Muddy Boots Leadership: Real Life Stories and Personal Examples of Good, Bad, and Unexpected Results
By John Chapman
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About this ebook
John Chapman is a longstanding observer and chronicler of leadership events. In Muddy Boots Leadership, he describes 285 military leadership situations and the actions leaders have taken to meet the issue at hand. The leadership lessons learned and relearned by military leaders are applicable to a wide variety of organizations, both civil and military. Many are truly surprising; all are written with a certain “spark” that those in leadership positions will immediately understand. The text is augmented with some truly classic sidebars.
“When officers are being asked to ‘do everything with nothing,’ it costs a leader nothing but muddy boots to walk with them—and it can inspire extraordinary effort . . . It doesn’t take money to get your boots muddy and lead by example. It does take courage and effort.” —Officer.com
John Chapman
We started the 'A Vested Interest' series in 2007 and it took over a year before I came up with an ending we were happy with. At 170,000 words A Vested Interest was too long though for a printed book. We cut it heavily but still ended with a 140,000 word book. There was no alternative, we had to split it into a two book series. Doing that, we thought, would allow us to put back some of the content we had cut and expand the second book (Dark Secrets) a little.Well that was the plan. We ended up splitting the second book and making a trilogy by adding 'No Secrets'. The original ending didn't quite fit now so we moved it into a fourth book - Stones, Stars and Solutions.And so it goes on. We are now writing book 10 and 11 of the series. Shelia has written a spin-off 'Blood of the Rainbow' trilogy. Altogether it's 2 million words so far! In terms of time, we've only covered a few months. There is an end in sight but not for another 5,000 years. Maybe I'll get to use my original ending then?About the AuthorsJohn and Shelia Chapman are a husband and wife team who met on Internet and crossed the Atlantic to be together. John, an English ex-science and computer teacher contributed the technology and 'nasty' bits while Shelia drew on her medical experience in the USA and produced the romance. The humour? That came from real life.
Read more from John Chapman
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Muddy Boots Leadership - John Chapman
Copyright © 2006 by Stackpole Books
Published by
STACKPOLE BOOKS
5067 Ritter Road
Mechanicsburg, PA 17055
www.stackpolebooks.com
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. All inquiries should be addressed to Stackpole Books at the above address.
Cover design by Wendy Reynolds
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in Publication Data
Chapman, John (John E.)
Muddy boots leadership : real life stories and personal examples of good, bad, and unexpected results / by John Chapman.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 0-8117-0166-2 (alk. paper)
1. Leadership. 2. Command of troops. I. Title.
UB210.C482 2006
355.3'3041—dc22
2006002776
ISBN 978-0-8117-0166-2
eBook ISBN: 9780811741118
Table of Contents
Foreword
Acknowledgment
LEADERSHIP
Leadership Agreement
Checking
Chairbound Ignorance
Common Sense
Personal Commitment
Courtesy
Commendations
Credibility
Credit & Blame
Unit Bonding
Personal Growth
Honesty with Others
First Impressions
Bravery
Motivation
Inspections
Virtues for Leaders
Vision
People Selection
The Tyranny of Perception
Leader Personalities
Unit Personalities
Perception
Know Your Unit
Leader Selection
Great Leaders
Indicators of Effective Leadership
The Leadership Paradox
The Leader’s Dilemma
Leadership and The Law of Natural Selection
Obligation of Personal Recommendation
Quitting
Not Quitting
Benefits of Personal Experience
Leader Development
Commander vs. Leader
Planning
Power
Power Down
The Power of Praise
Command Presence
Priorities
Personal Priorities
Privilege and the Price of Leadership
Promises
Reenlistment
The Easy Way is Always Wrong
Trust, but Verify
A Soldier’s Trust
Thinking
Taking Charge
Taking Charge Timeline
Team Building
Developing Subordinates
The New Guy
The Secret of Expectations
The Power of Example
Reputation and Leadership
The Five Percent Solution
Sleep Plan
Socializing with Subordinates
New Sergeants or Corporals
Rights Card
Doing the Right Thing
Your Reputation
Personal Responsibility
Motivation
Reality
Names
Bad Leaders
Tolerance of Mistakes
Leader vs. Manager
Snivel Gear
Little White Lies
Roommate Hate
Soldier of the Month
PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE
The Chain Of Command
Delegation
Competition Management
The Ultimate Correction
Timing
The Execution of Unpopular Orders
Participation of Subordinates
When to Make Decisions
The Impact of Personal Interest
Delegation
Command Climate—Zero Defects
Planning
Supervision
Orders
Habit
Attention to Detail
Favoritism
Expertise
Global Positioning System
Friends
Timeliness
Apology
Moral Indifference
Coin Temptation
Guard Your Honor
Criticism
Suck up and Move Up
Ethics
Ethical Priorities
Situational Ethics
Honesty
Effectiveness
Soldiers’ Evaluation of You
Excuses
Confidence in Yourself
Courage
SOLDIERS
Family Readiness Group (FRG)
Family Readiness Group Information
Soldier Health
Help Me, I’m Drunk
HIV Policy
Home Visitation
Hospital Visitation
Section Visits
Soldiers on Quarters
Nicknames
Sponsorship
Drinking at Official Functions
Blood Alcohol Level
Motivation
Recognition
Rewards
NCO Work
Stupid Accidents
The Power of Appreciation: Deeds, not Words
Associates
Newcomer Certification
The New Guy
Fear
Recognizing an Emergency
Barracks Presence
Chaplain
Births
Hey, You
Details
Promotion Boards
The Color Guard
Standards
COMMUNICATION
Vocabulary
Rumors
Situation Reports
When Less is More
Information Flow
Listening
Farewell to Your Unit
Command Philosophy
Contact Time
Newspapers
Fact vs. Rumor
Gossip
Writing
Communication is the Key to Command
Rolodex™
The Danger of E-Mail
E-Mail: Everything in Life is a Graded Event
Situation Report
COUNSELING
The Key to Counseling
Counseling Journal
Counseling Format
Counseling for Adverse Action
Footlocker Counseling
Impact Counseling
Initial Counseling
Counseling File Contents
Personal Counseling
Plate Counseling
When to Check Counseling
ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT
Weight Control Program
Passes
Uniform Inspections
The Headquarters Problem
In-box Shuffle
The Pain of Great Ideas
Promotion Preparation
Promotion Selection
Wills
Keyboard Time
Continuity File
Additional Duties
Cup and Flower Fund
Awards: Doing the Right Thing
Impact Awards
Play of the Week Award
Personal Emergency
Punishment
Justice and Mercy
Public Exposure
Requirements for Project Success
Support for Programs
Statistics
Records
Systems
More on Additional Duties
Discipline Drives Routine
Field Mail
Maps
Meetings
MAINTENANCE AND TRAINING
PMCS
Maintenance Schedule
Maintenance Standards
Equipment Service Schedule
Weapons Maintenance
No Pay Due
Technical Competence
Training Standards
Retraining
Internal Training Classes
Junior Leadership Development
Training Challenge and Unit Growth
Judgment
Physical Training
Training Motivation
PT Cadence
Command Emphasis at PT
Officer Training Responsibility
Applying Your Professional Education
After-Action Review
Supply Confidence
Reports of Survey
Inventory
Equipment Field Loss
Key Control
Hand Receipts
Clothing Inventory
The Commander’s Hand Receipt
PROSPERING PROFESSIONALLY
Your Boss’s Goals and Yours
Support of Your Boss
Don’t Hide Bad News
The Boss’s Loyalty
Unit Recovery
Leader’s Brief
Survivorship Briefing
Advice
Luck
Your Boss’s OER Support Form
Silver Bullets
Commitment to Soldiers
Doctrine
End of the Duty Day
Victim of Your Experience
Mission Priority
Perception: The First Report is Always Wrong
Planning Effectiveness
Optional Social Functions
Unit Hails and Farewells
Staff
Don’t Lose Your Sense of Humor
TEN RULES TO LIVE BY x 3
NCO vs. Sergeant
Soldiers
Leadership
The Soldier’s Creed
Index
Foreword
Author John Chapman, a superb observer and chronicler of leadership events, now shares in this book his observations and lessons learned about this essential military art. Today’s unit-level military leaders can learn much from their predecessors in what works and what doesn’t. In this book, Chapman covers just about every area of leadership and leadership interaction with followers, which in turn produces a large number of stories and vignettes servicemen will immediately recognize.
Leadership has many purposes—to build effective organizations, to successfully complete dangerous tasks in high-risk environments, and to mold teams that operate like winning sports teams.
For their part, the military services, as institutions, have a fairly common understanding of leadership. In no other profession is lack of sound leadership more potentially disastrous than in the armed forces. At the most basic level, military leaders are selected for their proven ability to do two things: (a) accomplish the mission, and (2) take care of their people—in that priority!
The primary task of any military organization is to perform its mission. This is paramount. As a leader, your primary responsibility is to lead people to carry out the unit’s mission successfully.
People perform the mission. They are the heart of any organization, and without their support the unit will fail in its mission. The successful leader is the one fitted by force of ideas, character, genius, and strength of will to arouse, excite, and direct individuals in their performance of duties necessary for the accomplishment of the mission.
Most leaders must, by the nature of their positions, also be managers. But there is a difference. Leadership is the art of influencing and directing people to accomplish the mission. Management is the manner in which both human and material resources are applied to achieve objectives. In essence, the leader leads people and manages assets.
All of the military services have relatively similar definitions of the ideal traits and characteristics of a leader. In the Army, these go by the acronym L-D-R-S-H-I-P, which include:
—Loyalty is to bear true faith and allegiance to the U.S. Constitution, the Army, your unit, and your fellow soldiers.
—Duty means fulfilling your professional obligations to do something, and doing it to the highest standard.
—Respect is to treat people as they should be treated and as you would want to be treated.
—Selfless Service means to put the welfare of the nation, the Army, and your subordinates before your own welfare or desires or pleasures.
—Honor is to behave with human dignity, to be honest, to fulfill a commitment, to keep a promise.
—Integrity is doing what’s right, legally and morally.
—Personal Courage is to perform your duty in the face of fear, danger, or adversity (physical or moral).
Complementing these bedrock values are two leadership characteristics essential for professional success: Teamwork and Discipline. Military units cannot operate in peace or war without these two characteristics.
The Air Force uses a similar list of leader characteristics, but adds:
—Decisiveness, the willingness to act, to take timely and affirmative decisions.
—Energy, an enthusiasm, drive, and aggressiveness to take the initiative.
All the services agree that the leadership principles know yourself, know your job, and set the example
are imperatives for leadership.
As you read through this book, you will find numerous examples of leader actions and decisions—some are humorous, some tragic. Many are examples of good leadership, others of not so good leadership, and some actions that caused quite unexpected results. Use these examples as a guide to your future actions, regardless of whether you are a commissioned officer, a warrant officer, a noncommissioned officer, or a soldier, airman, sailor, marine, or a civilian who aspires to leadership.
Acknowledgment
This document is the result of many fine soldiers with whom I have been privileged to serve. They include Colonels Ronald Robinson and John Spears; Lt. Col. Bruce Shabaz; Captains Joel Bagnal, Randal Flood, Jerry Stephens, Paul Shelton, and Randy West; 1st Sgt. Carr; Sergeants First Class Dennis Reilly, James Lyons, and James McGrath; Drill Sergeant Antrupp; Specialist Richard Richardson; and many others.
Regrettably, some of these lessons learned must be attributed to the weak, lazy, or excruciatingly bad leaders with and under whom I have unfortunately had to suffer. They remain nameless but not forgotten.
John E. Chapman
Spring 2006
LEADERSHIP
Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character.
But if you must be without one, be without the strategy.
—Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf
LEADERSHIP AGREEMENT
"I don’t want any yes-men around me. I want everybody to tell me the truth, even if it costs