Strategic Corporals in 2021 (#116)
A corporal is the lowest level non-commissioned officer or leader in the US Army or US Marine Corps. To put it in a little more context — a corporal is typically younger than 25 years old, been in the service less than 3 years, and leads three other individuals. US Marine Corps General Charles Krulak coined the term “strategic corporal” in the 1990s to describe the idea that leadership in complex, evolving environments needs to go lower than ever before in the chain of command to better exploit advantages that present themselves, as well as to ensure that these leaders understand that the impact of their actions can be magnified due to the media or the internet. (Here is the link to the original article, entitled “The Strategic Corporal: Leadership in the Three Block War.”)
Your corporate team has strategic corporals as well — those low level, tactical, leaders that have a magnified impact on how your company or your brand is perceived. Not sure you’ve got them? Think about the shift leader that caused a decrease in traffic to your store by 50 percent and who was the only factor in three employees quitting. Think about that call-center leader whose team had the worse problem solving score in the company. Or think about manager that caused your Glass Door ratings to plummet. Is it easier to recruit people now? Those are just a few examples of “corporate strategic corporals.”
These tactical leaders/strategic corporals are also where the culture meets the frontline. All of the great ideas on culture, all of the initiatives and how they are packaged are delivered through these leaders to your employees. So it’s important to teach them how to communicate effectively. The frontline doesn’t always get to hear directly from the C-Suite or even those that develop the strategy or the goals. Your company relies on these tactical leaders to lead their employees well, as well as put the face on your company to its customers.
Here are five things that tactical leaders can start doing today to raise their game, improve your company/brand perception, be more effective, and start climbing the corporate ladder:
Set a personal example — Lead by example is the simplest way to set the standard for a team. The US Army Infantry’s motto is “Follow Me.” Strategic corporals should epitomize this mantra.
Provide the team the purpose or the why — Tactical leaders can help the team understand why things are being done or why it needs to be done in a certain way will increase the group’s ability to make the correct decision when conditions or the environment changes.
Delegate responsibility — Strategic corporals give ownership and responsibility to other members of the team. The leader, even the strategic corporal, can’t do it all. But by delegating, inspecting what others have done, and holding them to the standard, the tactical leader can start building a high performing team.
Run an effective meeting — No one likes to have their time wasted. At a minimum, tactical leaders start the meeting on time, have an agenda, follow the agenda, and have someone take notes on what was said or decisions that were made. See more in Post #16 for how not to run a meeting and Post #57 for ideas on structured meetings.
Recognize excellence within the organization — Tactical leaders recognize when individuals and the team do a good job. See post #17 for more ideas.
Want other ideas for how to improve your strategic corporals? Check out Dick Winters’ Ten Principles for Leadership Success in Post #72 and Keith Nightingale’s Core of Leadership ideas in Post #9.
Improving the leadership of your strategic corporals takes hard work and effort. Go on the offense and use these ideas to enhance your tactical leaders in 2021.
If you found this article helpful, check out more blog articles from TFCG here or podcasts here. Having problems with your strategic corporals? Then start the discussion with TFCG here today about how a keynote or webinar can teach these and other skills to your tactical leaders.
