I am always amazed at all the different styles of leadership in the military and the different ways some use (or fail to use) the level of authority they've been given. For me, personally, as I look at the way in which I use it is probably a little hard for people to deal with. I tend to be of the belief that you need to start off with a ruthless enforcement of standards, policies and expectations. You can always back off from there but you can't ever start off easy and ratchet it up because you've already set the tone with your Soldiers and that's what they will give you. So, how can I use the level of authority I've been charged with and turn around and invest that into my Soldiers? This is where I struggle, not because I don't want to invest in my Soldiers, but the Army has clearly laid out levels of authority based on rank. The more rank you have the more authority you wield; and the responsibility that comes with that is different if your an Officer or a Non-Comissioned Officer. So if I'm to learn how to use this "power" that I have, I guess my first place to look for guidance and direction is Jesus. What I hope to gain from this is how to apply this lesson and adapt it to the construct under which I am bound, both morally and legally.
The first thing I need to understand is that leadership is about authority - aquiring it, using it and investing it - not just issuing directives, that's nothing more than a manager. I've got the aquiring it part down because of the leadership schools I've been to and the rank that I've attained and over the last 17 years in the military, most of which being a Non-Comissioned Officer, I'm pretty good at using it. So my focus is going to be on investing it. I need to understand that as I am a leader, part of my job is to bring along those whom I believe have what it takes to replace me. I do this by giving them increased responsibilities while providing guidence and direction, what this allows is for them to have the ability to one day, act on their own as leaders. So, essentially, I'm working myself out of a job, which is exactly what I am supposed to do, train my replacement. The biggest question at this point is, am I anticipating the time when those who follow me, will lead. The one struggle that I have, and I assume we all have, is that, once we have a position of authority, most of us probably don't like to give it up. The expression, "its lonely at the top" clearly tells me that anyone who uses this phrase or has put any stock in it honestly has not thought of the day when they will no longer be there. So how did Jesus do it? Well, because of his perfectly laid plan, he already knew the day and the hour when he would no longer be there. He not only invested his time, energy and effort into those he chose to lead but he also invested in them the authority to do so. He called to him, twelve, those whom He desired, and appointed them to preach and have the authority to cast out demons. You see, he didn't hold on to the power he had, he gave the authority to those who He knew would give back to the mission. If he hadn't invested this kind of authority into those closest to him, the ones dedicated to His mission, He never would have been able to advance the Kingdom of God. He knew that the only way would be to give us the authority to carry out and act as leaders. But He didn't just stop there with the twelve, oh no, because that wouldn't have been nearly enough to affect those in the world. If you look back at Matthew 28: 16-20, you'll see that we have also been given authority to go and make disciples of all nations. So, He gave those closest to him the authority to preach and to cast out demons but gave everyone of us the authority to teach everyone to observe what He has commanded.
Now, getting back to my earlier point about styles of leadership and how authority is used; what method(s) did he use to ensure He was going about this in a way that would give a great return on His investment. Well, for this one, I honestly had to go into the Army's leadership manual to see if I could identify the style or styles he used. What I found was interesting, the Army's techniques of influencing Soldiers to get done what needs to be done with the level of authority you have are as follows:
1. Pressure
2. Legitimate Request
3. Exchange
4. Personal Appeals
5. Collaboration
6. Rational Persuasion
7. Apprising
8. Participation
9. Relationship Building
Jesus was able to us each one of these methods at different times to get the desired affect he was after in anyone he needed. But, from what I've observed, His primary means was Relationship Building. He used this most with those closest to him so they understood what it meant to make an investment in key people who were dedicated to advancing his cause. But this wasn't met without opposition. The Pharisees tried in every way possible to perceived what he was doing as something negative and often questioned his authority by trying to trap him in the words He spoke or deeds He performed. This can only be because they were more interested in personal gain but lacked the self-awareness of what and who they were. They had gotten so used to having it their way that when someone came along that had true authority, it made them a little more than scared because they had failed as leaders themselves.
So, to wrap this up for me, I have learned that I need to be more commitment-focused in my influence/investment. Which has the ability to reach much deeper, producing longer lasting and broader effects that can change attitude, belief and behavior in those who follow. What I need to get away from is compliance-focused influence/investment. Which only has the ability to change a followers behavior.
