I recently finished reading the book "Joker One" by Donovan Campbell.
It is a gripping account of a Marine platoon's 2004 tour in the Iraq
city of Ramadi. Regardless how you feel about the war there, I think
you should read this book for perspective on the traits of good
leadership. Here are three aspects of leadership the book reinforced
for me.
First of all, own it! Whether you have asked for your leadership position or merely accepted it, you are responsible for it. No matter how the responsibility came to you, you must own it with determination and passion. Anything less sets you and your team on a path to mediocrity or worse.
Second, leadership is not about what you can do but what your team can do. Organizational charts are always shown upside down in my opinion. The irony of leadership is that you work for your team more than they work for you. Get that in your head if you want to be a successful leader.
Lastly, surround yourself with the best people and then challenge, support and empower them. Encourage their ideas, input and feedback. Explicitly tell them that you trust their judgment when you honestly feel it. I can't overstate the value of a tightly cohesive, well functioning team that collaborates on decisions and direction.
I'm fortunate that my leadership position doesn't require making life and death decisions. My office job and its decisions are mundane compared to those made by Mr. Campbell in Ramadi. But as mundane as my decisions may be, I own them.![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=29a0b6c0-e4b7-42ea-a532-69bc97e4a0a3)
Second, leadership is not about what you can do but what your team can do. Organizational charts are always shown upside down in my opinion. The irony of leadership is that you work for your team more than they work for you. Get that in your head if you want to be a successful leader.
Lastly, surround yourself with the best people and then challenge, support and empower them. Encourage their ideas, input and feedback. Explicitly tell them that you trust their judgment when you honestly feel it. I can't overstate the value of a tightly cohesive, well functioning team that collaborates on decisions and direction.
I'm fortunate that my leadership position doesn't require making life and death decisions. My office job and its decisions are mundane compared to those made by Mr. Campbell in Ramadi. But as mundane as my decisions may be, I own them.
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