Direct Leadership Actions
Categorizes actions by the original schema: influencing, operating, and improving.
Influencing Actions
Reiterate: leadership is done through managing people.
Communicating
Providing information to subordinates is critical to their understanding the mission - the environment, the tasks, and the rationale. Beyond that, providing information in general, more than need-to-know, develops trust and can relieve the stress of uncertainty.
Two fundamentals:
- A leader is responsible for making sure his subordinates are informed and understand
- Communication isn't limited to your immediate contacts, above and below
Use a variety of communications - one-on-one conversation, meetings, memos, announcements, etc. - to get the word out as broadly as possible. Consider who needs the information - but more importantly, consider whether communicating to those without a strict need for it is harmful (and if not, don't refrain).
Keep your ears open: listen to anyone, of any rank. Pay close attention to communications two levels up and two levels down ... and always listen to the front line. Leadership "by walking around" is extremely valuable.
Of particular importance is keeping subordinates fully informed of the purpose and intent of the immediate mission: the loss of a leader will paralyze a unit, and undermine a mission, if the leader keeps information under wraps. Ensure your subordinates, in particular, can step up and take charge.
Decision Making
A "problem" is defined as any situation in which what you want to happen is different from what is actually happening. The decision-making process is an attempt to rectify the situation.
There are two sets of procedures for decision-making: troop-level procedures (for company level and below) and military decision making procedures for battalion level and above. These "proven methodologies" are not discussed in detail here, but both follow the same basic steps:
- Identify the Problem - Evaluate the symptoms, and determine the root cause and contributing factors.
- Identify facts and assumptions - Gather as much information as you can, and separate the details from unsupported beliefs
- Generate Alternatives - Do not go with the first thing that comes to mind. Instead, devise multiple solutions to consider.
- Analyze Options - For each alternative solution, consider its effectiveness and efficiency. Do not eliminate anything yet.
- Compare Alternatives - Review the analysis, and consider the long-term impact (especially the possible unintended consequences) to identify the best alternative
- Execute - Put the plan into action, monitoring its progress
- Assess Results - After the fact, determine whether the action was successful. Learn from the experience.
Admittedly, a leader will not always have the luxury of time, and must act on intuition. The experience going through the process at a leisurely pace will refine one's ability to take shortcuts - but do not make a habit of doing so.
In instances where multiple goals are being served, a leader must prioritize. Even when everything seems important, some goals are more important than others.
Motivating
Motivation is the use of words and examples to give your subordinates the will to accomplish the mission. In general, experienced soldiers are self-motivated - but self-motivation is developed and reinforced by leadership.
Empowerment is key to motivation: the men must have the resources and training to accomplish the mission. A disempowered individual, pressed to succeed in spite of being crippled by lack of empowerment, loses motivation and morale.
Positive reinforcement is important to motivation. While leaders tend to be problem-driven, remarking when things are not going well, positive feedback is also important to performance.
Also, consider the scope of reinforcement: the individual or the unit, and on what level of unit. To single out a squad too often may create rivalry and resentment among the platoon, making it less effective overall.
Positive reinforcement may be a few choice words of praise, but there are also formal awards and decorations to be used when appropriate.
Moderation is key: a leader who is constantly praising his men and handing out medals is not respected, and the value of rewards decrease with frequency.
Other general guidance:
- Determine what nature of reinforcement/award is effective for the individual or unit receiving it.
- Use the established system of rewards when appropriate.
- Present the reward promptly, and publicly.
- Recognize good work and honest effort
- Recognize people who get the job done and influence others to do the same
- Recognize achievement: meeting or exceeding standards
Negative reinforcement is a tricky matter - punishment is necessary to discourage undesirable behavior. There should always be a positive reason for punishment: the net result should be improvement of the individual.
General guidance on negative reinforcement:
- Make sure the subordinate understands the reason for punishment, exactly what was done (or not done)
- Make sure the reason is focused on behavior, not the person
- Punish those who are unwilling to do the right thing, not those who are unable
- Consult your own leader for guidance, and possibly alternatives, to the use of punishment
- Do not use punishment as a threat, especially if you cannot later follow-up
- Avoid mass punishment: find the individual responsible
- Consider whether punishment will be effective in improving the individual
- Punishment should be prompt, without unnecessary delay
- Punish privately - do not publicly humiliate a subordinate
- Be just: do not single out an individual for repeated punishment if it is not merited, or punish one person more excessively than others
- Manage your demeanor: punishment is a logical reaction, not an emotional one
- Ensure that punishment is not excessive or unreasonable
- Be consistent: do not fail to punish when punishment is due. It is the certainty of punishment, more so than the severity, that will keep individuals on the right track.
Operating Actions
An operation consists of three phases: planning and preparing, executing, and assessing
Planning and Preparing
These are grouped because they occur before the action takes place. Planning is developing a course of action to achieve an objective, while preparing is the process of getting the men and equipment ready to execute the plan.
A plan begins with a vision of a desired state, and can either work forward (each step from the present forward in time to the desired state) or backward (starting at the end state, working back in time to the present). The actions are divided into steps or stages, and the requirements to reach each state (resources and time) are considered.
Ideally, a plan can be made and resources acquired as necessary to accomplish it. Realistically, resources are limited and the plan must be devised according to what is available.
Also, the military has specific standards that must be met, which provide a baseline for performance that can be used for calculations in determining the requirements of a plan. For example, knowing that a soldier can ruck forty pounds for twenty miles a day tells his leader how many men are needed to carry equipment, and how quickly they can reach their destination.
Once the plan is made, preparations follow: primarily, coordinating with people so they understand the mission and how they must act in order to help achieve it. If the people lack the skills to achieve the plan, they must be trained, or the plan revised to account for their capabilities.
Likewise, material must be obtained to execute the plan. Some material will be needed immediately, other material may be obtained in later steps.
Rehearsal is an important element of preparation: soldiers are drilled on the key actions, which enables them to learn and remember their responsibilities. Supervising rehearsal helps leaders identify flaws in the plan.
Planning need not be on the organizational level - a plan may involve only one person (as in personal development). When it involves multiple people, all stakeholders should be involved in the planning process.
In regard to the goals themselves, leaders must set reasonable goals to accomplish a mission.
Executing
Executing means acting to accomplish the mission, according to plan, and making adjustments when things don't go as planned. This is where tactical skills come into play: having the ability to achieve an objective when the plan to achieve that objective is no longer practicable.
Supervising skills also come into play, as leaders monitor the actions of their subordinates to ensure that the job is being done.
Assessing
Assessment can take place during execution, but the majority of assessment takes place afterward. It is a separate nature of task.
An in-process review monitors performance in progress: knowing how well the steps have been achieved helps to predict how well the mission will be achieved, and may identify areas where tactical decisions must be made to get back on track. The analogy is to noticing landmarks on the way to a destination.
An after-action review takes stock of the situation when the mission is completed: the leader assesses what went well, and what did not go so well, as a method of learning from experience. The successes and failures will help make future planning more reliable.
Another form of assessment is the initial leader assessment, in which a leader takes stock of the situation before beginning a new command: take stock of the facilities, equipment, and people. Take stock of yourself and your preparedness to take on the assignment.
Assessment is also a tool to be used in developing subordinates. A leader's assessment of subordinates should identify strengths and weaknesses, and it should be shared with the subordinate so that, together, the leader and subordinate may plan a course of action for improvement.
- Observe and record leadership actions
- Benchmark performance against standards and expectations
- Inform your subordinate of your observation and assessment
- Help your subordinate develop a plan of action for improvement
- Review the plan and check progress towards its achievement
Improving Actions
Improving actions are done by leaders to leave the organization better than they found them, which is key to improving the effectiveness of the entire organization over time.
Developing
Developing means developing people - training and preparing your subordinates. This is critical to the success of the leader, as his work will be done through his subordinates. It is he majority of a leader's concern in times of peace, but it remains important in times of battle.
The army itself provides extensive formal training for its soldiers for every MOS. Leaders should avail themselves of this resource extensively. The army will also take advantage of training opportunities in the civilian sector, where appropriate.
Reading is also stressed as a method for development: both books and the Internet provide information - though one should approach them both with caution.
Development also occurs through experience: learning from mistakes, or from observing those who are successful. In many cases, formal training doesn't "stick" until it's put into practice in the field.
A leader must also seek to develop his own capabilities, and to do so constantly. One's superior helps to coordinate and focus training, but it is ultimately up to the individual to seek out learning opportunities and apply himself to the learning process.
Mentoring is the process of working with a subordinate directly: setting a good example is the first step, sharing information with the pupil is the second. Mentoring happens in the field - the mentor may act under the observation of his pupil, or he may step back and watch his pupil act, then follow up with discussion to ensure the essence was understood. Mentoring is effective for improving interpersonal and conceptual skills.
Teaching is more formal development: it can be done in a classroom environment, or in the field. Unlike mentoring, teaching is formal and structured, generally wit ha specific goal in mind: the student will learn a specific skill. Teaching is effective for technical or tactical skills.
There are our ways that people learn:
- Observing - Watching the actions of others
- Visualizing - Developing a mental picture of what they are attempting to achieve
- Absorbing - Taking in information, whether by listening or reading
- Practicing - Through hands-on experience and trial-and-error
In addition to tailoring the teaching method to the subject matter, it must also be adapted to the learning style of the student.
Developmental counseling is a discussion with a subordinate, listening to their ideas on how they approach tasks and steering them toward more effective methods. It differs from mentoring is that it is more conversational, and often happens apart from the action (before or after).
Coaching is another method of teaching: it involves watching performance as it happens and advising subordinates in the field in order to help them achieve success. It is not doing the job for them, nor is it constantly riding them - it's observation with periodic attention to specific details.
Finally, as a leader moves away from the front line, the subordinates he coaches are also leaders, and it is necessary to help them learn to develop their own subordinates.
Building
Building for the leader is more often the development of his unit as a team, to keep the parts of the unit working together rather than at odds with one another. It is similar to developing, but focuses on the unit rather than the individual.
An effective team:
- Works together to accomplish a common goal: the mission
- Executes tasks thoroughly and quickly
- Meets or exceeds performance standards
- Thrives on demanding challenges
- Learns from collective experience
Of importance is building a sense of camaraderie: the individual soldier will work hard, endure hardship, and face danger because his buddies are doing the same, and there is a spirit of mutual support.
Within any team, there are units that have varying levels of success: the men in a squad, the platoons in a company, are not equal. It's important to understand these differences and, where possible, address them directly - but more importantly, to ensure that the units bolster one another.
Teambuilding is divided into three stages: formation, enrichment, and sustainment.
Formation is when the team comes together, or when new individuals enter an existing team. The members should be received into the team in a formal manner, with some degree of ceremony, to give them a sense of belonging and the team a sense of identity and cohesion. Then, the members should be oriented to the team, to understand the structure and function of the team and the role they must fill in that context.
Enrichment involves the development of collective competency. It is achieved through working together toward common goals.
Sustainment is the state of success, where the members of a team identify themselves as such, and take pride in their belonging to it. At this point, the team has achieved optimum efficiency, though it takes some effort to maintain that.
Of particular importance is building an ethical climate: setting an example, creating clear indications of what is acceptable and enforcing those standards.
Learning
The army is a "learning organization," in that it seeks to change based on experience rather than cling to outmoded procedures. The goal is to do things better, not to do them as they've been done in the past.
Of particular importance is to avoid a "zero defects" mentality. If there is no tolerance for error, there is no opportunity to learn - to try new things, at the risk of failure, in search of a better way. However, where an environment is not a learning environment, such a mentality may be justified, even necessary (examples are parachute rigging, aircraft maintenance, etc.) A leader must take stock of his goals, to realize where having things done precisely is critical, or where some risk is acceptable so long as the greater goal is achieved.
Placing a subordinate in a position where they are expected to achieve, with only general directions on how to proceed, gives them the opportunity to learn. However, the leader cannot simply dump them in the stew and walk away: he must supervise and coach to ensure that the goal is achieved.
Tolerance for mistakes and inefficiencies, to some degree, also instills confidence. A soldier who figures things out for himself has greater confidence in his ability, and greater enthusiasm when faced with future challenges, than one who has merely followed directions to the letter, without having to think.