In a recent previous posting, I observed how I’ve discovered that, despite the observations of management gurus to the contrary, there are real advantages in working in as well as on the business. In other words, a strong case can be made for working in your trade as well as in overall business management. The key is to know when to delegate and how to determine your effective scope of work.
Chris Hutchinson of Curb-Tec Inc. provided this worthy observation (and himself at work) in an email to me. (He has given permission to republish.)
Thinking of your “hand-on management” post, I’m curious to hear how things progress. I don’t know if I’ve found the perfect balance but I definitely believe in a mixture, which is why I think that passion and being energetic are so important for people running a business… handling it all can be ridiculously time-consuming and exhausting at times. I will even go so far as to do the absolute worst jobs when we are doing something new, like in the photo we are getting more into slipforming this year so I worked a few weeks as finisher. These big jobs last months so of course I couldn’t do it the whole time but the guys appreciated it, and as you mentioned in your post, it keeps me “in close contact with the market” as well as my employees.
I know when I was in the Army, we respected our officers who had been enlisted in the past much more than ROTC and West Pointers. On the other hand, mixers, events and the like that go into business development are not necessarily my favorite part of the job, but I seem to do well at them. And the Army did indeed teach me very well the importance of delegating. In the Airborne Rangers we followed the “3-5 Rule,” which stated that no one was directly in charge of more than three to five people. Not that a soldier couldn’t go to his squad leader, etc. for something (especially when he had a problem with his immediate supervisor) but he knew his team leader was well-informed and in most situations was far more accessible. I progressed from to a squad leader in the Rangers and I know I never felt overwhelmed despite our high-pressure missions and communication seemed to flow so well.
So, yes, we can learn some lessons from the military. It turns out with five full-time employees we are about the level where delegation will be needed but by no means is the business so large that it needs a full-time manager/boss who doesn’t do much other than to supervise others. So, indeed, I will continue writing.
Hello Everyone,
Well, after re-reading what I wrote, I can see that when trying to shoot off a quick email I don’t always express my thoughts quite as eloquently as they are when bouncing around up there in my head. I’ll work on that as well as the typos. I thank Mr. Buckshon for correcting a glaringly obvious one that changed the message. I think everyone got the point though.
As far as the military goes, I lost count of the business leadership and management courses, workshops, etc. over the years that I’ve attended, and without hesitation, I can say that my greatest lessons were learned in the Army. Some things can be learned without the military experience but some things can’t. There are some specific aspects that I believe may surprise some who don’t know personally or know anyone with military experience. The typical soldier is most definitely not a mindless robot, however, despite the large number of Type-A personalities our missions require a deeper understanding of everything involved I strongly feel we knew when we needed to step back and follow orders. There’s a lot of coordination that needs to be done when in the field to avoid friendly fire, etc. so the average private knows more of the overall goal than an entry-level employee at a corporation. Therefore, I think most soldiers have a better idea of when to lead and when to follow.
Some of the most important lessons in my opinion certainly go against the grain of most conventional thinking regarding the stereotypical soldier. I have never at anytime or anywhere experienced more compassion, sympathy or empathy than while in the Army. Forget the “real world” mission on the street of a foreign country where it is common to have a young person in their early twenties in charge of some teenagers, even at garrison the situation and lack of a lot of support from family and friends absolutely demand compassion. I remember day six in the mountains during Ranger School and a letter about my wife that shook me up pretty good. With a serious lack of food and sleep to top it off, I went a little crazy, threw down my weapon and equipment my equipment and was ready to quit. What I did actually warranted immediate dismissal. The very same R.I. who spent the majority of the previous night walking next to me (because I kept falling asleep while walking and veering off the path near a cliff) telling me I was the worst Ranger he had ever seen in his life was now completely there for me when I needed it. I simply cannot express how important he was. This guy who was no more than 25 himself handled the situation perfectly and thankfully the letter wasn’t completely true and I got to finish the course. I have hundreds of examples and have not seen the level of compassion towards people duplicated in the business world.
HaHaHa… no, I’m not a recruiter just someone who had his life changed for the better due to his military experience.
OK, I’m rambling big time on this post so let me just copy & paste something below I sent to the other members of our management board and some others from our group a couple of years ago. If there is nothing else you ever remember from the myriad of leadership and management advice out there, please remember these 11 principles below. Explanations are written with military examples but they apply to business as well.
Sincerely,
Chris
As an Airborne Ranger… a unit always out front and therefore more likely to take casualties… every soldier from the very lowest Private on up was trained to take charge at a moment’s notice. These 11 simple principles have served me extremely well, not only when I was a Ranger, but in every single walk of life. They’re very relevant to every leadership and business management position I’ve ever had. I owe much of my success in life to my training as an Airborne Ranger and striving to follow these guidelines.
I’ve been in tons of leadership and management courses… this is about as good and concise a list as I’ve ever come across.
This is most definitely worth reading!!!
Chris
Military Leadership
Leadership is the process of influencing others to accomplish the mission by providing purpose, direction, and motivation.
The 11 Principles of Leadership are:
1. Know yourself and seek self-improvement.
2. Be technically and tactically proficient.
3. Seek responsibility and take responsibility for your actions.
4. Make sound and timely decisions.
5. Set the example.
6. Know your soldiers and look out for their well-being.
7. Keep subordinates informed.
8. Develop a sense of responsibility in your subordinates.
9. Ensure the task is understood, supervised, and accomplished.
10. Build a team.
11. Employ your unit in accordance to its capabilities
Explanations:
1. Know yourself and seek self-improvement. Don’t lie to yourself. Know your abilities as best as you can. Know your strengths and weaknesses. What you can and can’t do. What you know and don’t know. Find those weaknesses and improve upon them. Don’t think that you can do something when you can’t or haven’t the knowledge to pursue such. With that, seek that knowledge out and learn how to. If you have a certain weakness, seek out a way to overcome it.
2. Be technically and tactically proficient. This goes without saying. Know your equipment and the equipment that is being utilized by those under your leadership. Know everything about it. How is can be used and when it can’t. Know all the tactics that have to be utilized to accomplish a mission. One cannot conduct a certain maneuver when one doesn’t know how to maneuver. Familiarize yourself and master the skills that have to be used by those under your leadership. Know how things have to be done and what is needed to accomplish a given task.
3. Seek responsibility and take responsibility for your actions. An irresponsible leader is no leader at all. A leader MUST take charge. When a mistake has been made, take the responsibility for it. Those under your leadership will respect you for it. A leader must be trusted in order to get those under his/her command to follow them, trust is earned.
4. Make sound and timely decisions. For this you must know what you are doing. Following principle number 2 will aid in your accomplishment of this by being technically and tactically proficient. If you know what you are doing you will be able to make sound and timely decisions. In addition, get feedback from your subordinates about decisions made or to be made. This puts all your resources together, utilizing all the knowledge and experience available.
5. Set the example. Yes, a commonsense one. You MUST set the example for those under your leadership. You must always be setting an example for them in all aspects. Soldiers constantly assess the character of their officers as they observe day-to-day actions. The character you exhibit through daily example should be consistent with the individual values of courage, candor, competence, and commitment. Soldiers respect leaders who provide strength, inspiration, and guidance.
6. Know your soldiers and look out for their well-being. Know your soldiers well. Know their abilities, how well they are trained, their weaknesses, etc. Know them personally. We are all unique individuals. The better you know them, the better you will be able to lead them. Always look out for their well-being. As their leader, they trust you and need you to ensure they are well taken care of. Watch for them in all angles. Their abilities, their health, their personal life, their needs. Know what they are thinking as best as you can. How they are feeling. A soldier with sore feet won’t be of any use to you on a patrol, plus his/her morale will drop and even turn against you. Someone who just lost a loved one won’t care too much about accomplishing any mission while they are in personal grief. When you don’t look out for them, they will turn on you fast. Make sure they have the equipment they need and are well fed. It is well known in all Armies across the world that a soldier who fights on an empty doesn’t fight very long. They depend on you to look out for them, do so as a quality leader.
7. Keep subordinates informed. You must keep your subordinates well informed as to what is going on. They are the ones that make things happen for you and they cannot do so ill informed. Additionally, they are the ones who replace you in the event you are lost. Nobody is irreplaceable, all must be expendable in order for success to happen. When your subordinates are well informed and understand what needs to take place and why, they will better accomplish their tasks.
8. Develop a sense of responsibility in your subordinates. By doing this, they will take the initiative when needed. Things will get done. This also allows you the ability to delegate tasks unto them. They are leaders too, let them be. Give them responsibility and expect them to be responsible for their actions.
9. Ensure the task is understood, supervised, and accomplished. If the task isn’t understood, how can they carry it out? Make sure they understand what exactly it is that you need from them. Ask questions and allow them to ask them. Get feedback, only by getting feedback will you know if you were understood. Make sure the task is supervised in order to ensure it is being undertaken properly and timely. Make sure the task has been accomplished first hand. Inspect and praise for a job well done. Correct where and when needed and encourage them.
10. Build a team. When you merely have a “unit” you only have a clump of people gathered together. Things do not get done and tensions build. Build a team spirit. Everything is accomplished as one. Team players have higher morale and get the job done faster and more effectively. When you have a tight based team, you can overcome most obstacles.
11. Employ your unit in accordance with its abilities. Obviously a telephone repair team can’t be expected to repair a helicopter engine. Nor can an artillery battery be expected to conduct a patrol/ambush. Use you soldiers for what they have been trained for and what they have the ability to accomplish. Don’t use a light weapons squad to confront a heavily armored battalion. If they don’t have the ability to accomplish a given task, don’t use them for it.