This is the first in a series of four articles regarding philosophy, messaging, and why it requires a lot of thought, effort, and reflection to be truly effective. The author is Army COL Doug Brown and his passion for building teams and leaders is visible in his writing.
As leaders and mentors, we have a few major opportunities to have long-lasting impact. These opportunities center around big actions and creating a culture. Why? Because big actions cause ripples – conversations – and culture change begins with social buy-in. These are the conversations that we need to have. “Start a conversation. Spark a transformation.”
As a Battalion Commander, it was important to me to conduct initial counseling with all my future Company Commanders as early as possible. Not only did I want them to feel like a welcome addition to the team but I also needed to ensure that they were provided ample time to digest my expectations of them, as a leader, beginning day one of command. As part of this initial counseling I communicated to each Captain that I expected to see various items before their transfer of authority ceremony. One in particular was their command philosophy. Writing a command philosophy can often be a pain point for new Company Commanders as they wrestle with fitting a clear yet broad message—intended for the whole of their organization—into a short and tidy page of text.
Organizational thought, however, is not just a “command thing” even though we have a predisposition to treat it that way. Why do we often have a tendency to relegate ourselves to less enthusiastic perspectives about our time serving on or with a staff? If our view of staff time is perceived as transient, we are missing an opportunity to unlock our leadership potential. Messaging always matters when you want to establish a particular culture within any part of the team. Teams can be a small 6-person logistics elements or the entire 25-person operations section.
Dr. Sheila Margolis, author of Building a Culture of Distinction, uses a model where “purpose” expresses “why” an organization exists and “philosophy” directs “how” employees execute their work. To Margolis, like many others, the philosophy of an organization is analogous to the personality or the character of the organization…and it matters. In fact, it matters a lot. It matters because it directs behavior across the breath of the organization. It matters because it guides decision making. And it matters because it influences all daily actions.
According to Margolis, an effective organization philosophy may encompass one value or a small set of values. But, to me, what is arguably more important than which values you elect to represent as your philosophy is the method by which you choose to deliver it to your organization. The method of delivery absolutely impacts your own team’s ability to recall and reflect on what is truly most important to the character of the unit.
Have you ever been exposed to the philosophy of a senior leader comprising of a long list of important values and definitions that was multiple pages long? How adept were you at quickly pulling from that long list to quickly make a point during a situation that perhaps caught you off guard?
I doubt anyone would challenge the weight of General George S. Patton’s 23 Principles for Life and Leadership but how easy is it to actually recall all 23 principles? Does the fact that he further subdivided his thoughts into the five categories of Command and Management, Goals and Planning, Attaining Objectives, Decision Making, and Life make it any easier to recollect what mattered most to him? Perhaps yes. Perhaps not. I would be willing to bet, however, that most are familiar with at least one point of emphasis within each of his five categories: “Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.” “No one is thinking if everyone is thinking alike.” “A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week.” “You are never beaten until you admit it.” “By perseverance, study and eternal desire, any man can become great.”
In an attempt to make philosophy more memorable, how many times have you been exposed to mnemonic techniques that utilize a unit motto? “RUGGED!” …R stands for “Ready now,” U stands for “Underwrite mistakes,” G stands for “Give 100%”, the other “G” stands for “I don’t know yet but I have to think of another word that involves a “G”…. There is nothing wrong with this technique but for you personally—as the leader—does it effectively distinguish those few values that you genuinely want to be at the heart, at the core, of your team? Many values may feel important, but what is it that you—the leader—want those operating outside of your organization to know about how your team conducts business every day?
The following example is an extract from my own one-page command philosophy memorandum (or organizational philosophy) which was significantly influenced through my observations of one of my former brigade commanders, Colonel Kent D. Savre (now Major General Kent D. Savre, Commander, Maneuver Support Center of Excellence). This (command) philosophy is not revolutionary. And it probably even contains themes that are consistent with what you may have observed in other units but what is important to note—why it matters—is that it was personal to me as the commander. It is specific enough to enable me—the person in charge—to drive the core values of my organization. But it is also flexible enough that it can likely be applied to numerous unforeseen situations.
Team of Teams: My belief is that teams help teams; squads help squads; platoons help platoons, companies help companies; and battalions help battalions. There is no “me against them” in this organization. I intend for trust to work up, down, and lateral. If one succeeds we all succeed.
People Always: The Army has invested significant time and effort into health and welfare programs that this command can leverage. The Battalion and the Army understands that morale starts at home. If any member of this organization has a problem that he/she cannot solve on their own, it is the responsibility of that individual to ask for help. It is also the responsibility of leaders to know—truly know—their Soldiers and to assist them with working through difficult times.
Mission First: Every member of the Rugged Battalion has the personal responsibility to be deployable. When we are called to deploy again, the U.S. taxpayer expects us—all of us—to be able to execute our duty in a timely manner while upholding the Army Values and Warrior Ethos.
Dr. Margolis uses five criteria to determine values that are fundamental; values that are distinguishing; values that are enduring beliefs of the organization. Beliefs are essential; beliefs are core to the character of the organization. These criteria include:
Is it a prime principle or value?
Does it guide “how” we do our work?
Is it a source of our distinction?
Is it derived from our founder/leader or the ideals that drove the organization’s creation?
If changed, would that alter the character of the organization?
I would encourage you to use Margolis’ five criteria or something similar to guide your own journey toward philosophy development. For me personally, I choose to take an approach that subdivided the beliefs most important to me—most personal to me—into the categories of Command (Organizational) Philosophy, Leader Philosophy, and Staff Philosophy. In my organization, the command philosophy applied to the entire organization. It was short (limited to three principles), easy to digest/remember, and was broad enough to introduce other elements into any conversation as a learning point. In addition to the command philosophy, I required all of my team/equivalent leadership to know my leader philosophy. It was also concise (thereby also limited to three key principles). For my leader philosophy, however, I felt the need to employ some humor in order to make it even easier to retain but also as a means to get younger Soldiers, with aspirations of becoming leaders, more engaged (leaders now had to remember six things). If you were on my staff and also a leader you then had to absorb three more principles (nine total).
Organizational thought is not just a “command thing.” Serious contemplation applies to any leadership position you may be placed. In the words of Lieutenant General (Ret) Harold G. Moore, who commanded the 1st Battalion 7th Cavalry Regiment during the Battle of Ia Drang in 1965, “[There are] two things a leader can do. Either contaminate his environment and his unit with his attitude and actions, or he can inspire confidence.” The following three blogs will convey my thoughts/approach on my leader and staff philosophies as well as considerations for getting the most out of your standing priorities. The series also intends to reinforce the importance of reading, reflecting, bouncing your ideas and delivery method off of trusted mentors and peers, writing, and reflecting some more. The takeaway: Messaging matters when you want to establish a particular culture.