| Several of us were standing around a table | | | | approach as well; usually with the same results. |
| discussing the good and bad of young people in | | | | In a Harvard Business Review blog post last year, |
| the workplace. When a member of the group | | | | Colonel Tom Kolditz, a professor at the U.S. |
| complained that his young workers were not as | | | | Military Academy, wrote that good military |
| productive as he wished and just didn't seem to | | | | leadership is based on the values of duty, service, |
| be able to "get it," I suggested a technique to lead | | | | and self-sacrifice. These are the qualities of a |
| these people through mutual understanding of | | | | good leader, whether in the military or civilian |
| mission and goals and helping the younger | | | | sector. It is the leader who understands their duty |
| workers learn as a method of engendering loyalty. | | | | to the organization; who knows they are serving |
| I mentioned that, in some ways, older generations | | | | that organization and the people in it; and who is |
| have abdicated a responsibility to teach, opting | | | | willing to sacrifice their own desires for the |
| instead to change our behaviors to meet their | | | | greater good that will be successful. |
| desires. One of the members of the discussion | | | | In my military service I was twice in unusual |
| immediately referred to my military experience | | | | situations where I did not have the normal legal |
| saying that it was easy in the military to make | | | | (or financial) sledgehammer, but still had broad |
| people do what you want them to because they | | | | responsibilities to accomplish a specific mission. In |
| have to obey. He professed that it wasn't as | | | | both cases I had small staffs (most of whom had |
| easy without military law as an overriding threat | | | | no particular requirement to follow me, at least |
| to non-compliance. | | | | not in the normal military sense) but national, and |
| That statement was at once correct and | | | | even international, responsibilities for which I had |
| incorrect. Correct in that military members do | | | | no real authority. I found in both cases that one |
| have a legal obligation to follow orders and | | | | didn't need brute force to accomplish goals. By |
| superiors often have legal remedies to | | | | treating people with respect, learning their needs |
| non-compliance. Incorrect in that the legal | | | | and motivations, and doing my best to meet |
| sledgehammer is a very ineffective and inefficient | | | | them while ensuring we all accomplished the |
| way to obtain loyalty and effective behavior from | | | | overall mission, we were able to meet our goals |
| subordinates. | | | | and move the entire organization forward. |
| Yes, I've known military leaders who accomplish | | | | The military services have learned that a leader |
| their goals through the brute force of legal | | | | who works to understand and inspire his or her |
| authority. Sometimes they are successful and | | | | subordinates will be more successful than a leader |
| some even make it to the top ranks of the | | | | who relies only on the brute force tools that may |
| service. However, more commonly they stall out | | | | be available. They also understand that the troops |
| somewhere because that approach alienates their | | | | need a leader who will stay with them; who |
| subordinates and does not engender the sort of | | | | understands and shares their hardships. No not all |
| loyalty that makes an organization excel. But, I've | | | | military leaders get it. But, the good ones do. |
| also known non-military leaders who use this | | | | |