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WHAT BUSINESS
LEADERS CAN LEARN FROM AMERICA'S ARMY
A new source of powerful ideas is a truly global
powerhouse, with nearly 1.5m employees, an annual budget of $63bn, and strategic alliances
in every nation; it is one of the world's largest, most complex organisations. No, it is
not the Catholic Church, one of the flattest management structures in the world - no, the
organisation is the US Army!
Since the end of the Cold War, the US Army has been
transformed more thoroughly than any business. It has retooled for the Information Age,
tackled and mastered a bewildering array of new missions, and got rid of decades-old
bureaucratic methods. At the same time it has experienced unprecedented
"downsizing".
The US Army is in many respects the same as any other
business organisation with objectives and constraints upon it. But the similarity doesn't
end there. For all organisations the following apply: the competitive environment is
rapidly changing; emerging technology poses new opportunities and threats; the technical
skills and teamwork abilities of people must be continually upgraded; increasingly
demanding stakeholders are assigning unexpected new tasks; and, financial pressures are
forcing massive cost-cutting and downsizing.
The problems that the US Army face do have much in
common with those faced by business leaders. And, there may well be much that can be
shared and learnt from the Army for IBM, General Motors, McDonald's, Microsoft and so
forth.
The US Army has developed 12 general rules for GUIDING
CHANGE.
Change is hard work: leading change means
doing two jobs at once - getting the organisation through today, and getting it into
tomorrow. Most people prefer tomorrow to look like today! Transformational leadership
requires a personal and very hands-on approach, taking and directing action, building the
confidence necessary for the people to let go of today's paradigm and move into the
future.
Leadership begins with values: it is the
shared values that express the essence of an organisation. By emphasising values, a leader
can emphasise what will not change. This provides an anchor for people as they feel
they are drifting into a sea of uncertainty.
Intellectual leads the physical: without the
tough, up-front intellectual work of change, then the actual, physical changes will be
unfocused, random and therefore unlikely to succeed.
Real change takes real change: it is only by
changing the way that you look at things that you will change the way you look at things.
Put another way, if you keep doing what you used to do you will keep getting the same
results.
Leadership is a team sport: effective leaders
forge alliances and build teams; they break down barriers and walls in order to distribute
leadership throughout the extended organisation. Team-building empowers people with a
sense of responsibility so that the momentum for growth and transformation originates
throughout the organisation, not just from the top. Effective leadership is not
about controlling from the top: it is about unleashing the power
of the people.
Expect to be surprised: the paradox about
trying to create the future is that you cannot predict it; success comes when you are able
to accommodate the unexpected, exploiting opportunities and working through setbacks. The
organisation needs to be conditioned not to be surprised by surprises.
Today competes with tomorrow: a fine balance
must be maintained between the needs of today and the needs of tomorrow.
Better is better. "better" is not
always defined in today's terms. Better is not about improved quality, reduced costs,
faster cycle time, flatter structure, empowerment and shared information. It may be about
these things, but, more importantly, better is about establishing an edge - about
winning.
Focus on the future: a leader does not have
the luxury of waiting until the organisation perceives the crisis - a leader must nurture
a positive and creative culture, one marked by optimism.
Learn from doing:
learning from doing and sharing the knowledge gained are the essence of organisational
learning. By listening to the organisation and fostering dialogue about performance, the
leader opens the door to learning, shared lessons learned and reducing risk. By stretching
the organisation to do things differently, to do things in a new learning atmosphere, the
leader fosters an entrepreneurial spirit and growth.
Grow People: the potential to grow
organisations that can thrive in tomorrow's environment lies in our people. The challenge
is not to be the most creative boss or to have the most creative organisation; it
is to have the most creative people.
Reflect... Finally, the most important tool a
leader can use is not a list of rules but a mind sharpened by the habit of reflection.
And the questions to be constantly asked must be:
What is happening?
What is not happening?
How can I influence the situation? |
