Rising to the Challenge of Company Command: The First 60 Days

In the second of a handful of proposed articles I have focused this one on the initial two months in Command of a new sub-Unit. The memories mentioned below are taken solely from my experience of recently finishing my time in sub-Unit Command, warts and all, again through the lens of stoicism and what it can teach people about leadership.

No one gets it right entirely, but I hope that the path trodden may offer some advice to newly appointed leaders in both civilian or military Command and leadership positions. Why am I doing this (Start with Why, Simon Sinek )? Well, it's therapeutic for me having come out the other side of Company Command now; it may help other people honoured with Commanding people future and in so doing improve the lives of those people who work so hard for us. I am reminded of the quote by Seneca, but also the importance of applying the lessons of what did not succeed to improve in future:

"Even if some obstacles prevent you from coming close to the person you would like to be, it is no small thing to keep trying, and to keep learning from those who have already succeeded." - Seneca

I recently purchased (on the advice of a friend and fellow stoic) the interpretation of Epictetus by Sharon Lebell entitled, "The Art of Living" . In the prologue she highlights that,

"Epictetus nevertheless staunchly believed in the necessity of training for the gradual refinement of personal character and behaviour. Moral progress is not the natural province of the highborn, nor is it achieved by accident or luck, but by working on yourself daily." - Sharon Lebell

I learned most at the beginning of my time as an Officer Commanding (OC) as the learning curve was so steep in dealing with so many new things. Being the leader of any new team takes time to get proficient at and as Lebell mentions of Epictetus' teachings, it takes daily work to meditate, reflect, and learn from what went well, and what went badly, in the leadership and management of your people that day. Personal behaviour(s) are necessarily and increasingly considered of utmost importance in the selection of future leaders, with my former Commanding Officer saying often of the best leaders "just being good people". This is a mantra I wholeheartedly agree with and will carry with me. Convincing a new team that you are one of those good people is half the initial battle and multi-faceted I have found; be it through proven professional competence, demonstrated compassion and empathy, being the hardest worker in the room striving for team goals, or putting your body and career in the way of trouble heading the Team's way.

The first few months of my time were certainly some of the busiest outside of deploying on/supporting operations. Some of this pressure and busy-ness was self-inflicted, and I will potentially pen a future article about the importance of "wearing Command lightly" whilst avoiding burnout; which I certainly did not get right in the first 3-6 months of my time as an OC. Regardless, the first 60 days are important and I will try to demonstrate why.

1. First Impressions Count - Don't Change Everything Immediately

"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth." - Marcus Aurelius

Before you arrive, people will already have been asking about you. Your reputation is a thing, especially if you serve in a comparatively small profession or cap badge. Reputations are based on opinions and different people's opinions of any act observed can vary greatly. Compound that further by "what people have heard" and all of a sudden you could be faced with a crowd of people who know of you, but do not know you at all. Arriving with a 'good' reputation helps, but there are certain things first impressions do to put any reputations to the back of people's minds as they focus on the new leader in front of them.

Sticking to the mantra of "just being a good person", it's simple: Arrive on time; look the part; set a good example; be polite; say please and thank you especially when giving direction; demonstrate you are keen to listen and inform the junior leaders already in the team of your intention to simply observe and ask questions of the entirety of the team before making any tsunami level changes.

Chances are there is plenty that is already going well in the Company you are Commanding, identifying the issues, risks and problems is the exciting part which will take time to unearth, but also to analyse and prepare to make changes to. Nobody likes the leader who wants to save the world on day one - give it time and focus initially on simply trying to learn people's names and demonstrate you are a good human.

2. Generate Short Term Wins.

"Begin each day by telling yourself: Today I shall be meeting with interference, ingratitude, insolence, disloyalty, ill-will, and selfishness—all of them due to the offenders' ignorance of what is good or evil. But for my part, I have long perceived the nature of good and its nobility, the nature of evil and its meanness." - Marcus Aurelius

There are some issues that will need your direction and guidance on almost immediately. I found this particularly difficult because I did not know the personal circumstances of people under my Command immediately, and had to rely upon the team already in place on arrival. Their knowledge of the people was well ahead of my own at that stage. That being said, some initial decisions were met with some ill-will and discontent. If your Command team in support of you are worth their salt, they will quickly do as mine did and nip grumbling which may be based upon incomplete information at the time. I forget who said it, but the old quote on soldiers that "soldiers disdain two things; change and the way things are" holds true. But with growth comes change and identifying quick wins one can begin demonstrating that having you around as a leader is worth it.

John P. Cotter in "Leading Through Change" has an entire chapter on the importance of generating short-term wins which I commend to you (along with the rest of the book), however, initial quick wins included;

• agreeing and communicating clear work start and finish times for each of the teams within the Company (oddly this was unclear to some).
• yes, you can go to the gym in work time, so long as this was agreed by your team leaders.
• creating a forecast of events planner which everyone has access to so they can plan their lives more effectively despite being on high readiness.

3. Speak to Everyone.

Bearing in mind you are trying to learn your new job, deal with initial problems, create short-term wins, keep your family happy, whilst reducing the self-induced pressure to the lowest levels possible - this is the time consuming bit, but also the most important bit.

Cato the Younger is a fascinating stoic personality to learn about, if ever you get the chance. While direct quotes from Cato are scarce, his life serves as a powerful example of Stoic leadership principles in action. His actions speak to the importance of a leader being one with his soldiers, understanding their needs, and caring for their welfare through personal sacrifice and integrity. I commend "Rome's Last Citizen: The Life and Legacy of Cato, Mortal Enemy of Caesar" by Rob Goodman and Jimmy Soni to any leaders, military or otherwise, who want to read of a stoic example of leadership of people through adversity (and tyranny). Linking back to my previous article on preparing for Company Command, my mentor highlighted that to "understand your people" was one of the two primary things along with "understand your outputs" that makes Command successful. Speaking to everyone gives you this first chance to make a proper first impression, potentially create some short-term wins for that person, whilst critically beginning to understand them. It begins to build the trust which is essential to an effective leader/follower professional relationship moving ahead.

I interviewed every person under my Command for at least 30 minutes; the more experienced ones with more to say about themselves understandably took much longer. When you multiply that by how many people you have to lead and manage, then remind yourself of your 60 day self-induced timeline, your working day fills up quickly!

Simon Sinek in "Leaders Eat Last" outlines the need to understand your people brilliantly based almost entirely on the fact that they are the ones closest to the issues (information), many of whom have the answers as to how to solve said issues, but lack the resources or authority to solve them. The critical part is then pushing that authority down from you as the leader to them through a clear vision, simultaneously providing them with the resources needed, and getting out of their way so they can begin to solve the issues for the good of the Company. The below image refers:

By the end of the interview process, every single one of my people had provided me with at least one thing they believed was an issue with the Company, often with a list of recommendations on how to solve it. From this list, subsequent analysis was the next logical step.

4. Do Your Analysis (Apply the Reading).

"No great thing is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig. If you tell me that you desire a fig, I answer you that there must be time. Let it first blossom, then bear fruit, then ripen." - Epictetus

In my previous article I highlighted the importance of doing (and applying) the reading. In this instance I refer again to the application of Cotter's Eight Principles of Leading Through Change:

• Establishing a Sense of Urgency.
• Creating the Guiding Coalition.
• Developing a Vision and Strategy.
• Communicating the Changing Vision.
• Empowering Employees for Broad-Based Action.
• Generating Short-Term Wins.
• Consolidating Gains and Producing More Change.
• Anchoring New Approaches to the Culture.

The trends from the initial interviews were clear:

• They wanted a routine and a better ability to plan their lives, despite being on high-readiness.
• They wanted a better work/life balance, with space to operate without interruption at team level.
• They wanted to be protected from haphazard changes in priorities and direction from above and around them as best as possible.
• Those who worked in teams away from the main office wanted to be better included.
• They wanted improved opportunities for professional and personal development.
• They wanted continued forums in which to continually report new information to the Command team as and when things changed.
• Some liked things as they were, and didn't want any change. If anything, more sports afternoons were definitely what was required to improve operational output through increased morale...

5. Sanity Check With Your Command Team.

"If someone is able to show me that what I think or do is not right, I will happily change, for I seek the truth, by which no one was ever truly harmed. It is the person who continues in his self-deception and ignorance who is harmed." - Marcus Aurelius

Seneca, Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius are all quoted regarding the importance of taking advice from wiser people (sages) than themselves. Data and analysis in hand, it was time to prepare and sanity check the initial 60 day assessment with the senior leaders in the team and get a big dollop of advice from those who had been in the Company far longer than I. In my case I had intentionally kept my initial findings and analysis to myself to prepare for the big reveal. The results of which were taken in different ways.

Most were in agreement with the results and analysis presented which was a relief. Some were proud of the organisation as it was and were reluctant to accept the potential need for changes in certain areas. "We've tried that before, it didn't work" was mentioned several times - this meriting further investigation as to why it did not work despite it needing to work.

Having the support of your senior-most leaders and experienced people will enable a two-way debate in private which will thus refine your analysis prior to the delivery of new direction, but importantly get the people you need to support you to be supportive before the reveal of changes to the wider team. James Kerr in "Legacy" highlights the importance of the "senior players" who are not necessarily in traditional leadership positions in a rugby team (such as the Manager, Captain or Head Coach) who are keen to driving forward changes and setting an example for the other more junior players. Having their buy-in is important or their discontent risks encouraging others to show their discontent at the changes being made.

The biggest hurdle one may need to jump before decisions are made is to get any proposed changes agreed by those higher up the chain. In my case, I was fortunate to be entirely empowered by my Commanding Officer at the time to "just make it better". With leaders above me in approval, the team largely on side and clear to purpose, it was time to make some positive changes.

6. Communicate Your Direction Clearly.

"It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters." - Epictetus

After all the effort put into interviews, data collection, analysis, convincing the team and leaders above me that constructive change was necessary, it would have been a shame to ruin it through poor communication of the future plan and direction. This was the nerve wracking bit, especially the face to face delivery of some things I knew my people were not going to be chuffed about. I won't go into to the detail, but of particular contention was the direction to change the sacred cow that is sports afternoons on a Wednesday into a 60 minute session everyone would attend (including the OC), which was pre-agreed and pre-organised by different teams each week. This instead of simply getting the entirety of the afternoon off (usually to play X Box in the block) was not taken brilliantly by those who had enjoyed not doing much on that day.

In true Simon Sinek fashion, I started with why. I had spoken to every one of them behind closed doors, none of them knew what the other had said to me, all knew how truthful (or brutal) they had been and all knew that change was necessarily afoot. They had given me the information, I was pushing the authority down and attempting to outline a vision (agreed with the Commanding Officer and the leadership team within the Company who were all present) which should improve the work/life balance of everyone in the Company.

Summarising the sum of the Company's future outputs into "4 Pillars" kept it simple and I mentioned them often:

• Be Always Ready
• Build Our Network
• Maintain Operational Outputs
• Pursue Professional Excellence

All of this was communicated in three ways.

• Each member of the team would get a double-sided A5 card with the most distilled possible version of the direction possible printed on it.
• Posters with new direction were put up in every team's room.
• Each leader within the team was given a full-fat "set of orders" with missions and tasks for their roles.

Importantly, each week there was a forum in which every member of the team came together to discuss any issues identified or good ideas that came to mind which could be presented to the whole team and the leaders within the Company for discussion, and approval. It unearthed a varying severity of issues with some people's accommodation issues not being fixed quickly enough all the way through to some people admitting publicly they were under stress with their workload and they needed help. Regular touch-points with every one were integral to success and I will never forget the group of soldiers who had written a list of crunchy questions and suggestions to increase the duration of sports afternoon timings to the OC which they had evidently been waiting all week to unload on everyone to see my reaction!

God Bless Sports Afternoons.