As some of you may have noted, my subject titles are not in English.\u00a0 The languages I choose are from the people I work with.\u00a0 This week Mustafa (not his name) is working with me in the job training class I teach at Lutheran Family Services (Rocky Mountains).\u00a0\u00a0 He has his Masters, was a Battalion Commander in the Afghanistan Army and led about 1,000 people.\u00a0 Olexsi (not his name) from Ukraine, commanded 300 people, and me, a meager 200 in the U.S. Army while stationed in the Western Corridor across from North Korea.<\/p>\n
I imagine my Leadership Training was a bit different from the rest of the Cohort.\u00a0 My leadership was shaped by the U.S. Army for 23 years, 6 months and 11 days (but who is counting).<\/p>\n
With that being said I enjoyed reading Poole\u2019s book.\u00a0 I made a summary of her thoughts (so I could keep track).<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
There were so many elements and I confess I was a bit lost.\u00a0 The lists sort of reminded me TV show where sewing competitors ran into a shop, where for a tense 30 minutes, scrambled around to find the fabrics and doodads to make their tailored pieces.\u00a0 So many things to choose from.\u00a0 The tailor had to have a vision\/purpose and picked those things that \u201cworked\u201d for them.<\/p>\n But the word picture ends there.\u00a0 I thought Poole found some fabrics that actually WORKED in looking at Leadership.<\/p>\n Because my wife is binging on the Great British Baking Show every night. \u00a0I have CAKE on the brain, so\u2026My leadersmithing cake is three layers.<\/p>\n Level 1<\/strong> \u2013 (an earthy and fragrant carrot cake \u2013 representing the first 15 years or so, two shooting wars and one support war role). I share this list because, like Poole, I am rather fond of lists.<\/p>\n U.S. Army – Direct leadership of men. For an officer it usually means a platoon with about 16-20 men.\u00a0 In my case a platoon of 4 squads of 3 men each, 4 20 mm Vulcan Air Defense Artillery weapons systems (think LARGE gaggling gun) pointed towards the Czech border during the Cold War (circa 1981).<\/p>\n Leadership training has emerged over time and the latest (1990 version) we find\u2026.\u201d Army leaders must learn to fulfill expectations of all soldiers including other leaders. FM 22-100 addresses fundamental expectations:[2]<\/a> Some highpoints.<\/p>\n Demonstrate tactical and technical competence<\/strong>. Know your business. To be confident a leader must first be competent. [3]<\/a><\/p>\n Teach subordinates<\/strong>. In training.. Our leaders must take the time to share with subordinates the benefit of experience and expertise. [4]<\/a><\/p>\n Be a good listener<\/strong>. We must listen with equal attention to our superiors and our subordinates\u2026We won\u2019t know about it if we don\u2019t listen. [5]<\/a><\/p>\n Treat soldiers with dignity and respect<\/strong>. Leaders must show genuine concern and compassion for the soldiers they lead. [6]<\/a><\/p>\n Stress basics<\/strong>. Leaders must demonstrate mastery of fundamental soldiering skills such as marksmanship, first aid, and navigation, as well as the requisite skills for their particular specialty, and be able to teach them to their soldiers. [7]<\/a><\/p>\n Set the example.<\/strong> Leaders\u2026 are aware that they are always on parade\u201424 hours a day, seven days a week\u2014and that all their actions set personal and professional examples for subordinates to emulate. [8]<\/a><\/p>\n Set and enforce standards<\/strong>. A leader must know, and always enforce, established Army standards. Perhaps the most fundamental standard which must be maintained is discipline. [9]<\/a><\/p>\n Level 2 \u2013The second layer of the cake \u2013 (A light coconut cream filled chocolate layer) – Operation\/Strategic tasks, representing the next 7 years). <\/strong><\/p>\n As one ages in the military, you move away from soldiers to those desk jobs.\u00a0 It is here, that men like me begin to work with large organizations and in my case, I worked in three Embassies and observed US State Department leadership of Ambassadors and Defense Attach\u00e9s\u2019 (Slovakia, Turkey, Iraq).<\/p>\n A different sort of people politics.\u00a0 I wish I had read Poole\u2019s book before that period.\u00a0 Like the British who drive on the wrong side of the road.\u00a0 I felt that I was the American traveling in a different (although correct) lane.\u00a0 We all were getting there heading in one direction, but clearly we saw the world differently.<\/p>\n Why chocolate? After carrot cake, chocolate is my next favorite \u2013 coconut because I am from Hawaii.<\/p>\n Level 3 \u2013 Missionary Work \u2013 (A heavenly meringue based – angel food cake) Post Army, being reshaped by God. <\/strong><\/p>\n Post Army, God called me to a different kind of leadership. My task was to build a team based on personal Christian relationships. Originally founded by the Canadian Navigators in Bratislava, Slovakia GoodSports International has been in Slovakia for 26 years and in Hungary for 22 years.<\/p>\n Ultimately, all missionaries work themselves out of a job.\u00a0 Our time in Hungary was sharing the gospel, but we all were \u201cMining for Gold.\u201d [10]<\/a>\u00a0 The nuggets of goaled we mined for were called \u201cGoodSports Juniors\u201d who would one day take over the missions to orphanages (6) and other underprivileged children.\u00a0 Primarily the Roma or Gypsy.\u00a0\u00a0 In 2022, the staff pivoted to working with 204 Ukrainian refugees (103 are children).<\/p>\n The Southern Baptist are fond of saying that a missions outreach must be, at the end, self-sustaining, self-propagating, and self-governing. [11]<\/a>\u00a0 To that end the GoodSports Hungary team is all of those things. I worked myself out of a job.<\/p>\n Conclusion\/Critical Incidents<\/strong><\/p>\n I was pleasantly surprised by Poole\u2019s book. \u00a0\u00a0I am fond of saying that I \u201cmove men and material in a direction out of habit.\u201d Hmmm\u2026 but perhaps I am stuck in a style\/method\/process that was ingrained to me so many years ago.\u00a0\u00a0 Poole\u2019s Critical Incident #, Flexing style \u2013 Got me laughing.\u00a0 On page 23 she recounts Abraham Maslow.\u00a0 \u201cIf the only tool you have is a hammer, then everything looks like a nail.\u201d She continues, \u201cWean yourself off of any style habits you may have developed. Over reliance on them is restricting your ability to get the best out of those around you.\u201d [12]<\/a><\/p>\n Sadly, I do use a hammer a lot.\u00a0 Time for a wrench?<\/p>\n [1]<\/a> Eve Poole, Leadersmithing: Revealing the Trade Secrets of Leadership<\/em> (London\u202f; New York, NY: Bloomsbury Business, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2017).<\/p>\n [2]<\/a> \u201cFM 22-100 Military Leadership,\u201d n.d.<\/p>\n [3]<\/a> \u201cFM 22-100 Military Leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n [4]<\/a> \u201cFM 22-100 Military Leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n [5]<\/a> \u201cFM 22-100 Military Leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n [6]<\/a> \u201cFM 22-100 Military Leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n [7]<\/a> \u201cFM 22-100 Military Leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n [8]<\/a> \u201cFM 22-100 Military Leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n [9]<\/a> \u201cFM 22-100 Military Leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n [10]<\/a> Tom Camacho, Mining for Gold<\/em> (Inter-Varsity Press, 2019).<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Poole-300x169.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n