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An Operator’s Guide to Leadership, (Part 2)

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How many of you have been in that team that we have fought or would have fought tooth and nail to stay in? You know, the team that you just cannot live without. The one that you look forward to going to work with every morning, where things just smooth seamlessly and everyone gets along. I have been in several teams over the years and have had some less than desirable teams and some really great teams. What are those key differences that made one team sync up better than the other?

Strength, ability, training, leadership, or simply personality? While all of these are a key factors there is always one area that can make a team miserable to show up to every day: The Team Leader. We use to have a saying that a “Team Leader is responsible for everything the team does or fails to do” This sucks! Total zero defect mentality!

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Comments

Join our community. To comment on this article please join/login. Here's a sample of the comments on this post.

  • Frej S

    Thanks for a great article series! To be a good leader is one of the hardest things you can do. It takes not only a great amount of self-awareness but you also need to be very humble. But not much beats the feeling then your team accomplish something great under your lead.

  • Yankee Papa

    . ...Knowing what to expect from the head honcho every day. "Mood-swings?" Pull the explosive bolts and bail out. . ...Strength building upon strength. The Blue Angels have a "self criticism session" after every flight. The door is locked and nobody else allowed in. Each points out their own mistakes and any that they have observed. The idea is improved performance... not blame... . http://www.uss-corry-dd463.com/reunion_2012/IMG_1645.JPG -YP-

  • alexanderscrawford

    Sir, Very good post.  I think your points a valid in terms of other areas of organization as well.  Getting an ad hoc group of people together at ones Legion post to do this or that locally, while not the sort of life and death struggle you're referring to… would go a long way to getting things done, locally, and on a larger scale, that most of us probably would agree are f#@up, but tend to assume someone else is on the case.   Best, A. Scott Crawford

  • adventuremd

    Great post! You have no idea how much I needed to read that today. It reminds me of one more thing about leadership - find a good leader to be a mentor and remind you how to get back on the horse when you fall off. Being open to learning and improvement is important to leading - so find a good source! Keep posting and I will keep reading! .

  • Bigtool4u

    Ernest Shackleton showed some of the greatest leadership skills in a truly desperate non military situation that could possibly occur. Having the strength of character to take advice from companions but more so the strength to make life or death decisions that determined the outcome of each and every member of the team.  What a great post.  A great leader makes a great team, but a great team does not make a great leader.