LEADERSHIP "ON THE RUN"

Often times, as leaders, we find ourselves with many missions to accomplish and little time to make them happen. More often than not one of the first tasks neglected is mentorship of subordinates. Sometimes leaders feel as though the only way, or perhaps the best way to conduct a mentorship or Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development (NCOPD) session is in a classroom environment with many slides that cover a specific task or issue. Although this is a means I do not necessarily think it is the only way.

I have often quoted leadership great and expert John C. Maxwell as saying that “leadership is built daily and not in a day” this quote becomes more prolific to me with each passing day. I believe that a leader can take any moment or opportunity to teach, conduct a professional development session, or teach a task to a subordinate or Soldier. This same sentiment was brought to my attention some years ago as a student at the advanced noncommissioned officers academy (ANCOC). Then commandant of the NCO academy, Command Sergeant Major (CSM) Fox (now retired) was addressing the ANCOC students and he relayed the importance of taking advantage of every opportunity to train and mentor subordinates. He spoke of taking those few moments from walking from the barracks or parking lot to the motor pool and talking over some task or some issue from professional development and breaking it down and explaining the task or issue and then soliciting feedback from the subordinate to ensure their understanding.

If, after the session, the subordinate was better then when the talk began, the leader has just conducted a class or a professional development session. The important thing that he noted was that a leader doesn’t always have to have a formal venue or class in some presentation format to teach and mentor subordinates. Every engagement that a leader has with a subordinate is an opportunity for that leader to attempt to enhance and improve the Soldiers that he or she leads. 

And so, some months after I had taken down these words and embraced their importance, I found myself as a new platoon sergeant in a PATRIOT Battery. Although I had served as a platoon sergeant twice before, I always made a concerted effort to improve on myself as a leader and on my Soldiers, I did not take for granted the position and how important it was, I still had much to learn and as a senior  Noncommissioned Officer (NCO) and the second most senior NCO in the battery, I took to heart these words and worked diligently to avail myself to every Soldier in my platoon and took the time to teach and mentor Soldiers wherever I found myself. 

One morning as I ran with my platoon I watched as one of my new Soldiers, a specialist newly arrived from an assignment in Korea, struggled to maintain the relatively slow pace. He breathed heavily and clearly, he was having a difficult time keeping up. This young Soldier was only 20 years old and was just a little heavy. I could tell that the weight had recently been put on and it was taking its toll on him.

As we ran, I asked if he was ok and I also asked him why such a young man was having such difficulty on such a slow run. He proceeded to tell me that while he was in Korea, he, and almost every member of leadership he was in contact with, spent most of their time in theatre drinking to excess and only doing what was minimally necessary to train and prepare the Soldiers for their tasks and drills. This being what he saw and being impressionable, he followed suit and spent the majority of his tour on what can only he described as a one year “bender”. Of course, only having his word and his condition I took what was said with a grain of salt but still knew that this Soldier was capable of much more. The fact that he had admitted on our little run that he was not performing to standard (although I didn’t need his admission to know this, his heavy breathing told me all I needed to know) and also that he wanted to be a better Soldier and ultimately a leader, indicated to me that this Soldier just needed a little guidance, inspiration, and motivation to succeed. 



While conducting motor pool maintenance, I took the time to talk with this Soldier and his section sergeant about the path ahead for him. I continued to encourage the Soldier and routinely indicated to him that I saw a great deal of potential in him, which I did. Something inside me instinctively told me that this Soldier was capable of so much more, I am not quite sure what it was, perhaps it was just the fact that the Soldier had reached out to me and indicated that he wanted to become a better Soldier. Whatever it was, my faith, encouragement and investment from these small encounters began to pay dividends. 

Over the course of the next few months, the Soldier dropped about 20 pounds, he stopped drinking, and he committed himself to mastering his drills and tasks. He sought self improvement through attending college and taking correspondence courses, and ultimately, his section sergeant and I recommended him to attend the promotion board for promotion to sergeant. 

He went on to become my best NCO, his mastery of drills and tasks surpassed many other NCOs’ of senior grade and  he was recognized and selected as the Soldier of the quarter some time after the promotion board. He went on to interview for the battalion Command Sergeant Major’s driver, and was selected over 5 other Soldiers. I kept contact with the Soldier as he progressed in the battalion and charged him to remember these lessons learned and more importantly, to pass them on to those he would soon be leading. 

I know that not every investment of time in a Soldier will always net such positive results, but the fact clearly remains, in my experience, investing time in Soldiers whenever the opportunity presents itself, is always time well invested, I say invested and not spent because to me spending time indicates an expenditure without an asset to show, but an investment shows a clear preparation and long term set up for the future.

In working to mentor and assist this Soldier, it didn’t require a detailed PowerPoint presentation, a classroom with papers and tests, or anything out of the ordinary. All it really required were the recognition of potential and a true desire to invest some time in a Soldier and make a difference. 

During the aforementioned time, the unit was, as was every unit, involved in a multitude of tasks, missions, and gunnery tables, so although time was not always available to conduct an “NCOPD” as it is known there was always time to take a moment “on the run”, to help develop a Soldier.

In my assessment you don’t need props or PowerPoint to develop Soldiers, only recognition of talent in people and the passion to help them be better. This Soldier came to talk to me some time after he had assumed duties as the CSM driver, he thanked me profusely for believing in him and showing him that there was more to the Army and leadership that he he had experienced and witnessed during his assignment in Korea. I told him that the best and most sincere way to thank me would be to teach what he had been taught and to work hard to never have Soldier whom he was charged to lead, feel as poorly about the Army as he once had. 

In an Army engaged, at war, and an organization, on-the-move, “leadership on the run” may be the only time you may have as a leader, just because it may be a quick encounter here or there, does not mean that it can’t be effective.  Although it may seem cliché, it is not always necessarily the quantity of time spent with Soldiers  and our people but the quality, make very moment count, our people are our future and our legacy. 

Regarding mentorship and leadership, because of mission requirements we will never find the “right time” to mentor; only the “right now”, our time is now!  We as leaders must use every moment at our disposal to make it happen. If now then when, if not you, then who?