A few years ago, I had the opportunity to attend a management training program at West Point (thank you Edison Partners). I always thought the Army was a command and control environment where the command hierarchy made every decision and the soldiers just followed orders. I was surprised to learn that the management principles they taught were quite different. Instead of micro-management, they taught a version of Objectives and Key Results (OKRs). The generals determine the battle strategy and big goals - “we need to take that ridge…” The goals and strategy are communicated down the line, but the lower ranking officers and service people are given a surprising level of autonomy to decide ‘how’ to achieve the objectives. I think of it as leveraging the brain power and creativity of everyone, instead of forcing the narrow top-down ideas of a few and stifling initiative.
I also had the opportunity to hear David Marquet speak a few years ago (also, thank you Edison Partners). David is a retired navy submarine captain who broke a lot of Navy norms and created a management model that led to extraordinary success. His book ‘Turn the Ship Around’ had a profound impact on me and changed everything about my leadership style. It is probably my favorite business book, and I have purchased numerous copies and given them to aspiring, as well as experienced leaders. I highly recommend reading it. A key learning from the book aligns with what I saw at West Point, but goes further toward empowerment and collaboration as opposed to command and control.
We each have to develop our leadership style and decide if we are going to try to lead by being the ‘smartest person in the room,’ or as I refer to them ‘the spitter,’ or are we going to lead by fostering collaboration and leveraging collective brainpower. The more autonomy we introduce into ‘how’ our team will achieve its objectives, the more freedom we provide for people to be creative, and the more they may surprise us with their brilliance. I am a believer that just because someone has positional authority, they do not suddenly have a monopoly on knowledge, intelligence, or creativity. The old saying ‘two heads are better than one’ is true, but think about how much better a collaborative organization can become. When we do this well, we create an unstoppable machine!
Leaders have a clear role to play, and companies are generally not democracies. Somebody is in charge, and the buck does stop somewhere. The question is where on the continuum from command and control to anarchy will your leadership style land. Delegating decision making authority can be scary, and requires confidence and trust that decisions will be made with full understanding of the alternatives and the consequences. This level of understanding comes with experience, and trust is earned by demonstrating aptitude and competence. Leaders cannot simply abdicate all responsibility for decisions, but they can open a space for their teams to grow and demonstrate their ability to take on greater responsibility.