My humble advice on leadership for military or civilian use:
1. Introduce your subordinates to the company's mission statement, ensure they understand the endstate, and assist them in understanding their role in achieving the endstate. As a leader you have to both support the 'vision' and SELL IT.
2. The old know your men and promote their welfare' - "Seek first to understand, then to be understood". Understand the unique dynamic in your workplace. Promote positive influences and attempt to correct negative influence through exemplary 'leadership by example' and constructive criticism in private and comfortable environments.
3. Try to be non-confrontational in your approach when resolving disagreements. Don't feed their primal instincts like 'fight or flight'. Avoid embarrassing people. NEVER undermine someone's authority in front of their subordinates or peers. Be tactful in your approach to advising your superiors - if you have to, make it sound like it's their idea in the first place. Subversion can be acceptable if the intent is pure and the delivery is tactful.
4. Exemplify solid and unwavering personal virtues and ethos. Reward integrity and honesty, openly and in public. As we Royals like to say, "Never pass a fault" - If you see a wrong, then right it. Never compromise the core virtues based on an unpopular decision you have to make. NEVER say "just this once" - it sets a dangerous precedent.
5. Hold YOURSELF and your people accountable for their actions. Don't lose your temper when faced with lack of discipline in your subordinates. If you resort to anger, yelling, and belittling; you have in essence, exacerbated the problem (IE...anger management) instead of helping them to acknowledge and correct the problem.
6. Focus on your circle of influence: Be proactive and positive within your own realm and it should, by virtue of its success, increase. Take the time to present an intelligent and articulate argument when stepping outside your normal realm of influence - your credibility will speak for itself, and you should make an impact.
7. Respect your men and their input. No leader with sound judgment should arbitrarily discount a reasonable or logical solution to a challenge - and this should apply both up and down in your hierarchy. Never stop learning......or listening. At the same time, avoid the Chinese Parliament approach to leadership. There are times to listen, consider the options, develop a course of action, and act. There are also times to use your command presence to present your plan and how you wish to achieve it.
8. Conduct yourself with decisiveness and dash in stressful situations. Others will feed off your strength and gain newfound confidence in the collective successes.
9. Build self-directing teams: Put subordinates in positions of responsibility and let them reap the rewards of success. Assist them subtly with experience or advice if need be, but don't superimpose your ideals on their style of leadership. Rotate your men through the cogs of the machine so they get a better understanding of it's intricacies. This includes leadership positions, because everyone who has been 'thrown in the breach' understands the unique challenges inherent to 'running the show', as opposed to the comfortable position of resident 'mushroom'. 'Teamwork' will begin to take on a whole new meaning. The words 'empowerment' 'structural integrity' and 'interdependence' have been used to best describe this doctrine.
10. The military culture: Learn to subordinate personal needs to that of the 'Team'. You volunteered to serve, and you don't complain when you go to the bank to collect the tax payer's coin; so hold up your end of the bargain. Nights, weekends, holidays, operational tours, courses, etc......... they are all implied tasks when you sign on. Garrison routine is not your job.......its battle procedure FOR YOUR JOB!!! Having said that, when the tempo has lessened, the leadership should support the administrative needs and welfare of the troops. I like the old saying "if you've got nothing to do, don't do it here" and I absolutely hate the "standing around team". The workplace should never be a place to play cards, and if it is then it is indicative of the initiative at all levels in that chain of command.......including those that are playing!
11. Constantly seek self-improvement: Never stop learning. Never relegate yourself to 'good enough'. Always seek new ways to 'skin the cat'. Never subjugate your subordinates to a state of complacency. Leadership is a challenge - rise to it. Study your team's modus operandi, study the enemy's MO, study the MO of your allies, study everyone's MO - and most of all study yourself. Never pass up a chance to 'sharpen the tools' - mentally, physically, literally, or figuratively.
Let me close by saying I wish these principles where as easy to follow as they are to write. I have written out these thoughts, not to sound pretentious, but to help stimulate thought and conversation. These are by no means my own ideas, they have been compiled from experience, and the learned writing of numerous 'others'. Special thanks to men like Stephen R Covey who wrote 'The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People', and others of his caliber, who have had a profound influence on my leadership. Most of all I credit the Canadian military for giving me the pleasure of working with, and for, some truly great men........ and leaders of men.
Good luck to all.
