LEADERSHIP LESSONS FROM THE MILITARY
AUTHOR
James G. Patterson
9571 East Caldwell Drive
Tucson, AZ 85747-9218
520-574-9353 FAX: 520-574-0620
cogent@flash.net
SUMMARY
We're in a critical point in history in America. People cry out for leadership, leadership necessary to build
better, more competitive products, or cut the deficit. But don't you intuitively feel we really have a lack of leaders?
Are you happy with the people at work who call themselves leaders? Are you confident of your local, state, and
national leaders? Most people just don't know what a leader is and what a leader should do. What I'm going to do is
discuss the way the U.S. military defines leadership, what the differences are between managing and leading and
what all of us can do to become better leaders.
TEXT
We can learn valuable leadership lessons from the people that have been training leaders for over 200 years,
the U.S. military. The idea most people have of leadership in the military has a lot to do with yelling and
threatening. That just doesn't work in the modern military. The civilian world can learn a lot by studying how the
military trains its leaders. I've trained military leaders in communication skills, and I've also studied and been a part
of their leadership training.
The military defines leadership as the process of influencing others to accomplish a mission (a job) by
providing purpose, direction, and motivation.
Military leaders are trained to understand the four factors of leadership:
1. The Led (your employees). Some will respond to punishment, some need more supervision. Some
respond better to praise.
2. The Leader. You must know yourself, what you know, what you need to know, and what you can do.
You must treat everybody with respect.
3. The Situation. What works in one situation, may not work in another. What you do depends on the
competence, motivation, and commitment of your employees. The timing of a decision is also important.
4. Communication. You must communicate your vision of what you want orally, through writing, physical
gestures, or a combination. Your choice of words, tone, actions, and clarity and conciseness all help blend the
leadership image you want to portray.
All four factors are always present, but how you use them will differ based on the situation and the people
involved.
The military teaches an easy to remember way to keep the most important leadership principles in mind.
Learn the BE, KNOW, DO principles of leadership:
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-BE....
*a role model to your people
*a good, honorable person
*an example of individual values
*able to resolve complex ethical dilemmas (do the right thing)
-KNOW...
*the four factors of leadership and how they affect each other
*yourself
*standards for job success
*human nature (to know what makes your people tick, you need to talk with and listen to them)
*your job
*your people's capabilities and limits
-DO....
*provide a purpose, explain the "why"
*provide direction when needed; plan; maintain standards of excellence; set goals; make
decisions and solve problems; supervise, evaluate, teach, coach, counsel, and mentor
*provide motivation, take care of your people, develop teams, reward excellence, correct low
performance
The best leaders are themselves and are flexible in the way they interact with people. What style a leader
chooses to use depends on the person, the situation and any change in the environment.
The three leadership styles are:
1. Directing. Leaders should use this style when time is short, or when your people lack experience,
knowledge, or competence. Don't think this style will anger or frustrate employees who need more direction.
This is actually the kind of style they expect and appreciate. Imagine how stressful it would be if you asked
an inexperienced, low level employee for direct help in avoiding a nuclear war! Yelling, swearing, temper tantrums,
and demeaning people isn't a directing style; it's just plain unprofessional.
2. Participating. Use this style if your people support your goals and have some competence. This is
where you, the leader, involves the led in determining what to do and how to do it. The leader asks for information
and recommendations, but still makes the decision. Allowing participation can be a powerful team building exercise.
It helps build trust, confidence, and support for the final decision. To ask for advice is a sign of strength. Your
employees will respect you for it. But as a leader, you still have to make a decision based on what you think is right.
As a leader, YOU are responsible.
3. Delegating. This is where the leader delegates problem solving and decision making authority to an
employee or work group. It is an appropriate style to use with highly competent, mature employees who support
group goals and are motivated to perform their jobs.
Delegating is often the most effective leadership style and it should take less of your time. But, you have to
train your people to accept delegation. Leadership experts Tom Peters and Warren Bennis say a lot of confusion
about managing and leading comes from the way we train our so-called civilian leaders. Bennis says Americans are
an overmanaged and underled people. Why? Because we simply don't train LEADERS; we train technicians and
staff people to be MANAGERS.
There is an important difference. A good way to look at it is a good manager should be hardworking,
tolerant, fair. The manager should run a smooth and efficient department or company. The good manager should be
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proficient at planning, organizing, controlling, and leading. He or she must clarify everybody's role and function,
provide appropriate rewards and punishment, be considerate and meet peoples' social needs. He or she is also
committed to the organization.
A good leader is all that a good manager is, and more. A good manager is, as they'd say in the military,
"technically and tactically proficient." He or she influences people to attain goals through the use of power. But a
good leader must INSPIRE and MOTIVATE to get people to go beyond what they ever thought they could
accomplish.
Bennis, in his book WHY LEADERS CAN'T LEAD, says "Managers are people who do things right;
Leaders are people who do the right things."
What we must do is train our best managers to be something more. Our present and future leaders must
know how to be good managers and:
-must have a vision of the big picture that employees can identify with
-must help shape a corporate value system all can identify with
-must trust their people and in turn, will earn their trust
-will tend to be less predictable
-will create an atmosphere of change
-will stand for something
-will be able to motivate them to see it, and
-have the ability to communicate that vision to their people.
The best leaders should stay away from the mundane decision-making best made at a lower level. They
have to stay away from being bogged down by a stifling bureaucracy that saps strength and initiative. For instance,
historians say former President Jimmy Carter was a leader who got caught up in all the details. By doing that, you
lose focus on the big picture the effective leader should always concentrate on.
Effective leaders will establish clear and measurable goals based on input from diverse groups in an
organization. Success here is based on the ability to be able to truly listen.
The effective leader allows himself and others to take risks and to be creative. Have you ever noticed how
much FEAR there seems to be in most organizations? You can trace that fear back to the nominal leader of that
organization. The leader should set the tone. The leader will allow, and even encourage what baseball people call
"errors of enthusiasm." It is how people and organizations grow.
A great leader will EMPOWER people. He or she will learn to:
-make people feel important, will return phone calls promptly, take more than his share of the blame (and
a little less than his share of the credit) will want to fix a problem, and may even do it personally
(remember, there is a danger here of losing focus on the big picture).
-value lifelong learning and mastery (we learn from our mistakes). Encourage people to learn for job
competence and for fun.
-make people feel they are a part of something greater by letting them in on decisions that affect their jobs
and lives (community building)
-buy into their vision of the future.
Let's take a look at leadership in action. Remember the Tylenol poisoning scare from a few years ago?
People who were taking the product were dying and nobody knew why. Johnson & Johnson Chief Executive Officer
James Burke had one of the most difficult decisions in his life and he knew it. Should he pull Tylenol from the
shelves?
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Burke knew the cost would be staggering. Marketing experts at the time predicted the end of the Tylenol
brand.
You know what Burke did; he pulled the product from the stores.
Why did Burke do what he did? He said his decision came from the Johnson & Johnson credo, "We
believe our first responsibility is to the doctors, nurses, and patients, to mothers and all others who use our products
and services."
Burke knew and understood the values his company stood on and used it to make a decision. He also kept
the big picture in mind. His decision cost Johnson & Johnson dearly in the short run. But because Burke did the
right thing, Tylenol gained more trust and customer loyalty than they could have bought with millions of dollars of
advertising.
CONCLUSION
Those of you familiar with the Total Quality Management concept understand the competitive and effective
organizations and leaders must get away from a QUANTITY emphasis and toward QUALITY... in life, in work, and
in their product or service.
You, too, can be a great leader. You can easily apply the centuries-old tried and tested American military
leadership principles to lead any organization. Remember, the best leaders are not born that way; they were made.
Leaders are so often ordinary people with extraordinary determination.
Be human, treat people with respect, know your people, know yourself. Have a grand vision of where you
and your organization needs to go and be able to clearly communicate that vision. Establish measurable goals so you
know if you're reaching your target. Let every person know what they do makes a difference.
Give people the tools to do their job, trust them to do it, and get out of their way.
And finally, real leaders face the music even when they dislike the tune.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Associates, Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership, U.S. Military Academy. Leadership in
Organizations. Garden City Park, NY: Avery Publishing Group Inc., 1988
Bennis, Warren. On Becoming a Leader. New York: Addison Wesley Publishing, 1989.
Bennis, Warren. Why Leaders Can’t Lead. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass publishers, 1990.
Heim, Pat and Chapman, Elwood. Learning to Lead. Los Altos, CA: Crisp publications, 1990.
U.S. Department of the Army, FM (Field Manual) 22-100, Military Leadership, 1989.
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WRITER'S BIOGRAPHY: Jim Patterson is "The Cogent Communicator" a Tucson, Arizona firm specializing in
training and consulting in communication and quality. Jim is also publisher and editor of "The Cogent
Communicator" newsletter.
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LEADERSHIP ASSESSMENT QUIZ
How do you stack up as a leader? You can assess your own competencies by taking this simple quiz,
similar to one the U.S. military uses. You can also get valuable feedback by seeing how others who work with you
assess your leadership ability. So feel free to make copies of this quiz.
Answer each question realistically. Don't answer the questions in terms of how you wish you were. If you
feel you can't answer a question, skip it. There are no right or wrong answers.
JOB PROFICIENCY
1. I set high standards for myself.
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2. I am competent in my job.
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3. I work hard to improve my job
knowledge.
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4. When speaking, I explain ideas and
concepts so all can understand.
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5. I listen closely to others and pay
attention to what they have to say.
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6. I write effectively and am able to
organize and explain thoughts clearly.
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7. I convey appropriate excitement and
enthusiasm that motivates my
subordinates.
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8. I accept responsibility for my
decisions and the impact it has on
others.
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9. I am a credible role model and set
the proper example for others to
follow.
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10. I demonstrate moral courage; do we
ought to be done; stand firm on my
values, moral principles, and
convictions.
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11. I am open, honest, and candid when
dealing with others.
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COMMUNICATIONS
PROFESSIONAL ETHICS
PLANNING
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12. I am proficient in developing courses
of action, scheduling, and organizing.
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13. I establish clear priorities and goals.
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14. I am flexible, able to handle
uncertainty, and do not become frustrated easily.
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15. I ensure others help me develop
plans when appropriate.
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16. I actively seek information needed to
solve problems or develop recommendations.
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17. I know how to organize things so
information flows efficiently
throughout the group or company.
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18. I know how to use analytical
techniques to solve problems or
arrive at conclusions.
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19. I skillfully estimate the time it
takes to get a job done and
effectively manage time and competing
priorities.
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20. I know what decision to make and what
decisions to delegate to subordinates.
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21. I skillfully build commitment for the
decisions I make.
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22. I include others in the decisionmaking process when appropriate.
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23. I develop creative and imaginative
solutions when faced with unfamiliar
problems.
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24. I understand and accept my
responsibility to teach, coach, and counsel.
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25. I am an effective teacher.
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26. I demonstrate the patience and
concern necessary to be an effective counselor.
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USE OF AVAILABLE SYSTEMS
DECISION MAKING
TEACHING AND COUNSELING
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27. I use good judgment with personal
information and maintain confidentiality
when appropriate.
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28. I give clear and concise directions;
others know what to do after receiving
my directions.
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29. I do not oversupervise or
"micromanage."
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30. I don't undersupervise or give too
little guidance.
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32. My actions will help develop a
healthy leadership climate.
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33. I ensure others receive credit for
their contributions and
accomplishments.
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34. I accept the hones mistakes of others
as a normal part of learning.
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35. I develop others by willingly sharing
my experience and expertise.
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SUPERVISION
31. I know how to evaluate performance
to see if standards are being met.
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TEAM BUILDING