Battlefield (or office) Patience
"To lose patience is to lose the battle." Mahatma Gandhi
I bring this blog to you from my latest book, “Left and Right of the Boom.” This excerpt comes from Chapter 3, “Establishing a Crisis-Ready Foundation.” I had a laugh when I found the quote above, given my "Season of Low Tolerance" blog last week. Perhaps it was my inner self reminding me of this leadership virtue.
When crisis arrives, as it surely will, leaders and their organizations must stand on firm ground to weather the storm. A leader must take steps to display some “Battlefield Patience” when the going gets tough. We used this term in the Army to describe the characteristic of the leader in the group who seemed unaffected by the crisis — who was able to think and lead calmly, allowing others around them some latitude to express their emotions while they remained resolute and calm. Battlefield patience meant not acting injudiciously. It referred to the leader’s ability, in the heat of a crisis, to apply tolerance and restraint — to act intelligently, informed, and deliberate even in the span of seconds. Indeed, it took practice to master this crisis-leader trait of battlefield patience, and it could only work if the leader invested time building a competent and confident team.
I am no different from any other person. I have emotions and emotional triggers, and I care deeply when things go wrong — especially when they go so wrong that people get injured or killed. Crisis took its toll on me as a young leader and my emotions spiked. It’s hard not to have our emotions right at the surface — to wear our anger, frustration, panic, fear, and sorrow on our sleeves. It was only through repetition, exposure to crisis, and by watching other leaders display battlefield patience that I learned and chose to be calm. Along with learning from others and experience gained with time, a level of intrinsic leader consciousness is required; leaders need to be awake and aware – to be conscious of their feelings and actions.
Leaders who truly understand their role can embrace calm better than those who fail to elevate themselves to the position they hold. Remember that the position of leader — whether it’s a mid-level manager or CEO, a staff sergeant or a colonel — is designed not for the individual who fills it but rather for the organization and its people … and whether or not those job descriptions say it overtly, calm is a prerequisite characteristic for every leadership role. The CEO is a position created to place leadership — influencing, steering, teaching, coaching, caring, and of course, managing crisis, to name a few — at the top of an organization so that it may survive and thrive.
Those given the privilege of the title “leader” will succeed only if they consciously appreciate and understand the awesome responsibility and requirements of that position. I feel this every time I am with my people. As if I’m wearing a new suit that is lighted for all to see, I’m aware of my role and its requirements — with the imperative of being calm being paramount. My consciousness is only amplified when trouble arrives; therefore, I’m able to apply battlefield patience — the calm my organization and its people deserve.
The book begins with the story of tragedy – the death of one of my soldiers in Afghanistan, Patrick Devoe. I didn’t fly off the handle when Devoe died. I didn’t berate people, demanding more information or pinning fault. I calmly took in reports and offered my support. My emotions did spike in the moments after his death. Hours of travel by treacherous road separated me from my own headquarters and that parental feeling of wanting to be by the side of my suffering children overcame me. In my moment of personal strife, I asked for helicopter transport back to my unit and I went as far as getting the Aviation Task Force commander on the tactical line to express my feelings and request. He was of equal rank to me and was very sympathetic, offering his condolences for my unit’s loss. But he did have an overloaded flight schedule that day supporting a complex battlefield. Our conversation was calm and professional. We were both schooled in battlefield patience. “Rob, I can cut a helicopter to you, but I’ll have to strip it away from another tactical mission. How can I help?” “No, don’t do that,” I told him.
Choose patience – battlefield patience, when things go wrong in your organization. It’s ok to let your emotions out. You are human after all, but be the calm in crisis for your team. Pick up a copy of "Left and Right of the Boom," and you’ll learn how!
Make it Personal!
Boom!
Rob
Rob Campbell