"Leadership is deliberate: You don't accidentally have successful teams."
This was one of the leadership tips retired Lt. Gen. Frank Kearney gave to executives at a recent West Point training. Lt. Gen. Kearney served as deputy commander for the US Special Operations Command, a 62,000 person global enterprise with a $10 billion budget.
In an interview with Business Insider last year, Lt. Gen. Kearney provided six leadership tips he feels business leaders can learn from the US military.
- You're only as strong as your least experienced team member. "Everyone in the organization is responsible for building and sustaining your brand."
- You have to know what right looks like for each role in the organization. "Ensuring that people truly fit in the role is one of the most difficult challenges leaders face."
- You have to talk straight with your people. "You have a responsibility to everyone you bring into the organization...and that means having the courage to give candid feedback."
- Shared challenges bond team members together. "One of the ways the military builds effective teams is by putting people in extremely challenging training situations together to give them a common shared experience."
- Effective communication is a three-part process. "Communication in the military happens in three steps: The leader gives orders, the subordinate reflects those orders back, and then the leader clarifies what may have been misunderstood." This is called "briefback" communication.
- You must preserve your force and their families. "To do your best work, you have to have strength of mind, body, spirit, and family...that's true for leaders and their teams."
Lt. Gen. Kearney's leadership tips are spot on. I encourage everyone to click here to read the full article where Lt. Gen. Kearney provides further detail into why these 6 lessons are essential to effective leadership.
Leadership Tips: Communication "Briefback" Process
I want to focus briefly on point 5: effective communication is a three-part process and the idea behind briefback communication. In order to effectively utilize briefback communication, leaders must speak and listen...
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