You Do Not Always Have to Lead from the Front

Warner Burke (Executive Power, Jossey-Bass 1986) refers to the key process of leadership as empowering oneself. The word empowerment is commonly used to describe the process of 'taking charge'. Burke suggested that leaders tend to be those who have sufficient presence and self belief to be able to recognise the many ways of controlling and directing situations, from a position of clear understanding of themselves.

I would follow this with the need to empower your subordinates in the same way and encourage them to 'take charge' in their own area of control.

Due to the special requirements of the fast-jet single-seat pilot it is no great surprise that the vast majority of the hierarchy of the RAF has formerly come from this group. In flying training the RAF, unlike many other flying training systems around the world, teaches its pilots to think for themselves and to rely on their judgement. As the student pilot continues through training this becomes progressively more natural and they are expected to make more decisions for themselves rather than rely on the instructor. This results in the RAF pilot leaving their fast-jet operational conversion unit in a position where they are able to lead formations, and to feel comfortable doing so. This expectation continues throughout their career so that when they gain promotion their leadership skills are much more finely tuned than they would otherwise have been.

It is vital in business that you give your people the confidence to make decisions and allow them to take the lead so that they gain experience and it ensures that they are not constantly asking their boss for help when he/she should be concerning him/herself with the more strategic problems. Leadership is not always about being at the front and making all the decisions - often it is delegating the powers down so that everyone can lead their part of the whole.

In an RAF aircraft the pilot is always the Captain and hence the primary decision maker and also the point at which the "buck stops" should anything go wrong. My first crew on Canberras consisted of myself, a Navigator and an Electronic Warfare Officer. I was 21 and the average age of the crew was just over 38, so there was always a potential problem with leading these far more experienced crew members. It is important that, to be able to lead, you must have the knowledge to put forward your point but you should also have the awareness to realise when you should bow to their superior knowledge. This problem occurs regularly in the armed forces especially when junior officers are in charge with senior non-commissioned officers (SNCO), significantly older than themselves, as second-in-command. This correlates directly in business with young management sparring with older union representatives who want to take advantage of their experience over the new manager.

It is essential that the young leader remembers that experience can be learned from others and the sign of a good leader is when they are willing to listen to advice from all quarters. It is also just as necessary as a young leader that you stand up for yourself when an older person is trying to bully you in a certain direction.

It is never easy to hold your ground when faced with age and experience but leadership is partly about having the knowledge and the character to stand up for what you believe to be correct. Remember, the leader is not necessarily the one who makes the most noise or bluster but is usually the one who best understands the situation and has the confidence to guide people through the problem. In certain situations it may not always be the Boss it could be one of the other managers who knows the subject or the people involved better than others- empowered by the overall leader.

Many people would be surprised at a comparison between a fighter pilot and leadership in business. Flashing around at 500 mph, practicing and, increasingly recently, carrying out missions over enemy territory, seems miles away from the requirements of the boardroom and business in general. However, the correlations are remarkably close when you break it down to the component parts.

Before any attack mission is flown in the Royal Air Force, you start with the target. You then plan a route to get to the target by the safest and usually most expeditious route. At the end of the mission the sortie is debriefed in detail with everyone having an equal say from the Boss right down to the most junior pilot. Even to the extent that the junior pilot is permitted to advise the Boss if he thought that his leader had made a mistake. Being open and free with the debriefing ensures that the squadron improves in its task and hopefully does not make similar mistakes in the future; no member of the chain is immune from mistakes. This also ensures that all those involved learn from the good and bad habits and therefore improve as individuals.

In business, I would like to believe that most leaders choose their goal (target), whether it be short-term or long-term and come up with a plan to achieve it. However, most businesses are not good at analysing the way in which the task was undertaken and do not always give all participants the opportunity to have their say. The more open approach has many advantages, not least that it saves the same mistakes being repeated; it also ensures that everyone feels part of the team and if given an equal say they feel that they can make a difference. By treating your managers as equals you will gain their respect and get more productive work from them. This will benefit the company in more ways than just increased efficiency as the employee will view the company in a different light and will represent it positively to others.