Next Level Blog
Simple, practical, applicable
An Army Colonel’s Three Simple Rules of Leadership February 16 2011
Last week, I had the opportunity to join a small group of leadership coaches for dinner with retired US Army Colonel Steve Dwyer. Colonel Dwyer is enjoying a second career in the private sector after spending thirty years as a soldier, most of it in Army Aviation. He shared a lot of interesting stories and insights with us that night. The one that really stuck with me was the years long process he went through to get his philosophy of leadership down to three simple rules.
Steve told us that when he was promoted to captain, he went from commanding around 45 soldiers in a platoon to about 150 in a company. He decided that with the broader scope of command that he had as a captain that he needed to make his expectations clear. He spent a lot of time writing up a three page, single space list of rules and expectations for his company. He posted it on the bulletin board and nobody paid any attention to it, not even Steve.
Learning his lesson when he was promoted to a major in charge of 1,000 soldiers in a battalion, Steve decided to get all his rules on one page. With the help of a very small font and dramatically reduced page margins, he managed to do it. He posted the rules and everyone ignored them including Steve.
By the time he was promoted to colonel and commanding a brigade of 5,000, Steve told us he finally realized that another page length list of rules and expectations wasn’t going to do anyone any good. Reflecting back on what had worked for him and others in his career as an Army leader, Steve boiled it all down to three simple rules of leadership. They don’t require a lot of memorization and with a little adaptation apply to leaders in any field. Here they are:
1. Take care of your subordinates as if it were your religion. Steve said this rule first hit home with him when he was a young lieutenant and got his platoon lost and five hours away from their objective. They had hiked all night and as the sun came up they were out of food and everyone was hungry. Steve had a pound bag of M&M’s stashed in one of his pockets. He thought about sneaking some snacks for himself but realized he needed to share the candy with his men. Just a few M&M’s from their leader turned shaky morale into great morale. Rule number one was learned.
2. Be a team player. Take the initiative but don’t make your peers look bad in the process. Bring them along. Follow them when they have good ideas. Learn from each other. Share good ideas. You not only learn a lot with rule number two, you end up having friends. Not a bad way to go.
3. Execute commander’s intent. As an Army colonel, Steve like most everyone else in the world, had a boss and had to follow through on what his boss wanted done. By being clear about his philosophy of taking care of his soldiers and being a team player, Steve found that he got more margin in how he executed his commander’s intent. When you understand and focus on commander’s intent, you usually get more latitude about how to execute because your boss is confident you’re on board with the what.
So, there you have it. Thirty years of leadership experience summed up by Colonel Dwyer in three simple rules. If you were coming up with your rules of leadership would you stick with Steve Dwyer’s or would you come up with your own? What are your rules of leadership?
Scott Eblin is an executive coach, speaker and author of 
Scott,
Thank you for an excellent post and as an old soldier I can only humbly echo the colonels great advice. My three rules?
"Be the change you want to see in the world" – We are only true to the gift, privilege and responsibility of leadership when we lead by example. Don't ask – show – what you want with your actions, behavior and habits.
It's a today thing – what we did yesterday or are going to do tomorrow are pale pretenders to what we are doing now – today.
The saddest thing for a leader is when we have made no difference to someone's life. The greatest joy for a leader is when we have made a difference. Make a difference – inspire others by caring more, being more and doing more.
Beautifully put. Simple, actionable, effective.
Play nice, take care of others, and they'll take care of you. Or as Zig Ziegler once said, help others get what they want, they'll help you get what you want.
Thanks Colonel Dwyer and Scott for sharing such invaluable lessons.
Great post. My rules,
Never lie
Don't hide the truth
Never cover up anything
In other words, honesty always.
Great post, Scott.
When Dwyer described trying to get into the bag and it crinkled – I could really picture the guilty look.
I also liked that Dwyer prioritized the 3 points. You start with subordinates, THEN peers, THEN commander's intent. Where leaders sometimes fail is they start with trying to please the boss, then peers, and whatever is left over you allocate to the team – which gets the leader into trouble.
Great post.
I also had a set of what I called laws posted in every office from the time I was still a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army until I was a Vice-President of Manufacturing. The Laws started with just three and finally contained five. I often referred to them in meetings and sessions with individuals and small groups. They never seemed to fail me and usually I found subordinates, peers and those I reported to referring to them also. As another rule//law began to come clear to me, I would add the new law to a paper I had hanging on the back side of the plaque containing the current laws. I would routinely check the back side and evaluate the proposed new law. When I felt enough time had passed to render the new law a good one, I would move it to the front and proclaim it as an addition. Everybody took notice because the plaque would disappear from the wall while I took the time to hand inscribe the new addition. I, in no way, claim ownership for all of my laws; but fully believed they belonged to me and those I worked with.
Howard’s Law
1-Truth, Faith and Confidence
2-Amateurs teach amateurs to be amateurs.
3-You can’t overwork me, but you can hinder the quality of my product.
4-When Leaders don’t set priorities, Followers do!
5-Bad news only gets worse with age.
Wow, there are some wise leaders reading this blog. Great additions and thoughts everyone. Some of the principles that really come through for me in your comments are the importance of being fully present, total honesty, clear priorities and truly caring for others. Isn't it interesting that these are principles that could benefit any organization?