I am very close to wrapping up another class. This is
my next to last blog assignment for MSLD 633 – Strategic Leadership. This
entire class has centered around leadership in Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS)
(Obolensky, 2014). I peeked ahead to next week’s topic and have determined that
both this week and next week combined make up the culmination blogs for the
class. However, this week had me getting a little more “hands on”. For this
blog, I had to (maybe saying that “I had the opportunity to” is a little more
fitting) interview my Commander and my subordinates. The questions were
specifically about how our organization can better enable leadership at all
levels.
I spoke with my Company Commander, Captain Brent
Whitehead, first. I have only been assigned to the Bronx Recruiting Company for
six weeks so I don’t know him as well as I knew my previous Commander but I can
tell you this – CPT Whitehead is willing to bend over backward to help so he
had no issue with allocating a little bit of time this week for me to come and
see him. I took him to lunch on Tuesday at some Dominican restaurant where we
had quite the experience (not a single person there spoke English and we don’t
speak Spanish) but we had a wonderful conversation. I didn’t prepare a list of
questions for him. I just wanted it to be a free-flowing exchange. CPT
Whitehead graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering
and then he joined the Army to repay his student loans. Because job placement
in the Officer Corps is based on the needs of the Army, he didn’t go into a
branch where he would use his technical expertise but instead was placed in an
Army Intelligence position. A unique thing about that branch that I learned on
Tuesday was that intelligence officers do not move into command billets. Being
in recruiting gave him a unique opportunity that his peers will never have –
the ability to lead Soldiers. He has only been here a few months so the
conversation was mutually beneficial. I just asked him how he thought he could
better able the Center Leaders to actually lead. He confessed to me that he
gave me a lot more latitude than other Center Leaders because I seemed
confident and I rarely ask permission. I tend to just run my own center. This
felt like kind of a pat on the back and was reassuring to me because it means
that I am somewhere between Level IV and Level V Followership (Obolensky,
2014). However, I don’t know where my peers are. Many of them I have never even
met face to face but only have spoken with them on conference calls. But CPT
Whitehead did let me know that he would gladly give them the same freedom to
operate as they pleased if they would do three things. First, if they would
meet suspenses. (I seem to be the only one that has learned to put deadlines on
a calendar and set reminders!) Second, if they seemed confident. Third, if they
would bring results. We ended up shifting the conversation a little bit and
began speaking specifically about what I have learned from this class about
Complex Adaptive Systems. He asked what I thought could be done to better
enable them and I countered that the Center Leaders have the official training
already. We just need to be given the opportunity. I suggested brining in our
Battalion Master Trainer for a few additional training sessions and then to
truly just let go and empower the Center Leaders. I did not know this until
Tuesday but he has actually mandated working hours for the Company. He just let
me set the hours for my center that I saw fit. I told him that I recommend
immediately repealing his work hours policy and let each center run
independently. I also recommended cutting out the daily conference call that
seems to take nearly two hours. I suggested that, though this won’t help meet
deadlines (perhaps the training can help with that), it will increase
confidence and may surprisingly yield results. He is actually now taking this
into serious consideration. (Also, I am going to let him borrow the book for
the class. So far, I may not have learned the most from this class about
leadership but I can for sure say that this class has produced the most immediate
practical applications that I have been able to institute and they have yielded
immediate results. As an example, punctuality is a big issue with me but I decided
to let it go. I have a couple of people that are late every single day, usually
by about half an hour. I have never once mentioned it and they seem to like
that I don’t bug them about it so long as they are meeting their tasks.)
Of course, interviewing my superior was only half of
this assignment. I also had to interview my subordinates. Again, I have only
been here a few weeks but I asked in a morning meeting if they felt empowered
and what I could do to empower them more. This has been a big issue with me and
I have, mostly because I took over the center right as I was taking this class,
been very clear that I want them to operate independently and just let me help
with the science end of recruiting (ensuring that we are in the right place at
the right time with the right message). First, they told me that they do feel
very empowered now compared to the past. I get the feeling that they were
micromanaged quite a bit before I came along. I am NOT taking credit for anything
as it was the team that met their mission this month but for three months
before I came, the center did not put a single applicant into the Army. This
month was my first full month as Center Leader and we met our required monthly
quota. They said that it was because they feel that they are finally allowed to
just do their job. Before they were pulled all sorts of different ways. I asked
what they thought made it easier and one of them said it was because they were
given their tasks at the beginning of the week and told what to get done but
not how to get it done. They are now free to do what they need to do how they
want to do it so long as they get it done. I asked how I could empower them
more and they joked that I could let them work from home. You know what? There
may be some merit to that. I am actually considering giving them each one day
per week to work remotely. There are certain things that have to happen in the
office but, for the most part, we have what we need to work wherever we want.
I have learned a few things from these interviews.
First, subordinates want to feel empowered. When they are, they take ownership
and are therefore more likely to reach their goals. Second, even when others in
the organization are not empowered, that doesn’t stop Level V Followership
(Obolensky, 2014) from happening. Some aspects of empowerment are an individual
choice. It can be stifled a little but, just like attitude, we are the ones
that control it. I would like to encourage other Center Leaders in my Company
to be bold and just take charge of their centers. I know one other Center
Leader surely does but I know, for the most part, they seem so timid. I don’t
understand why that is. Maybe they, like my current team, were micromanaged in
the past but we have a new Commander that is willing to let us do what needs to
be done.
Obolensky, N. (2014). Complex adaptive leadership: embracing paradox and uncertainty (2nd
ed.). Farnham: Gower.
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