Leadership Lessons from the Frontlines
In a recent podcast interview, I had the privilege of speaking with Erin Black, a 21-year veteran pilot of the US Marine Corps. She is now the Senior Consultant of Strategy and Business Ops. During her time in the service, she flew the Cobra attack helicopter, and we discussed how leadership from the frontlines can translate to civilian business ops.
How You Train in Peace is How You Fight in War
Although running a business or being part of a leadership team of a company isn’t actually like going to war, there is something to be said about looking ahead and preparing for eventualities in business. From Erin’s experience, there are 4 hours of briefing for every 1 hour of flight time. Imagine if you took that kind of time with your team, developing a mission, planning for eventualities, and knowing exactly what you will do for each scenario?
Some days it may feel like you are going to war as a leader in business, but in reality, there is not the same level of danger and loss of life as going on military missions flying a Cobra Attack Helicopter. But if you could come up with a plan for eventualities, like a shift in the economy or a new competitor hitting the market, would you feel a lot more confident in meeting your mission and goals? Looking at the worst-case scenario, the best-case scenario, and the most likely scenario, like a flight crew does for their missions, you can confidently make those tactical decisions.
How to Keep from Decision Fatigue
Preparing for missions with the Cobra, Erin went through hours and hours of briefing and training for each flight. There are numerous decisions that have to be made and there are numerous scenarios that could happen on a mission that needs to have a solution, much like a leadership position in the business world.
The Marines have a system called DAMCLAS, they follow to ensure they have a complete understanding of each flight mission ahead.
DAMCLAS
Decision Making
Assertiveness
Mission Analysis
Communication
Leadership
Adaptability/Flexibility
Situational Awareness
Each area of DAMCLAS presents a checklist of questions and qualifiers that need to be answered before proceeding. Do you have a mission statement in your business or a list of values? That could be your DAMCLAS that acts like a qualifier for all of your decisions to be made. Often as leaders we can get caught in day-to-day decision making but when we look at the bigger picture we see that some of these every day decisions are steering the ship in the opposite direction. Reviewing whether or not a decision meets your team’s mission statement and values will empower you to move forward or think of other options.
Train Them Up and Let Them Fly
In Erin’s profession as a Senior Consultant in the Behavioral Health Care industry, she finds the leadership coaching she conducts with her current clients the most rewarding aspect. Because of her extensive experience in the military, she’s able to apply the leadership she learned from the frontlines to the private sector. Her biggest advice with leadership is to train your team to the industry standard and then let them take it from there.
The first time Erin signed for the helicopter she said it was an awesome feeling, “You have a huge responsibility, it’s empowering, very-very exciting, and overwhelming, but most of all it’s a huge confidence booster.” As a pilot in training, having full responsibility for the aircraft helped Erin see that she had what it takes to carry the weight of that responsibility. If only the most experienced pilots always have the responsibility of being in charge of a mission, no other pilots will ever be able to learn. The same can be said about your team members.
In the military, there is a concept call Commander's Intent. When the Commander asks for something to be done they don’t care how, just that it’s done. Sometimes it’s just something small, but allowing people to take the lead on something it allows them to grow and gives them that confidence booster they need to take ownership of what the team is doing.
If you train your team to the industry standard and then allow them to use their unique skills, knowledge, and talent to get the job done, your team will be stronger and your people will feel more appreciated.
Leaders Really Do Eat Last
The biggest lesson Erin shared about how her military experience can translate to the business leaders today is - Service. The military is a service organization that has a hierarchy structure of command, but no matter what, the most senior leadership members eat last.
“The little guy eats first. If the business world could do that, leaders and workers can have less friction,” Erin says. As leaders, we have a responsibility to provide stability and direction for our teams. Having a service mindset, your employees, team members, and clients will feel more valued which develops loyalty.
