Posted: 1/26/2008 12:58:22 PM EDT
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I am curious as to what those in arfcomland look for in leaders. What do you respect? Despise? Expect? For those in a leadership role, what is your style? Stringent, laid back? What motivate people? What say the hivemind? |
I am too stringent. There are two things that are important to being a successful leader. Results and relationships. All leaders are biased towards one or the other. If one falls too much in the results category (as I do) they should work to get closer to the relationship end of the spectrum. |
Respect - intelligence, BTDT, firm but fair Despise - morons, loudmouths, arrogance (unless earned, but even then the best don't show it), 'my way or the highway' Expect - respect, ability to use my experience to make the right decision, 'stay the fuck out of my way and let me get it done' When I have been in leadership roles, I would say I have been layed back. Pull your weight and be smart and I let the reigns go. Fuck up and I'll be on you like stink on a monkey. In the military, I had a guy on my team I didn't want there and he knew it. In the real world, I have been fortunate enough not to have to deal with substandard employees. I work in a tough field with lots of smart people though. |
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If they have an executive day planner that they got from attending a time management class I might even consider asking them to mentor me. |
Is that with the TPS reports  I missed the memo. ETA: F#*@king fax machine |
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My management style: A) #1 priority--the mission. Job has to get done, and done correctly, otherwise why are we here? B) I give feedback frequently, and expect it in return. When I make a mistake, or a decision that has unintended consequences, I expect my people to let me know that I'm screwing up by the numbers--respectfully, of course. C) My favorite phrase--"what are we doing that's stupid, what aren't we doing that smart?" In other words, listen to your people, they've got good ideas since they're actually the ones doing the job. D) Life is too short to be serious when you don't need to be. Work hard, play hard, but stay within the legal and moral lines when you do both. E) I'm not here for me; I'm here for them. My job is to give my subordinates everything they need to do theirs, and to grow them to take my place eventually. |
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This is a vast topic. The Army thinks it's so big they're giving me 4 years of the best training in the study of leadership, and I'm barely considered ready at the end of that. When I was enlisted though, I looked for a leader that was Business during business, but didn't have a stick up their ass. I looked for someone who actually worked for their people, and went out of their way to keep them from being screwed. I looked for someone who left us alone when we were busy, but checked in enough to let us know that they still cared about how we were doing. I didn't like people that pretended to be with us when we worked, but didn't actually ever get dirty. I'm not sure about my style yet. I vary a little. I'm still checking the water, so to speak. I generally try to lead from the front, when we do "tactical" exercises, and I just try to tell them what I need to get done, and why. I tend to tell people too much "big picture", and sometimes I micro-manage a bit too much though. I'm working on it though. |
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My first thought was that 22-100 was the equivalent to this AFI. 
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| Leadership is hard to define, but most of us tend to know it when we see it. I never met a really good leader who had not first mastered the art of humility and followership. One of the best sources I have come across is, "Robert E. Lee on Leadership" by H.W. Crocker III. Excellent, just excellent! |
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A leader better be up front when he/she needs to be up in the front. They can make mistakes, but they better learn from it and I sure the heck won't put up with repeats of similar mistakes and do not try to hide things when dealing with a mistake you made. Overall it takes a whole lot to be a real true leader, as mentioned it is a vast topic. I think it boils down to trusting in the person doing the leading, and it takes a while to build up trust with me because I am not a peon willing to follow someone just because I am told to do so. Any person who I know that I consider to be a leader is able to get the best from those he works with or for, and he knows his strong and weak points and is not afraid of having weak points. Right now I have several bosses. I consider none of them leaders because they don't represent someone who I feel could lead me out of a paper bag even if they were holding a knife in their hand. They are management because they have followed a road. But they follow the road. They will never blaze a trail, they will never discover new territory for themselves, and they will be forever handicapped by not understanding the concept that you have to try before you can succeed. A true leader leads others because they have learned how to lead themselves. |