Posted by
Catmman on Wednesday, May 13, 2009 2:14:10 PM
Upon retiring from active duty after twenty-two years in the United States Air Force, I am frustrated by what I perceive to be some new idea of what leadership is as opposed to what it should be. Before continuing let me acknowledge that I am far from perfect. Some of my ideas may seem archaic, perhaps even barbaric. But they are my thoughts and beliefs - take them as such and feel free to comment, good or bad.
A real leader should not be afraid to do anything he asks his subordinates to do, in fact he should be completely capable and competent to do just that if the need arises. That being said, a senior leader should not do everything, sometimes should do nothing, and let his people succeed or fail based on their own actions (depending on the task). If his people succeed, the leader shouldn't take any (or very minimal) credit. If his people fail, the leader should take responsibility but hold his subordinates accountable. You would think this is basic stuff. Today's environment of micromananagement however tends to turn this rule on it's head.
Sadly this type of thinking is missing from today's culture in a lot of areas. When a four year old makes a mistake or does something "bad" it is the natural instinct of the child to blame someone or something else. Why? They fear the consequences they may suffer - no dinner, timeout (heh), or shock - getting a spanking. When a older woman stands before the president decrying her financial situation (a situation undoubtedly prolonged or exacerbated by her own bad choices along the line) it should be greeted with laughter and derision. Yet it is treated with reverance and sympathy! In fact, it is rewarded with handouts!
Playing the victim has become a priority for a ceratin percentage of our citizenry, I see it coming into our military more and more. The way to handle this would be to instill the militaristic ideals into our new recruits, but in my experience this only happens piecemeal.
People learn by making mistakes. People learn consequences by being held accountable for mistakes. Accountability also fosters responsibility: A person learns that if they mess up they will be held accountable, that negative consequences will follow and learning real responsibility means standing up and "taking it like a man." An addendum: Never be afraid to give your subordinates "top cover" if the situation calls for it. This is not "covering for your people." It is standing there and taking the heat for them if neccessary. Not every mistake is cause for a court martial. You will foster true loyalty (more on that later) by standing up for your folks, by being an example yourself (practicing what you preach as it were) than throwing them to the wolves for every little oversight.
Do not allow yourself to be paralyzed by indecision! One of the quickest, most surefire ways to sow confusion and divisiveness in the ranks is to do nothing. One of my first supervisors told me "right or wrong, make a decision." The next thing he told me was "you can deal with the consequences later". Another way to put this in more popular vernacular is, "Better to be jusdged by twelve than carried by six."
Simply put, you need to make a decision as best you can, based on the information available to you. This does not mean simply acting for the sake of acting; sometimes doing "nothing" is exactly what is called for. But that decision should be made on available information, not just because someone simply expects you to "act." Especially in the military, you cannot always wait for "favorable winds and fair seas." General Eisenhower on the eve of D-Day faced this situation. Should he order the invasion though the weather conditions were less than ideal? Or press on, taking a chance something bad might happen? We all know the answer to that particular quandry and in hind-sight he made the right call. Sometimes hind-sight is all you'll have to know you did make the right call. If you made a bad call, then admit as much and suffer the consequences. If you did anything other than a grossly negligent act, the consequences will almost invariably be less severe than you fear. Again, "be a man" and stand there and "take it like a man." Addendum: When you make a decision, stand by it! If you made a reasoned, though quick, decision you made it for a reason! Don't second guess yourself when asked to justify what you did. If you made a mistake, admit to it. If your questioner makes a valid point, acknowledge it. But remind as often as needed that you didn't have the option of hindsight when making your initial call. Don't allow yourself to get tripped up with hypotheticals after the fact. Remember, you were dealing with the situation at the time, not the situation as analyzed hours, days, weeks, or years later.
I remember a scene from the movie "In Harms Way." John Wayne is a Navy Captain. Pearl Harbor is attacked. He is put in charge of a small "fleet" of ships and given orders to attempt to contact the Japanese fleet and attack them. While out at sea, he is informed that their fuel is running low, and that resupply is iffy, if not completely unavailable. He figures he can extend his patrolling range by ceasing a "zig-zag" course which makes it harder for subamrines to attack surface vessels. He is advised that standing orders state he must "zig-zag" but decides his mission takes priortiy over personal safety and orders the "zig-zag" stopped. Sure enough, a Japanese submarine attacks and cripples his ship. Later back at Pearl Harbor, he is called in to a meeting with his CINC. His CINC goes over what transpired asking why he made the decision he made. The CINC also advises that punishment and sure career ending assignments will follow. John Waynes character is asked if he would prefer a Court Martial or face other punishment. John Wayne's character states he would NOT face a Court Martial and would take any punishment the Navy saw fit to give him. It was a matter or Honor: he would rather face punishment, facing the consequences of his decision, than cause a big inquiry and risk sullying the reputation of the Navy. John Waynes movie character takes full reponsibility for what happened since it was his to take. He made a decision based on the circumstances at hand, and weighing the risks, made what turned out to be a bad call. He didn't blame the sonar operator for failing to detect the sub. He didn't blame the lookouts for not spotting anything. He didn't play the victim. He was a leader.
More to follow.