Don’t Just Give Orders

One of the key lessons learned from Colonel Michael Musso of the U.S. Army over his 25-year career was to, “circulate the battlefield without giving orders” (Northwestern). What does this mean and how does it apply to leadership? This is essentially the practice of leaders visiting and interacting with their troops to gain a better understanding of the current situation. In the workplace, this can be considered to be akin to management by wandering around and can have benefits far and beyond just general situational understanding. In fact, such a practice can facilitate trust and relationship building, increase motivation and engagement, as well as create a healthier workplace climate.

We all know and understand the importance of teamwork, which we’ve spoken about at great lengths over the years. As part of the Green Beret training, one of the pinnacle activities is a lesson underscoring the importance of working together. In particular, new recruits are broken into teams and given a large log that they must hold over their heads for hours on end. As you can imagine, this is a very miserable and painful exercise in which each recruit is initially focused solely on their own respective discomfort. However, at some point, as U.S. Army Special Forces Green Beret Jason Van explains, there is a shift to focusing on your comrades and helping them get through it all. In doing so, the log begins to feel lighter and the pain seemingly disappears (Atlassian, 2019). Much of this can be applied to teamwork. That is, initially problems may seem large and daunting, but with true engagement amongst your teammates, problems become substantially easier to solve than they initially were thought to be.

Never surrender to failure

Failure is a part of life. Even the most successful business people have encountered failure at one time or another. For example, Walt Disney was fired from the Kansas City Star because the then-editor thought that he, “lacked imagination and had no good ideas” (Gillett). However, what sets apart the successful from the unsuccessful is how they react to it. We spoke recently about failure and how to overcome it. One famous example comes from the renowned US General George Marshall. While General Marshall was best known for raising, training, and equipping an army of several million men during World War II, he also encountered several failures throughout his career–including initially with the Marshall Plan which sought to rehabilitate the economies of many European countries. While the Marshall Plan encountered many roadblocks and was considered by many a failure (as suggested by the withdrawal of several prominent countries), it later led to a rise in gross national products of 15 to 25 percent during this period (Britannica). The plan also contributed greatly to the rapid renewal of several western European industries.

Atlassian (2019). 9 lessons on teamwork and leadership from the military. Retrieved from: https://www.atlassian.com/blog/teamwork/teamwork-and-leadership-lessons-from-the-military

Britannica. The Marshall Plan. Retrieved from: https://www.britannica.com/event/Marshall-Plan

Gillett, R. How Walt Disney, Oprah Winfrey, and 19 Other Successful People Rebounded After Getting Fired. Inc. Retrieved from: https://www.inc.com/business-insider/21-successful-people-who-rebounded-after-getting-fired.html