Tag Archives: Work/Life Balance

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McChrystal and a Grain of Salt

by Thomas Meyer (Hay in the Barn Leader)

Stanley McChrystal (retired General and Managing Partner at McChrystal Group) recently posted a LinkedIn article, How I Keep Up with an Unrelenting Work Pace. The article was published February 1, 2016 and is receiving excessive praise from many. It is also receiving criticism from those who note the inherent risks of applying strategic level leadership experiences without thought or reflection. Here are some things you should pay attention to when reading McChrystal’s article.

McChrystal

Photo from FastCompany.
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Work and Life

Advice for finding a balance

I listened to this yesterday and thought it was impactful enough to send out as perfect Sunday personal growth material. It’s from the EntreLeadership Podcast, which is Dave Ramsey’s creation and in the Top 20 Business Podcasts on iTunes.

Two aspects in particular make this podcast powerful: the big name influencers they interview and the clips of Dave Ramsey giving priceless leadership and business advice. I’ve used more content from this podcast than any other, as it is highly relevant military leaders. Several times as an Operations Officer, I’d listen to an episode on the way to work, and then immediately implement its insights.

Dave RamseyThis episode is all about finding purpose and meaning in life, which requires that we deconflict work and life. Dan Miller, author of 48 Days to the Work You Love, talks about how to live a life of meaning, then Dave Ramsey follows with in-your-face advice for figuring out how to keep your family while being successful at work.

His philosophy is one that leaders can take to their units tomorrow and make a difference with. It’s well-worth your time…and theirs!

For the EntreLeadership Podcast episode, click here.

To access Episode #110 through the iTunes Store, click here.

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14 Simple Ways to Connect with Your People

Leaders who find ways to connect with their people are the ones who build great teams, inspire the best performance, and rise to positions of influence when others wane. If you look back on your career, you’ll likely observe that the most impactful leaders were the ones who made a personal connection with you.

Maybe it was keen professional mentorship, or timely advice during adversity, or a personality trait that invited trust. Sometimes there’s no pinpointing it…just an intangible feeling that makes it easy to follow a person.

In the culture of busyness that we face today, it’s distressingly easy to ignore the personal side of leadership. But trust will never develop without a personal connection between leader and follower. And without trust, an organization will be confined to a transactional environment of mediocre results and melancholy people.

Connect

Sgt. Donald M. Khun, San Gabriel Valley Recruiting Company, right, presents Brooke Willis, spouse of the new company commander Capt. William G. Willis, with yellow roses to signify a bright new beginning at the change of command ceremony Mar. 15. Capt. William G. Willis, the new company commander is sitting to the left of Mrs. Willis, and their son Blake is sitting to her right.
Photo by Mr. Fernando Sanjurjo, U.S. Army Recruiting Battalion Los Angeles.
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8 Supervisor Tips For Getting More Done

by "Be Mission Capable"

When I took over my duty position, my supervisor told me that in order to succeed, I needed to get more involved in orders and taskings than the officer I replaced. I did the opposite and got better results. Here’s how.

Supervisor

Gen. Raymond Odierno presents a coin to a Soldier wearing a Level A, hazardous materials, suit Jan. 13. Soldiers from the Incident Response Training Department provided Odierno with a demonstration of the different equipment, training and techniques used in case of a chemical incident. Link to photo.
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5 Must-Have Conversations for Military Leaders

I learned an important lesson on the first day of my new command in a headquarters company in 2007. I had already commanded a rifle company and thought that I had pretty much honed the skills needed to succeed again. (Maybe I was giving myself too much credit?…a topic for another post.) The change of command ceremony concluded and I walked into my new office to find my First Sergeant waiting. He said, “Sir, do you have a few minutes?” “Of course,” I replied.

What followed was one of the most enabling and professionally developing exchanges I’ve had in my entire career. Yes, this First Sergeant is exceptionally talented and would teach me more about leadership than any other NCO I’ve worked with, but the conversation was powerful because he and I synchronized how we would lead the company together. We discussed everything from combat to family readiness to weight control. We spent hours together that day and set the tone for success because we got aligned from day one.

Today, I think back on that experience and realize that I would’ve been a fool NOT to have had that conversation, and that there are actually a few more areas in the military leader’s life where a frank and honest conversation is necessary to enable success.

Conversation

Command Sgt. Maj. Frank A. Grippe, command senior enlisted leader for U.S. Central Command, speaks with soldiers of Apache Company, 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, on a foot patrol in the Panjwaâi district of southern Afghanistan, Sept. 22, 2012. Grippe visited the soldiers as part of his visit to Regional Command (South). Link to photo.
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Sleep that Sabotages Leadership

Today’s HBR recommendation, “Your Abusive Boss Is Probably an Insomniac,” is a summary of findings from a study published in the Academy of Management Journal. The researchers studied 88 leaders and their teams to find out if the leaders’ sleep habits affected performance at work. The result?…you guessed it, but there’s a twist:

We found that daily leader sleep quality, but not quantity, influenced the leader’s self-control and abusive supervision behavior, and ultimately the degree to which his or her subordinates were engaged in their work that day. It is not clear why sleep quantity did not have the effect we predicted, but the effect for sleep quality was very clear; a given leader engaged in more jerky boss behavior after a poor night of sleep than a good night of sleep, and this influenced his or her subordinates to disengage from work.

sleep

Photo by Odi Mitch. Link to photo.
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16 Resources for Preventing Distraction, Maximizing Productivity, and Prioritizing with Purpose

Military leaders have PLENTY of reasons to be overworked…“The Commanding General is visiting next week!” “The units are waiting for us to publish the order!” “Soldiers’ lives are at risk!”

The reality is that Soldiers’ lives will always be at risk. Command authority in the military will always dictate immediate response/action to higher headquarter demands. There will always be something to look at on the BlackBerry. We can’t fight these facts, so why not focus on being as efficient as possible despite them?

This post is all about giving you resources for eliminating distractions, delegating, prioritizing, and protecting your cognitive function. And along the way you’ll be challenged reconsider sacrificing so much “life” in the name of work.

productivity

Sgt. 1st Class Robert Russell, a platoon sergeant and member of Provincial Reconstruction Team Zabul’s security force, crosses the Tarnek River in Qalat City, Afghanistan, July 9, 2011.
Photo by U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Grovert Fuentes-Contreras

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“Don’t Do What Others Could Do” – Lessons for Delegation and Authority

“Working harder does not equate to being more productive.” Do you feel that military leaders still have not embraced this fact? Do we try to personally do too much? Do we hold on to projects until deadline, trying to get ever closer to perfection?

Listening to Michael Hyatt’s podcast on “The Fine Art of Delegation,” I again came to the conclusion that effective delegation is a battle that military leaders and staffs fight on a daily basis.

Michael Hyatt gives 5 Imperatives of Delegation in this podcast, but the real gem of the episode is his description of the 5 Levels of Authority. He simplifies the exercise of authority, which then clarifies how leaders should be delegating.

U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond T. Odierno speaks to company-level leaders to discuss leadership
and answer questions during his visit to Wiesbaden, Germany, April 30, 2013.
Photo Credit: Staff Sgt. Steve Cortez