Lead Like a Warrior: 3 Lessons From the Front Lines

In this second of two articles on Col. Scott Kirkpatrick, a decorated war hero and successful military leader, he sets forth three lessons of leadership that worked well for him.

The art and science of leadership is a process that inspires others to achieve their maximum performance and potential. Three primary leadership lessons worked well for me in my 28-year military career as a field commander in six combat tours of duty and as Commandant of the Army Inspector General School. These same principles apply to other professional environments, including business and sports.

First, it is important to debunk the myth that there is such a thing as a natural-born leader. It’s true that some people are more gregarious and extraverted by nature than others, and those people are a little more likely to get people to do things for reasons beyond their personal interests. Most people have embedded skills, a chip that makes them unique in some way. Education and the right environment can help them realize those skills.

Think about a successful salesperson. They didn’t wake up one morning, roll out of bed, and start convincing other people to buy their products. The truly gifted ones succeeded because they believed their product had value and built a process to communicate that value to customers. They built that process through data-driven trial and error, post-event analysis, and, most importantly, through synthesis. What worked and didn’t, and how do we improve next time? That’s the synthesis.

Leadership is no different. Leaders must believe the initiative they are leading has value, and they must develop a process to communicate that value to various individuals. What is a leader’s product? It is their vision, intent, values, and training strategy. Who are their customers? Our subordinates, peers, and other stakeholders — all of those we must bring into the fold to convert our vision to reality.

Second, a leader has to know and understand their team. “Know” and “understand” are two different things. Many leaders think they are doing a great job if they know facts about their subordinates — their birthdays or their kids’ names. Those overtures are important but don’t qualify as compelling incentives for people to follow you. And as a leader, you only have time for the most compelling incentives. What is compelling to subordinates is a leader who understands what makes them want to perform. This means knowing what creates in them the desire to do something based on the culture and environment you, as a leader, have created.

Since I started this journey in 1996 as a Second Lieutenant in the Army, one principle has underpinned my leadership. You must understand that you answer to your superiors, but you work for your subordinates. You can’t ever let your ambition outrun that commitment.

Among the questions you must ask yourself is whether you are leading people by giving them clear guidance. Are you setting professional boundaries and empowering them to exercise sound judgment and make decisions within those boundaries? And, in what I consider a real test of great leadership, are you willing to underwrite the risk that your people might make mistakes within those boundaries? I have seen many leaders provide guidance, set boundaries, and give their subordinates authority, but when things don’t go right, they are the first ones to throw their subordinates under the bus. As a true leader, you should be ready to take the heat for your subordinates, assuming they operate within your set parameters. You have to be willing to underwrite that risk.

 Finally, you must be a genuine leader of decisions. You can’t allow the immediate to overcome the important. Many people get wrapped around the axle about getting tasks done and forget what they are trying to achieve. If you’re focused on daily activity at the expense of driving toward your long-term intent, you will not be maximizing your resources, people, and money.

This requires delegating the decisions that others can make so you can attend to the things that only you, as a leader, can do. That way, you can stay above the daily knife fight and see over the horizon. This will ensure that, as a leader, you will be known for the two most important things — always taking the high ground and getting things done.