As I have written and spoken many times before, in the field of leadership, we can learn a lot from the military. They have been at it the longest, and it is leadership in extremely pressurised environments. It is life and death. My favourite is “The Navy Seals Art of War“. Another is “The habit of excellence” and of course “Extreme ownership“.
The Wisdom of the Bullfrog
I can go on a bit. I love those books as they are grounded in life and death and based on real-life stories and experiences. That is why I picked up “The Wisdom of the Bullfrog: Leadership Made Simple (But Not Easy)” by Admiral William H. McRaven. The author of “Make Your Bed: Small things that can change your life and maybe the world“.
Leadership is simple
The Army Rangers use Sua Sponte (Of Your Own Accord); the British Special Air Service motto is, Who Dares Wins, and the SEAL mantra is The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday. In modern times, the United States Marine Corps has unofficially adopted the saying “Death Before Dishonour”. The Cadet Honor Code is “A cadet will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do.” These sayings are not just words. They are words born of experience, trial by fire, and most written in blood.
Honour
Let’s start with honour. True honour—doing the right thing for the right reasons—is the foundation of great leadership. If you dishonour your company, your family, your country, or your faith, then your legacy of leadership will forever be tainted. It reminds me of “Legacy”. The mission of the military is to produce “leaders of character.” To live above the common level of life: to be noble when others may be unprincipled, to be honourable when others may be shameless, to be men and women of integrity when others resort to dishonesty.
Creeds
- Today’s SEALs are not without their dark shadows, but the standard of conduct is still exceptionally high. I serve with honour on and off the battlefield. Uncompromising integrity is my standard. My word is my bond.
- The Army Ranger Creed says, “I will always endeavour to uphold the prestige, honour, and high esprit de corps of my Ranger Regiment.”
- Green Berets’ creed says, “I pledge to uphold the honour and integrity [of the Green Beret] legacy in all that I am—in all that I do.”
- Marine Raiders: “I will uphold the honour of the legacy and valour passed down to me. I will do the right thing always. I will not bring shame upon myself or those with whom I serve.”
Start with moral principles
If you violate your oath, your code of conduct, and the basic decency with which you should live your life and run your business, you will eventually lose the respect of the men and women you serve, and the opposite becomes your fate. You always know what’s right, but sometimes it’s very hard to do. It’s hard because you may have to admit failure. Having a set of moral principles and being a person of integrity are the most important virtues for any leader.
Create trust
To be a great leader, your employees must trust you. If they do not trust you, they will not follow you. Follow the Golden Rule: Treat others as you would have others treat you. In his book The Speed of Trust, Stephen Covey says trust has two components: character and competence. Only promise what you can deliver. The quickest way to lose trust is to overpromise and underdeliver. Know that trust is built over time. Don’t rush it. Work hard.
When in command, command
Command comes with great responsibility, but with command comes the need to be decisive and accept that you might not always get it right. However, commanders are expected to make the tough decision. To act with purpose. To be confident and lead from the front. To accept the challenge and steel yourself for the rough waters ahead. A commander must command. Command the situation. Command the troops. Command your fears. Take command.
Lead
Never forget that as a commander, you will be expected to lead. If you are chosen for the job, take it with some humility, but also accept that you’re good or you wouldn’t be commanding. Being a leader, whether you are the CEO, the admiral, the general, the chairperson, or the director for an office of two, is difficult. As a leader, you must always appear to be in command, even on those days when you struggle with the pressures of the job. You must be confident. You must be decisive. You must smile. You must laugh. You must engage with your employees and be thankful for their work. You must have the look of a person in charge. You must instil in your men and women a sense of pride that their leader can handle any problem. And, as a leader, you can’t have a bad day. You must never look beaten, no matter the circumstance. The attitude of despair will spread like wildfire.
Always do your best
Sooner or later, we all have to do things we don’t want to do. But if you’re going to do it, then do it right. Throughout the rest of my career, I would be asked to do those menial tasks that no one else wanted, those tasks that seemed beneath the “dignity of my rank.” But I always tried to do the best I could, to be proud of whatever job I was given. In my career, I found that if you took pride in the little jobs, people would think you were worthy of the bigger jobs.
The only easy day was yesterday
These words are etched on a large wooden sign behind the instructor’s PT stand. The sign reads, “The only easy day was yesterday”. These words were a cautionary tale to every SEAL trainee. They said, “If you think the hard part is over, you’re mistaken.” Tomorrow will be just as difficult as today, maybe more so. But the words carried great weight outside training as well. You must be prepared to give it your all. Every. Single. Day. The day you no longer believe you have something to prove, the day you no longer believe you must give it your all, the day you think you are entitled to special treatment, the day you think all your hard days are behind you is the day you are no longer the right leader for the job.
Run to the sound of the guns
When things go bad, that is the time for a leader to be aggressive, to move to where the problem is and to address the crisis head-on. Why is there a reluctance to be the face of the solution? If you are going to be the face of the solution, it likely means you have a hand in the problem. Accept the fact that you must attack each problem with vigour. Never shy away. Never retreat from a difficult situation. Running to the sound of the guns is always risky, both personally and professionally, but hiding from the problem will only make it worse. Sometimes, you just have to “fix bayonets” and charge into the breach.
Sua Sponte
The initiative is doing the right thing without being told. The Rangers have a Latin saying, Sua Sponte. It means, Of Your Own Accord. In other words, doing what needs to be done without being told to do so. The truly great leaders do what is right without being told. If you don’t create a culture that allows the rank and file to act on their own, they will be mired in indecisiveness that will stall any forward momentum. Give employees a sense of empowerment. It gives them a sense of ownership. They will make mistakes, and their mistakes will have repercussions; however, the mistakes of action are far less consequential than the mistakes of inaction.
Who dares wins
Who Dares Wins. Three words that sum up the spirit of every great commando unit, and three words that differentiate a great leader from an average one. However, a great leader knows they must reduce the manageable risk level commensurate with the training or talent of those executing the task. Who Dares Wins had to be backed up by Who Plans and Prepares Wins. Every great leader must exhibit a sense of boldness because the rank and file don’t want to follow a timid soul. But no leader should confuse daring and audacity with brashness and impudence.
Hope is not a strategy
Setting a goal is not the main thing. It is deciding how you will go about achieving it and staying with that plan. Never underestimate the power of hope. Hope is what inspires, hope is what encourages, hope is what empowers, and without hope, nothing worthwhile can be accomplished. But hope alone is just wishful thinking. Pair hope with a sound strategy, a detailed plan, and a lot of hard work, and nothing is out of reach.
No plan survives first contact with the enemy
Just because you made a good plan doesn’t mean that’s what’s going to happen. The Military Decision-Making Process (MDMP) is the fundamental tool officers and enlisted use when developing a plan of action for a military operation. It consists of a seven-step process that includes receipt of the mission, mission analysis, course of action (COA) development, COA comparison, COA approval, and orders production and dissemination. The Marines use the Rapid Response Planning Process (R2P2). The Air Force and others use the Joint Planning System. Most major companies use various stress tests to determine their preparedness to handle financial crises, such as the Monte Carlo, Dodd-Frank Act Stress Test (DFAST), or the Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review (CCAR). As a leader, always ensure that your organisation has made the effort to plan for the worst-case scenario, even if it seems the least likely to happen; no plan survives first contact with the enemy. Always be ready.
Set high standards
You have competition every day because you set such high standards for yourself that you have to go out every day and live up to that. It pays to be a winner. It pays to be a winner. The saying was used by every instructor in SEAL training. The expectation was that SEALs were winners. And the only way to be a winner was to set the bar high. High standards of fitness. High standards of professionalism. High standards of conduct. Winners worked hard. Winners sacrificed. Winners never quit. Everyone wants to be part of something special. Everyone wants to be a valued member of a great organisation. And the only way to be a great organisation is to set high standards and expect people to live up to those standards. Never underestimate the value of a stretch goal, of setting the bar high and challenging your employees to clear it.
A shepherd should smell like his sheep
The officers soldiers respected the most were the ones who showed up in the boiler room when it was 120 degrees, who got greasy and turned wrenches with them, who picked up a broom to help with evening sweep-down, who brought them water when they were painting the side of the ship, and who thanked them routinely for their efforts. But they also wanted an officer who made the tough decisions, held them accountable, and worked hard. Above all, they wanted an officer who valued them for the tough work they did. Finally, they wanted an officer they could be proud of—even if they didn’t say it publicly. Share the misery, share the dangers, share the camaraderie, listen to their stories, and you will learn about your sailors, and you will learn what they expect from you. Pope Francis once said, “A shepherd should smell like his sheep.“You can’t relate to them because you spend too much time in the office and not enough time on the factory floor. If you don’t “smell“ like the people you are sworn to protect and lead, you will be a poor leader who makes bad decisions.
Troop the line
If you make listening and observation your occupation, you will gain much more than you can by talking. Every leader understands that nothing is more critical to the success of a mission than the morale of the troops. Morale is not just about the employees feeling good. It is about the employees feeling valued. It is about the rank and file having the resources they need to do their job. “Trooping the line“ is steeped in Army tradition. Historically, generals have ordered their soldiers to muster on the parade field so the officers could inspect the troops, Leaders can often convince themselves that they are too important to be dealing with the mundane issues of the organisation. They, the true leaders, are meant to be solving the intractable problems, the problems that will advance the organisation to the next level, the problems that only the smartest men or women in the company can solve. Never forget that there are also problems that need solving at the lowest possible level. And sometimes the only way to ferret out these problems is to get out of your office and talk to the men and women who do the hard work on your behalf.
Expect what you inspect
No leader of any good standing has ever questioned the need for inspections. The army inspects uniforms, weapons, vehicles, tanks, aeroplanes, ships, and everything that is of value to the organisation. But too often, in the corporate world, we give it less attention than we should. Inspections are not just about ensuring compliance; inspections force a level of discipline into the corporate system, and when discipline is applied, the rank and file know they are in an organisation that cares about quality, results, and hard work. Your employees must understand that their work will be judged, reviewed, inspected, and graded. It is the only way to ensure compliance with your high standards.
Communicate, communicate, communicate
Sooner or later, every leader gets ambushed with trouble. Maybe it’s a crisis, maybe it’s a kerfuffle, maybe it’s just a misunderstanding, or maybe it’s an opportunity. Just remember, if you’re going to move out aggressively, make sure everyone knows what you’re doing: communicate, communicate, communicate. Nothing is more daunting than being caught in a real ambush, with real bullets and real lives on the line. If you want everyone in the organisation to move as one, you must ensure that even the lowest-level employee understands your intent and follows your directions. On the first page of the U.S. Army Ranger Handbook are the standing orders for “Rogers’ Rangers.“ The Rangers were organised in 1756 by Major Robert Rogers. He wrote nineteen “standing orders“ that all his Rangers had to memorise. Although these rules are over two hundred years old, every modern-day Army Ranger has them memorised.
Commander’s intent
“Commander’s Intent,“ the values and goals of the organisation, be displayed in every office and on every desk. Everyone understands the importance of good communication, but time and time again, leaders fail to ensure that the rank and file clearly understand their goals, objectives, values, and intentions. Communication requires constant effort on the part of the leader. It is not something you can leave solely to a staff member.
When in doubt, overload
Nothing ever comes to one that is worth having except as a result of hard work. Always overload. Always put more energy, more force, and more power into the solution than seemed necessary. It was the only way to guarantee success in the face of uncertainty and doubt. Hard work creates opportunities. It’s that simple.
can you stand before the long green table?
99%t of all failures come from people who have a habit of making excuses. Difficult decisions with serious ramifications require careful thought. Sooner or later, every leader’s actions will be scrutinised externally and internally. Can you justify to reasonable men and women, sitting in judgment of your decisions, that your actions are moral, legal, and ethical and conform to the goals and objectives of the organisation? You know the right answer. It’s just that the right answer is hard to accept, and the decisions are hard to make because we do not live in a world of isolation. But if you understand that sooner or later, you will have to account for your actions, then by deciding to do what is moral, legal, and ethical, you will most likely end up on the right side of history. Ensure that all your decisions are moral, legal, and ethical. Ask yourself if reasonable people would accept what you are doing as good and decent. Sooner or later, you will be held to account for your actions. Always do the right thing.
Always have a swim buddy
Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down. Every leader does have bad days. Every leader does need someone to talk to. Every leader must find someone they can trust. Swim buddies are a necessity in life. Call them wingmen, copilots, first mates, shotgun riders, Skipper and Gilligan, Thelma and Louise, Barney and Fred, brothers, sisters, husbands, wives, partners—call them whatever you like, but without a good swim buddy you will be destined to make bad decisions, you will be confronted with the difficulties of life alone, you will sometimes wallow in self-pity, and nothing you do will be as fulfilling.
In summary
The last chapter sums it all up. Integrity, culture, character competency, confidence, humility, fitness(physically, emotionally, and spiritually), initiative, responsibility, honour, standards, camaraderie, communication and hard work. Combine that with collective leadership and situational awareness.
Contact
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