complexity of leading others, especially when they lead others into discomfort and adversity, they must be able to create order.
So I continue that the expectations they carry as officers are held by everyone around them, from the President himself to the lowest enlisted man or woman. That nobody joins the Marine Corps to be mediocre, to have an easy life, to be ordinary. Within every Marine there is a yearning to do great things. And they expect their officers to make that happen.
Here is the reason why there can be no "do this" or "don't do this" list on leadership. Such things are too restrictive. Leaders must provide everything for their charges--they must train them well, give their lives meaning, teach them core values, and when necessary send them into dangerous situations. That means recognizing their value, knowing their personal lives, creating good training, and training yourself by orchestrating tough, realistic situations where you have to make hard decisions. The key to remember is that most people don't want what's good for them, they want what feels good. They don't want to change their practices, or complete another task, or sit in a class. They don't want to be the one selected to sit in a listening post near an enemy location. But a leader must decide what is right to do in a given situation--based on those commissioning expectations, as well as on the orders of his superiors--and then decide how to actually do it. Those are often hard decisions to make because they will involve sacrifice and toil.
But sir, their posture said, how do I know what is right? It's a fair question, because nearly every young leader is painfully aware of their great lack of both knowledge and experience compared to the men and women they lead. But there are a lot of resources available a young officer--the platoon sergeant, the squad leaders, fellow lieutenants, their executive officer and commander, and the written experiences of their professional forebearers. In fact, almost every leadership text notes (and I agree) that young officers should ask for help discerning what is right from those around them. It's courteous and frankly, they need the help. Yet no matter what, the leader must completely own every decision he or she makes, hard or not. Inexperience or naïveté does not exclude knowing right from wrong, and everyone inside the unit and out is counting on the young lieutenant to make the right decision.
So that is my first advice to a young lieutenant, or a new leader: Make decisions. Make them as best as you can.
Because leaders have to provide everything, they inevitably fail and fall short. Every young leader will look like a fool. Every young leader will at times be too hard on their subordinates, and at times too easy. Every young leader will in some way train their charges wrong and have to apologize and re-train. Every young leader will make bad decisions, even though they were trying their best to make good ones. It's inevitable. In fact, it's so inevitable that subordinates will expect those kinds of mistakes. And all of them are forgivable.
Unless it's a mistake because the leader knew the right decision to make and instead made a different one.
That's called a "mistake in character." That's called "violating integrity." That is universally identified as the one thing that is completely unforgivable in leadership. And I agree. That's when a leader shows him or herself unfit for the special trust and confidence, and frankly if the young, inexperienced, unknowing leader can't even do the right thing (even if he or she does it mistakenly), then he or she is useless. Literally useless. Less use to the unit than the newest private.
Now most people will also make some mistakes in character along the way. Little ones. Little lies, or little violations of orders. Here's the thing, however: it's impossible to be avoid the scrutiny of the subordinates. They will know. They will see dishonesty in their leader's eyes and they will magically be there when their leader decides to do something in violation of standards or values.
So the only way to recover from a mistake as a leader is to own it. If the decision was wrong, the leader still has to take responsibility for it (and for it's effects), and the leader has to make better decisions starting that very minute. Self-pity is not permitted. Giving up is not permitted. Never is it more important to continue trying than after one has made a mistake, and looks like a fool. No matter what just happened, no matter how many terrible or shameful instances lead up to a given moment, in that moment the subordinates still need--still deserve--a leader.
They need a leader who does the right thing even when it's hard, and unpopular, and makes others hate him or her. A leader who keeps emotions out of his or her decisions. A leader who models behavior, professionally and personally, for his or her subordinates. A leader who refuses to expect anything less than the absolute best from his or herself, who is dedicated to developing his or her unit into a group of great, extraordinary people who can accomplish great things.
So my second piece of advice: Never give up, and never quit.
The rest is personality. Every leader is different, and to give advice beyond all this is to suggest specific behavior. But the old wisdom of leadership is based in these two truths, and I discussed them with my audience:
- Making right decisions applies to oneself. That is why leaders need to be good and professional. They need to be competent, devoted to their service, and they need to set the example for everyone. Making right decisions for oneself (instead of wrong decisions, easy decisions, selfish decisions) is how one builds character and honor.
- Never giving up means a leader is there for his or her subordinates. There to learn about them, care about them, train them, teach them to do their job well and to take pride in it, and there to give them responsibility. It's more than just telling a subordinate what to do; the reality is that most people don't listen to much of anything spoken. A leader must teach something by demonstrating it, giving others a chance to try, and then correcting them when they do it wrong. A leader must forgive mistakes and reward achievement. A leader must be willing to concern him or herself with a subordinate's personal life. A leader must be totally devoted, totally committed to his or her unit.
- As mentioned earlier, people join the military to do great things. The nation expects the military to do great things. The point of having leaders is that those leaders make sure great things are accomplished. And so leaders must never falter in preparing their subordinates to accomplish great things if called. But they must also never falter in preparing themselves, which means they must practice making decisions. They must put themselves into unexpected situations where they have to make tough decisions. That is unpleasant, especially when it's so much easier to develop tough training for others. While it's great if subordinates are trained excellently, if their leader never developed his or her ability to decide, communicate, and act in difficult situations, then the unit is compromised and the leader is useless.
- The burden of having to make right decisions, and the importance of never giving up the fight to be better, means that leaders become professionally competent. That means memorizing data about equipment. It means reading tactics and techniques for employing their subordinates, or accomplishing their likely tasks. It means seeking out knowledge about upcoming events and challenges to better prepare, seeking out better ways to prepare, and making sure the leader is ready him or herself for anything that might come up, which applies to physicality as well--leaders must be physically capable and healthy. It means embracing a warrior ethos.
- Being a good leader is a discipline. It is a process. Leaders interact with, mold and shape, teach and mentor, discipline and evaluate people. They accomplish their tasks with people. There is no rule for success with people, and every situation will likely be unpredictable and confused. If a leader has made a life and habit of making right decisions and never giving up on his or her development, that leader will be mentally and physically capable of addressing each new situation, whether it's a trivial problem of a subordinate or a mission that threatens annihilation of the unit, without becoming flustered, overwhelmed, or desperate. That is mental strength and physical toughness and when practiced it is courage.
Those are the pieces of the leadership puzzle.
