How do Great Leaders Make Decisions: Three Sides of the Same Coin?

COL Mikel J. Burroughs — Tue, 21 Jul 2015 13:44:15 -0400

I think everyone is getting a little tired of my Leadership Posts/Discussions, so this will be the last one for a couple of days - Give you all a rest.

How Great Leaders Make Decisions: Three Sides of the Same Coin

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I've tried writing posts or discussions and those really never get any steam or response, so I've found interesting and provocative articles and other perspectives from individuals that are smarter much than me - that brings me to my next post on Leadership - How great leaders make decisions - do they do it in a vacuum. I say emphatically "No"

I considered myself to be successful as a Company Commander, Battalion Commander, and Brigade Commander because of the three sides of the same coin provided in this article and that I lived by.

- Surround yourself with "Mavericks", "Eagles", or "High Energy Individuals"
- Make sure your team has really smart people on it - smarter than you
- Get information, ideas, and feedback down at the lowest level where the rubber hits the highway and reward great input; and when they disagree with a decision that can't be afraid to say so!

Response by MSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 21 at 2015 1:47 PM

MSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 21 Jul 2015 13:47:22 -0400

Great article. im on the right track.

Response by Sgt Kelli Mays made Jul 21 at 2015 1:51 PM

Sgt Kelli Mays — Tue, 21 Jul 2015 13:51:05 -0400

Surround yourself with "Mavericks", "Eagles", or "High Energy Individuals"
- Make sure your team has really smart people on it - smarter than you
- Get information, ideas, and feedback down at the lowest level where the rubber hits the highway and reward great input; and when they disagree with a decision that can't be afraid to say so!
COMPLETELY AGREE WITH YOU SIR!

Response by TSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 21 at 2015 1:53 PM

TSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 21 Jul 2015 13:53:25 -0400

COL Mikel J. Burroughs, a great addition to add to the articles you've recently shared. Here, we can see the value of really listening, on all levels, to what your people are saying. Letting them know you hear them, regardless of where they fall on the totem pole. Also, asking your team to teach you to think on their levels when making decisions, speak up when you aren't seeing the full picture, and not be afraid to give you a nudge in a different direction. We can't all be experts at everything, so learning to surround yourself with experts in SOMETHING and recognizing their value is a must!

Response by PO1 Brian Schletty made Jul 21 at 2015 2:04 PM

PO1 Brian Schletty — Tue, 21 Jul 2015 14:04:11 -0400

Those leaders who make decisions in a vacuum, oft look behind them only to discover no one is there...good (and great) leaders are humble enough to accept new ideas, correction, wisdom, observations, and then act accordingly.

Response by SGT Ben Keen made Jul 21 at 2015 2:05 PM

SGT Ben Keen — Tue, 21 Jul 2015 14:05:34 -0400

COL Mikel J. Burroughs - I for one am not tired of your posts on Leadership. I think you have given the community some great insight leveraging your experience and knowledge to help existing leaders as well as those looking to become a leader.

As far as the three side coin, I think that rings true in a lot of situations. As leader you are placed in a position where your next though can make or break those around you. There are hardly ever times when you are presented with a Yes/No question that can be answered so easily. Most of the time the lines are blurred and confusing.

I will standby looking forward to your next post.

Response by CMSgt Mark Schubert made Jul 21 at 2015 2:09 PM

CMSgt Mark Schubert — Tue, 21 Jul 2015 14:09:05 -0400

I've always said, if you want to be a great leader, you can't get enough leadership training or material.

Response by CW4 Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 21 at 2015 2:35 PM

CW4 Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 21 Jul 2015 14:35:58 -0400

I don't think a true leader gets tired of expanding their Leadership toolbox. Thanks for sharing. Understanding what your shortcomings are and what areas that you need improvement in our vital attributes to improving as a leader. Getting involved with different leaders and peers that hold different job positions and different lines of expertise will help you improve your overall knowledge base too.

Response by Capt Michael Halpin made Jul 21 at 2015 7:04 PM

Capt Michael Halpin — Tue, 21 Jul 2015 19:04:50 -0400

The article has it exactly right, you need people that know what you don't and those that will challenge your thinking BUT the decision is yours.
I always remember the times when the decision was mine to make and it had to be made right now! So I did what every great leader did - I made something up, gave the order, then said a quiet prayer "please God let this work" which it usually did.

I love these leadership questions!

Response by SPC George Rudenko made Jul 22 at 2015 3:18 AM

SPC George Rudenko — Wed, 22 Jul 2015 03:18:58 -0400

They understand that their decidion may be wrong. They make it, they own it, they accept it. They take all info and intel into account, but believe in their decision, but mist of all, they believe in the capability of the solider to do the job.

Response by SPC George Rudenko made Jul 22 at 2015 3:19 AM

SPC George Rudenko — Wed, 22 Jul 2015 03:19:11 -0400

Response by SPC George Rudenko made Jul 22 at 2015 3:19 AM

SPC George Rudenko — Wed, 22 Jul 2015 03:19:30 -0400

Response by SPC George Rudenko made Jul 22 at 2015 3:19 AM

SPC George Rudenko — Wed, 22 Jul 2015 03:19:33 -0400

Response by SPC George Rudenko made Jul 22 at 2015 3:21 AM

SPC George Rudenko — Wed, 22 Jul 2015 03:21:59 -0400

Response by SPC George Rudenko made Jul 22 at 2015 3:22 AM

SPC George Rudenko — Wed, 22 Jul 2015 03:22:00 -0400

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 22 at 2015 8:13 AM

LCDR Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 22 Jul 2015 08:13:13 -0400

In this day and age we are finding it increasingly hard to attract and keep the kind of talent that you mention here. While I agree you have to have a great team with really smart and talented people successful leaders motivate that talent to operate at their full potential and then Inspire them to stay on the team. I like to look at being an "Inclusive" leaders since we have such a multicultural team. I think this is best done by:
insuring people’s need for individuality (Uniqueness) AND their need for connection (Belongingness) is met.
And that I value both the differences and the commonalities of others.

Response by PO1 John Miller made Jul 23 at 2015 7:46 AM

PO1 John Miller — Thu, 23 Jul 2015 07:46:29 -0400

One thing I always did was this.
I would often have to brief my immediate Chain on events that happened during my shift when I was stationed at Naval Computer and Telecommunications Area Master Station Pacific Honolulu HI. I would know that they wanted technical details on how the issue(s) was/were resolved so I would often bring the technician who actually fixed the problem to the brief with me to explain what they did. I did this to give that person a taste of the bigger picture and so that I wouldn't look stupid when asked a question I didn't know the answer to.
My chain didn't see it that way and that's a shame. I almost got out of the Navy and also almost went to Captain's Mast (Article 15) a few times because of that particular chain and our "differences."

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 8 at 2015 10:04 PM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 08 Nov 2015 22:04:51 -0500

I would add, pay close attention to the voices that disagree with you. Quite often, those are the ones that can teach you something.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Nov 10 at 2015 9:13 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Tue, 10 Nov 2015 21:13:22 -0500

What are the facts and assumptions, what is the objective, how do we get to the objective, with what do we get to the objective. What are the enemy capabilities. I am also adamant about a well balanced staff that is not afraid to give differing opinions.