Impact players. You know these people. The ones you need in tough spots, when a team must perform or an obstacle must be overcome. I'm not sure how they are wired but these people - impact players, can perform when it counts, typically under pressure. They enjoy the full trust and confidence of leaders and teammates. I equate impact players to relief pitchers who are brought in, usually toward the end of a game or a crucial inning in baseball, to ensure the win. They exist not only on the ball field, they exist in your business.
Read MoreThere I was, an Army Major in the 82nd Airborne Division. I was the executive officer for a parachute infantry battalion, one of the most demanding jobs I ever held. The workload was relentless as we feverishly prepared for war and kept our parachute skills razor sharp. I felt as though I was treading water in a sea of endless work. I led a staff numbering around 25 whose job it was to run the battalion. It was a Friday afternoon and I was smoked.
Read MoreReally? When will you not be busy? Next week? Next month? The truth is it will never happen. I don't mean to be negative or insensitive - it is not my nature, but I hear this often, I've thought about it, and I cannot find much use for the phrase. It really sets me off when I hear it from a business. "We're really busy, or we only have 2 technicians..." None of that is my problem. If a business cannot hire the proper number of people or is not prepared to manage its workload, then it doesn't deserve to be in business. At least don't say that to me, the customer - as if I'm supposed to assume the burden. The concept is the same in leadership.
Read MoreThe Army taught me a tremendous amount about leadership. In a constant leadership laboratory spanning three decades, I led, failed, learned, and grew from a tactical to a strategic leader. I share these lessons in my first book, "It's Personal, Not Personnel. Leadership Lessons For the Battlefield and the Boardroom." This book continues to fly off the shelves providing value to public and private organizations. Here are three (of many) lessons from it to kickoff your week.
Read MoreI hope my play on words has worked here. I'm talking about the leadership required when you reassemble your team, in whole or in part, back to the office. I have the good fortune to 'see under the hood' of a lot of businesses and I've discovered some leadership challenges in this area. I'll get right to it.
Read MoreToday more than ever people have choices in where they work. Finding new talent is a big challenge for companies but so too is retaining existing talent. I coach several leaders who face this challenge. I help them problem-solve and develop creative strategies for both hiring and retaining people. Retention was a big deal in the Army. We had retention officers whose sole duty was to help commanders retain talent. They were trained, provided a budget, and given quotas to meet but, even with this robust assistance, it was still the job of leaders to retain great people.
Read MoreStandard operating procedures (SOPs), rule books, or company policies are the blue print or instruction manuals for how things get done specific to that organization. I can't tell you how many of them I've read, wrote, or ignored. I'm not knocking SOPs out the gates here. They have their place, but there is a better way to create and utilize them.
Read MoreI'm referencing the title from General Gordon R. Sullivan's 1996 book, "Hope is Not a Method." In it he talks about the transformation of the U.S. Army in the early 1990s where planning, not hoping was paramount. The concept still applies.
Read MoreNothing sets me off more than a sign like that. I confess upfront, I'm a non-conformist. It is one of my strengths as indicated by my Forte′ Institute's® Communication Intelligence Survey - a survey I use in leadership coaching and one which I believe is essential to leading effectively. My non-conformity is useful when rules need to be broken or when creative thinking is paramount. It is not useful when the rules should be followed. "No parking," I'll be just a minute. "Use other door," why? Thankfully I have my wife and other teammates around me to challenge my nonconformity when it needs to be challenged - to remind me that often, the rules do apply.
Read MoreSelflessness is a central characteristic of leadership. Leaders eat last. Others before self. It's not about you, it's about the team. These are all the mark of great leadership. Leaders who fail to espouse selflessness are destined to fail. But when is it time for self? After all, leaders must eat. They have to do some things for themselves in order to lead effectively.
Read MoreAh, Microsoft PowerPoint. What gem of a product. The bane of my existence in 3 decades of military service. I've spent many an early morning or late evening creating a PowerPoint presentation to 'sell' the boss or a group on an idea, show progress on a project, or teach a class. Did you know there is such a thing as a PowerPoint Ranger? It is defined in Wiktionary as, A person with a desk job who tends to produce computerized slide presentations rather than doing anything more useful.
Read MoreI come from a place where lives are at stake. Miscommunication or misunderstanding of the boss's intent means the mission fails and people get killed. My military training and my combat tours instilled in me a clear, concise, and confident communication style. While I would ask for clarification when I needed it, never did I want to let my boss think I was unable to get the mission accomplished. Moreover, my boss had a lot on his or her plate and it was important that I not add to it. Too extreme for a private organization where lives are not at stake you say? While that is fair, clear, concise, and confident communication has its place in today's complex, fast-paced business environment.
Read MoreThis coming May, I have the great privilege to commission an officer into the U.S. Army Infantry. Preferring to leave his name out of this, I'll call him Jeff. Jeff and I had lunch yesterday to get acquainted. His commander, having the foresight to know I needed to meet him, set up the lunch meeting. I always love meeting and networking with new people, especially leaders, so I was eager to meet Jeff and hear about his family and his journey into the Army. I also saw this as an opportunity to pass on some leadership lessons. I remembered vividly, my days as a young officer, hungry and anxious, so I saw it as my duty to help.
Read MoreWake up on any Monday morning, check your phone or the TV and you are likely to find something which saddens, shocks, angers, or evokes some other negative emotional response. Monday, the 28th of March was no exception. For those who did not watch the 94th Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, we woke that Monday to the news of actor Will Smith striking comedian Chris Rock in the face. What followed was a barrage of news headlines, videos, memes and images to keep the event in our psyche.
Read MoreI was speaking with another Army officer this week about counseling - the term used in the Army for appraising one's job performance. We agreed that most counseling sessions, if done at all, were lackluster. Of the 27 years I spent in uniform, I received about 5 effective counseling sessions where I was given helpful feedback and constructive criticism - where I was able to reflect on my weaknesses and talk about the personal obstacles which stood in the way of my advancement. Where a leader took time to coach and mentor me. It got me thinking about the impact of leadership on me - what stuck and what I remember to this day.
Read MoreEvery time I check the news I yearn to see a headline which indicates a cease fire or something marking the end of fighting in Ukraine. I find the opposite and it is heartbreaking. Amidst the atrocities, there are numerous lessons for governing, national and international security, international commitments and partnerships, and of course, leadership.
Read MoreI've blogged about this before but it bears repeating. I learned the use of this phrase in the military. I don't recall from whom I learned it or when it was seared into my brain but I'm glad it was. Define that, has a legitimate place in leadership. In order to make the best decisions, leaders must have clarity on situations, concepts, and problems. Ambiguity has its place but clarity is important, especially when it comes to the survival of the organization and the care of its people.
Read MoreI heard a commander of mine say this once, "Rob, always keep one person between you and the problem." It made me laugh. He was clearly joking as his meaning was, shield yourself from all wrongdoing. We had a ton of responsibility placed upon us as Army officers and military leadership counter-culture sayings like this eased the tension. Here are a few more to get you laughing: "It only hurts if you care," "False motivation is better than no motivation." My all time favorite: "Mistakes are for combat, we have our careers to think about." That one, indicating a toxic, zero-defect environment always brought laughter.
Read MoreLike you, I watch the invasion of Ukraine with shock, anger, and sadness. I feel powerless. I've been reading and conversing with colleagues who have education and experience in this region and whose opinions I value to mature my own thinking and make sense of the senseless. I've had many friends and family ask for my thoughts on what they are witnessing. I offer these to inform your own thinking and for mature debate. I do not confess to having this right. Tell me where I am off. Help me round out my own thinking. This geopolitical situation is wicked and complex and expands far beyond the current borders of Ukraine. I wrote this for you, my audience, not a Washington think tank.
Read MoreMany of you have asked about my assessment of the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. I'll be sharing my thoughts this week on this channel and on my LinkedIn feed. I do not wish to make light of, or overlook the seriousness of what is happening in Ukraine but I thought I would highlight the lessons of leadership which are pouring out of it. Never is leadership more important than in times of crisis. Here are a few.
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