Task- Purpose- Endstate

This posting comes from guest blogger, Captain Davis Ozier of the United States Army.   

Within an organization, developing our personnel is a critical task that receives a lot of talk but never much attention.  Managers generally think, hope, and assume that subordinates will be developed by simply observing those around them or that merely teaching them a task is sufficient to be considered as developing them in their position.  It doesn’t.  People are at the center of our organizations and the successful execution of our daily business falls on their shoulders.  It is therefore imperative that leaders spend time developing their people to grow and succeed, and empowering our subordinates is a great first step.

The US Army has historically trained a topic or subject on a model of Task – Conditions – Standard, which defines the task, the conditions under which the task will be completed, and the standard that must be reached to be considered a successful execution of said task.  What if, as leaders, we adopt a slightly different approach, and modify our format to Task – Purpose – Endstate?  Define the task at hand, the reason for doing it, and what it should look like at the end.  Doing so empowers the individual or team while affording them maximum creativity and flexibility.  And who do you want to rise within your organization – those that can only execute tasks that are described in detail to them or those that have the ingenuity and agility to develop creative solutions on their own?

Adopting the Task – Purpose – Endstate model has its drawbacks, though.  There will be a learning curve where the subordinate might, and probably will, fail.  This failure is not only acceptable, it is encouraged!  Ask yourself the simple question, have you learned more from your failures or your successes?  As long as leaders can identify the critical tasks ahead of time that are no-fail missions and ensure they are appropriately resourced, there is no reason to worry about potential failures.

Leaders must prioritize development of our team members.  However, it won’t happen on its own – it must be a deliberate and planned effort.  Take a moment and reflect on how your bosses have developed you?  

How do you currently develop your subordinates?  

Are you a firefighter? Part 2

Last week, I wrote about leaders firefighting by taking out their fire hose and spraying everyone when a disciplinary message needs to be delivered.  This week, I want to discuss the other type of firefighting, where leaders run from one problem to the next and think they are the only ones who can solve the problems. 

I love the quote in the AIDT manual about this, “The illusion of control depends on the leader acting as the ‘sole problem solver’.  This role implies that the leader is the only one wise or capable enough to make decisions…. In this mode, the leader is strictly a fire fighter running from one problem to the next. You don’t have time to lead because you’re running from fire to fire- sometimes the same one, over and over, in the same day.”

We all want to be in control, but effective leaders don’t run around day after day fighting fires because they have given responsibility, authority, and autonomy to their subordinates.  They empower instead of micro-manage.

So to become an empowering leader, let me pass along some of the suggestions the AIDT Leadership class offers: 

1.       Give employees specific areas where they have final authority to make decisions and solve problems.  If employees come to you with every decision, something is wrong. 

2.       Allow employees to make mistakes.   See mistakes as learning opportunities.

3.       Encourage employees to share ideas.   The best way to do this is to listen to ideas and use them.

4.       Give employees the opportunity to learn and grow.  Cross training is a great way to do this.   Don’t always assign a task to the “expert” in that area.  Give someone who is “green” in the area the opportunity learn a new skill and build confidence in performing that skill. 

The question you should ask yourself everyday as a leader is, "Am I making more leaders?".   Empowering others is the first step in answering "yes" to this question.   

How do you empower others?