Leadership Done Right

           A few weeks ago, I was asked to speak on behalf of a Marine at his retirement ceremony.  This Marine worked for me for a little over two years when I was a Battalion Executive Officer.  This invitation was quite an honor, and one I quickly accepted.  (It also means that I am getting old, but we will ignore that part.)

           Yesterday, I met with the Marine who recently retired to catch up over a couple of beers.  He wanted to give me a small gift for speaking on his behalf at the retirement - I protested that this was not necessary, but he insisted.  (The "small gift" turned out to be a box of nice Monte Cristo cigars and a fancy Black Ops lighter - so nice that my wife said - "shouldn't you have gotten him something for retiring?"  Thank you, Dave Howell!)  

           The thank you gift is what relates to leadership.  With the gift, Dave gave me a card with a terrific handwritten note in it.  He thanked me for speaking at his retirement, for helping mentor and support him when we worked together and, here is the kicker, he said that two plus years we worked together were the highlight of his 24 years Marine Corps career.  As a leader, that comment beats a box of great cigars any day.

After the jump, we will look into the things that he said made this time period so memorable.

          Dave said there were two things me and the Battalion Commander did that really meant a lot to him and made his time with us so special.  First, Dave was a Chief Warrant Officer (CWO) - an important and respected rank, but not a rank that usually gets command.  However, since Dave is an outstanding officer, our battalion commander decided to give him a shot as a line company commander - a big deal.  I fully supported this decision - Dave deserved the shot.  This was the first big thing that impacted him - not the power or prestige of command, but that we TRUSTED him.  We gave him extra responsibility, responsibility he earned, and he understood that the commander was going out on a limb for him.  When you trust your people - and take demonstrable actions that show your trust - they will give you their best.

          The second thing Dave noted was that I backed him up and supported him - this is an issue of LOYALTY.  As a  CWO, Dave was pretty junior in rank compared to the battalion staff, but I made it clear to the staff that he was a company commander and should be treated accordingly.  Because Dave knew that I had his back, he was able to focus on doing his job, knowing he had support.

          There was no rocket science to what we - we saw a smart, talented Marine, and we gave him an opportunity he deserved - it was that simple.  We trusted and supported him, and he gave us his best.  The lesson here is when you have a smart person - trust them and support them.  They will pay you back in spades.  And, maybe someday in the future, they will give you a nice box of cigars!