The Core of Leadership (#9)

Crises test us all as leaders. I know I came up short as a leader many times during my time in Iraq and Afghanistan. I’ve seen a lot of memes floating around lately about “be the great leader you want to be during this crisis.” But, what if you or one your team members doesn’t know where to start?

Keith Nightingale is a retired Colonel who served two tours in Vietnam with Airborne and Ranger units, as well as commanded three battalions. He has written extensively on leadership, D-Day, and history. In a special guest post, he provides these ideas for leaders struggling to rise to the challenge of leading their team through this crisis:

THE CORE OF LEADERSHIP
Taking responsibility for outcomes
Understand your own strengths and weaknesses
Provide loyalty and support down as well as up
Understand that no one is as smart as all
Accept that Perfect is the enemy of the Good
Be as knowledgeable as possible on the matters at hand
Don’t be afraid to change a position if reason dictates that change
Be a personal example as the best you can be
Understand that asking questions and seeking solutions builds a team
Over communicate in oral and written form
Understand that delegation is essential for organizational competency
Understand that credit to others is a credit to you

If you are looking to read something that gives some historic perspective from other events, Keith has consolidated many of his great articles into a book, A Soldier Looks Back: Memories and Reflections of a Combat Veteran, from Normandy to Afghanistan.

He also post extensively on LinkedIn. His series on LinkedIn about Operation Eagle Claw (the raid to rescue the US hostages in Iran) is worth a read.