View from the top>>Lead from the front

By Lt. Col. Jeff Brown
29th Weapons Squadron commander

We all want to be led by a person we can see, who has the authority to make a decision and who, despite making errors, has judgment – Judgment derived from knowledge and experience and executed with a “can do” spirit. Everyone can be a leader. Everyone can take pride in our ability to get the mission done, our innovation, and our boldness.

Mission. As a leader we are asked to do a lot of things, but must decide which things are important for the mission. When you take a hard look, some things we do are directly related to the mission and some are on the peripheral. In a recent review of my squadron’s 111 “mandatory” additional duties, many of them existed solely because they are inspected periodically, not because they did anything useful. Process for process’s sake is exactly the opposite of getting the mission done. As a leader it is your job to speak up and ask the question: Does this help us get the mission done? Keep the main thing, the main thing.

Innovate. Innovation is an American hallmark, but it requires us to do things that are, by definition, not “in the book.” We all have a long list of rules, regulations, manuals, operating procedures and so on to help us accomplish our mission. While these tools can be extremely helpful, as a leader you shouldn’t just stop with the “book” answer. Certainly, there is wisdom in recording our collective experience in operating procedures and manuals, but we need to remember not to use these tools as the end all, or we will stifle innovation. Use the book as a good starting point.

Be decisive. As a leader, making a decision should not reside in the fear of “what if something happens.” A “what if” question should prompt you to look at different outcomes or possible scenarios, not cause you to shy away from doing something. Often we bypass these “what if” decisions by asking for permission, which selfishly transfers risk to someone else. At times this is entirely appropriate, but in others we have failed to lead, deferring to the next echelon something that should be solved at our own level. Be bold, lead from confidence.

In short, our goal as leaders is to get the mission done, innovate, and be decisive. Lead, follow, or get out of the way!