A Philosophy of Muddy Boots Leadership

By Alan Preizer

A Philosophy of Muddy Boots Leadership presents a Bible-based leadership philosophy. These thoughts (some original, most not) are not rocket science. They are basic common sense and as applicable to everyday life as they are to the battlefield, classroom, or boardroom. Most are drawn from those who have influenced the author the most--pastors, military leaders, and football coaches.

In this uncertain and dynamic environment, there are a few constants. In this book, you will find a clear and concise set of principles and fundamentals that will assist leaders in maintaining mission focus and focusing on the team.

Why will it help?

Today, there is no shortage of leadership books, consultants, and experts. We hear terms like servant, authentic, transformational, adaptive, etc. These concepts are valid and important, but they are focused on the conceptual, not on the actionable.

A Philosophy of Muddy Boots Leadership provides a set of biblically-based, actionable principles for leaders. The goal of the book is to provide overwhelmed, understaffed leaders or mid-level managers a set of techniques and processes that in times of stress and uncertainty will act as a blueprint for success. This is not a checklist but a thought-provoking set of guiding biblical principles that can be used every day.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Apr 14, 2022
• ISBN: 9781685173791

Book preview

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A Philosophy of

Muddy Boots Leadership

A Personal Approach to Biblical Leadership

Alan Preizer

ISBN 978-1-68517-378-4 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-68517-379-1 (digital)

Copyright © 2022 by Alan Preizer

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Foreword

Preface

Why Another Leadership Book?

Why Have a Personal Leadership Philosophy?

Muddy Boots Leadership 101

The Muddy Boots Leadership Framework

Rules for the Muddy Boots Leader

The Apostle Paul—a Muddy Boots Leader: A Brief Study of the Leadership of Paul in the Book of Acts

Appendix

Endnotes

Foreword

Shortly after taking command of 3/22 Inf antry in the summer of 1995, a newly minted second lieutenant of engineers reported to me as my task force engineer. I recognized him immediately as we had served together in Second Ranger Battalion. Alan Preizer—ramrod, straight, confident but not cocky, and a picture of physical fitness—quickly assimilated into the exceptional group of junior officers, which I was so blessed to lead. He was much like the other junior officers, just more seasoned. His enlisted time served him well, and several good platoon sergeants kept him between the lines. He was in the battalion as an infantry officer two years later as I departed. We have stayed in contact since our days, serving in the Twenty-Fifth Infantry Division. He, like many of the men in 3/22 Infantry, continues to make me proud. Bottomline—Alan gets it.

During a conversation in 2004, Alan shared with me that he and Jacqui, his wife, had accepted Jesus Christ as their personal savior and had been baptized. His salvation experience was a huge step for a Jewish boy from New York, and now, his steps are in a walk with the Lord. As time moved on, we’d occasionally talk via phone or visit.

A couple of years ago, Alan called and invited me and my wife, Kerry, to hear him preach his first sermon at a country church in Kentucky. It was evident that his faith was growing as his walk with the Lord matured. Amazing as all this seems, I received an email a few weeks ago, asking me to read a manuscript he’d written on leadership. On the header page of the manuscript, I noticed that a bunch of letters followed his name as the author. Don’t let all the letters turn you off. After reading the manuscript, I can still say, He gets it. Alan’s manuscript entitled A Philosophy of Muddy Boots Leadership is one of the few works on leadership that is based on true doctrine—the doctrine of how to live, and that is found in the Word, the Holy Bible. Throughout, he has supported his philosophy with the Word, and his strength of faith is evident as he defends this philosophy. Nothing speaks more profoundly of divinely guided leadership than his assertion that muddy boots leaders are shepherds, not sheepherders. King David succinctly starts the twenty-third Psalm with "The Lord is my shepherd," and the following 123 words serve as the guide for the shepherd leader.

I urge you to read A Philosophy of Muddy Boots Leadership. Stay in the Word, and I trust you will get it.

—Stan Clemons (COL, US Army, Retired)

*****

Everyone to whom much is given, of him much will be required (Vince Lombardi).

Well, it wasn’t really Vince that said it, but it was another step along the way for a pair of muddy boots of a leader. Bear with me.

Like all old soldiers, I can sit and talk for hours about those who have influenced my life, career, and spiritual walk. Never has the impact of a leader been shaped by their GPA or where they earned their diploma—it’s always from the path they walked to get to where they are and if they are willing to invest into those who are around them. CPT Alan Preizer was one of many leaders, along a now thirty-plus-year career, who left an indelible mark on me personally, and by extension, his efforts are still shaping young soldiers today. Let me share just a bit of the dirt on my boots to introduce this capable, battle-proven warrior of the Kingdom.

Now back to the quote I started with from Mr. Lombardi. I’ll spare the description of Alan for the sake of brevity and simply say that, while gathered around the infamous stoop of our OCS area, I had heard Alan make this quote and give credit to Vince Lombardi several times. Since I was in the candidate role and he was in the commander role, there wasn’t, or probably shouldn’t have been, a way to let him know he was wrong. However, I was an older-than-usual candidate, already an armed scout helicopter pilot, and frankly, I regarded myself somewhat similar to LTC Kilgore in Apocalypse Now, during the beach scene when he wanted to surf and was told, It’s pretty hairy in there. It’s Charlie’s point, to which he responded, Charlie, don’t surf!

Off I went—I let CPT Preizer know that the quote he continued to give credit to Vince Lombardi was from the book of Luke chapter 12, verse 48. Even in that moment, I thanked God for using me, the chief sinner, to work for His glory.

Whether in my role as Army officer, standing in the pulpit on Sunday, or walking the streets in the greatest country on earth, Alan’s lessons and example are ingrained into who I am and how I lead.

I’ll let Alan give the remainder of the details of our relationship since 2001. Suffice to say, when I need sound advice or the banter of a brother with whom, to this day, I would walk onto the field of battle, he is the one I call. He understands people because he cares about people, he understands leadership because he is one of the best of them, and he understands being a follower of Christ because he exemplifies it. In a world where people talk about being a leader, Alan is the guy who is doing it and leaving muddy boot tracks across floors at every level.

—Tim Morgan (MAJ, US Army)

Preface

How a Jewish Kid from New York Ended Up Preaching in a Southern Baptist Church in Nebo, Kentucky

During my twenty-two-plus years of service in the Army, I had the opportunity to observe leaders at every level. Personally, I have had the privilege to lead at the team, squad, platoon, and company level, allowing me to lead organizations ranging in size from three to two hundred Along the way, I had the honor to teach, coach, and mentor junior, noncommissioned officers, US Army rangers, future Army officers, and newly commissioned infantry lieutenants. I also had the opportunity to serve on a three-star general staff during combat operations and participate in an Army-level strategic change initiative focused on officer education, leadership transformation efforts. Additionally, I participated in formulating the Warrior Ethos implementation plan for the Army late in my career. I was part of a small team that developed the United States Army Soldier’s Creed.

After retiring from the Army in 2005, I was directly involved in preparing to deploy units for combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, having the unique opportunity to observe leaders from virtually every Army unit and many other types of military formations (sometimes multiple times) deployed from the summer of 2005 until October of 2009. Returning Stateside, I embarked on another long-held goal of mine to complete a terminal degree. In 2014, I graduated, earning a PhD BA in management of organizations, focusing on employee performance, management, and leadership. I have been in higher education full-time, leading academic teams and teaching at the doctoral level since 2013. My specific educational and professional area of focus is on employee evaluations and leader development. Since 2015, I have had the privilege of being part of the Western Governors University’s leadership team.

Rounding out my educational and spiritual journey, in 2016, I entered the seminary at Liberty University, graduating in 2018 with a master of divinity in Christian apologetics. Through this lens, this book is written; in some way, I think I have been writing it in my head for over thirty years! In essence, this muddy boots leadership philosophy combines all those experiences gained from the military, combined with sports, academics, and, most recently, theology and Christian philosophy. Although written through a Biblical lens, this book is for any leader (or aspiring leader) wishing to find a way to improve to better serve their team, regardless of the size.

Early Leadership Influences

In my early years, I found solace in sports. I can honestly say that I cannot remember when I wasn’t playing a sport of some kind, and most of the time, I was asked to be or voted to be the team captain. My fondest childhood memories were playing schoolyard football with the big kids when I was in elementary school and coming home bloody and bruised, loving every minute of it. Football was my first love (and why I am so sad at its current state for that matter), and it was through football that I first saw leaders and learned about leadership (probably didn’t really know it yet though). Being adopted and having a somewhat tumultuous upbringing, I spent much of my early life looking for a positive role model.

I saw my first authentic leadership role models in my freshman football coaches, Joe Agostinello and Dave Nichol. Coach Agostinello served in the Army during Korea and introduced me to the military-style discipline that would be the hallmark of most of my life. Coach A was the first person to tell me that familiarity breeds contempt—a concept that I would remember my whole life. His example led me to enlist in the New York Army National Guard during my junior high school year. During my time in the National Guard, I was exposed to some of the most experienced combat-tested leaders that I would ever have the honor to serve with. My first platoon sergeant (PSG) had served three tours in Vietnam, two with airborne ranger companies. His pragmatic and common-sense approach provided a base for my own development, although I certainly did not realize it at the time!

I served just under two years in the New York National Guard, including my senior year of high school and freshman year at Marist College. At Marist, I had the opportunity to play football. It was here that I met another influential individual—my position coach. I should not have been working with this coach as he was the defensive line coach, and I was recruited as a linebacker/strong safety. I had reported to college within days of graduating infantry advanced individual training (AIT) at Fort Benning, Georgia, and because of this, I showed up about twenty-five pounds lighter than I was when the coaches last saw me. If you know anything about Army training in Georgia in the summer, you will understand how this happened!

Given this drastic change, my prospects for playing were somewhere between slim to none, and I was relegated to the scout team. This was tantamount to being a live, tackling dummy for the starting offense. Even though this was the first time in my sports life I was not on or very close to the starting lineup, I decided to make the best of it and go full out and even started to bug the coaches about letting me play other positions. During one of these chats, the defensive line coach, who I later would find out was a former Vietnam-era Army green beret, took me up on my request. He challenged me to go in and perform at the nose guard position against the starting offense. I was a bit shocked, being 175 pounds soaking wet at that time, but he motivated me by telling me to focus on the tools that I had, not on the ones that I lacked. This concept would stick with me. It worked out, and I had the opportunity to go on and start several games at nose guard for the Marist Red Foxes. I fondly remember the sense of accomplishment I felt after each game, being beaten and bruised from battling with players—in most cases, as much as one hundred pounds heavier than me. Like Vince Lombardi said:

I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle—victorious.

I learned a lot from the coach and from my experience playing football during this time, but being a college student was not in the cards at this point in my life. I left Marist after one year, joining the regular Army in December of 1984.

Military Leadership Influences

To fully appreciate and understand this leadership philosophy, it is essential to first look at the significant military influences on me as a leader. To be honest, I did not fully understand many of the lessons until years later. At this point in my life, I can see that leadership is, as John MacArthur reminds us, is a spiritual responsibility, and the people we lead are a stewardship from God, for which we will one day be called to give an account (cf Matthew 25:14–30)¹ (more on this later).

I served as an enlisted soldier and noncommissioned officer until 1995 and was commissioned from officer candidate school (OCS) in 1995. This means I had the opportunity to rise through the enlisted ranks until I was accepted and commissioned as an officer. During my Army career, I had the privilege to serve with so many great leaders. It would be impossible to name them all, so I will focus on those who significantly impacted who I am and had the most influence on me as a leader and on developing this muddy boots leadership philosophy.

On my second duty assignment in Alaska (172nd Light Infantry Brigade), I met several individuals who would be influential in developing this leadership philosophy. The common factor that binds these leaders together is that they are all ranger leaders and would be why I was motivated to become an Army ranger. First is Ranger Hall of Fame inductee command sergeant major (CSM) George Conrad. At that time, I was assigned as a radio telephone operator (RTO) for the brigade commander while he was the brigade operations NCO. CSM Conrad was the driving force behind moving me from being the COL’s RTO (the guy toting the radio) to the line because he saw the potential in me to attend Ranger School and become a leader.

Before attending Ranger School, I served in Charlie Airborne, one of Alaska’s then three airborne companies. For those who have had the opportunity to lead in the arctic, you are painfully aware of the challenges presented. I feel blessed to have had the chance to develop my leadership under these conditions. While stationed in Alaska, I attended Ranger School as a private first class (E-3), graduating from Ranger School class 10-1987. Being a ranger means you are bound to live by a specific code—the Ranger Creed. This creed is more than words and transcends a ranger’s time in the Army. When you first shout out the Ranger Creed in Ranger School, you quickly learn that the words transcend those fleeting moments in an Army school. The creed is a blueprint for how you should live, lead, and engage in life!

After serving in Charlie Airborne, I was selected to move to the Light Fighter Academy, where I taught pre-ranger (getting others ready for Ranger School) and air assault (helicopter operations) training to the then formed Sixth Infantry Division Soldiers. It was