Topic of the Day: March 20, 2021 - Burden of Command
“A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent.” – General of the Army, Douglas MacArthur
When we are first gifted the honor to lead others, we really don’t think of everything that comes with the privilege of leading. Most of us just think that leadership is just telling others what to do and maybe, just maybe, require a little bit more skills than we had before.
But that’s not really how it works. Or, it’s not really how it works if you want to be an effective leader. Whatever job you had before, you’ll still need to know that stuff, but as a leader, you’ll need a new skill set. And a new mindset.
The military concept of the Burden of Command is all about the mindset needed to be an effective leader: the communication, the self-awareness, the attitude. You will have to make tough decisions, sometimes life and death decisions and that is tough. It’s a burden. It’s a burden, but it’s a rewarding load to carry.
A few days ago I was watching the show on Apple TV, “For all Mankind”. This is a fictional show where the race to the moon never ended and the US and Russia are in a race to create a base on the moon. Towards the end of the series, one of the main characters is on this moon base by himself. After about a 100 plus days there by himself, back on earth, his son is killed in an accident. There then began a debate back at mission control on if they should tell him or not, knowing there was no way to get him off the moon. While fictional, it reminded me of a real situation that happened while I was in the Navy.
When deployed onboard a submarine, and on mission, there is very limited communication with the outside world. Only in extreme emergencies do you communicate or leave the mission before it’s complete.
During 9/11, we were on one of these such missions where you cannot communicate, nor could you leave go off station. A few days after the initial attack we received a “Commanding Officer’s Eyes Only Message” that both of the parents of one of our crew member’s died in the Twin Towers. Based on my role at the time, I was entrusted with this information by the Commanding Officer and was the only person on the crew that knew of this. Over the course of 24 hours, he stayed awake in his stateroom the entire time debating with himself if he should tell the crew member or not. Some may say this is an easy decision, just tell him. Onboard a submarine it is not that simple. Even if we wanted to, there would be no way to get him off the submarine and back home without jeopardizing the mission and the rest of the crew. The Commanding Officer had to weigh telling this person, knowing there was nothing we could do, and risk him physical and/or mentally not being able to cope with the news. Or, not say anything until such time we could safely get him off the submarine.
After much debate with himself, the Commanding Officer made the decision NOT to tell the crew member until the mission was complete.
The mission continued for another month and half.
As soon as we were off station, the Commanding Officer arranged for an emergency, at-sea transfer. Once everything was set up; he told the crew member. As expected the crew member was devastated and immediately taken off the ship so he could go back home.
A few weeks later over coffee, I asked the Commanding Officer about what led him to make this decision and why he didn’t get anyone else involved. His words will always be with me, “son, this is the burden of command and it is the leader’s burden to carry - no one else can carry it for you.”
“A rifle platoon’s members must care for one another. Its leaders must cherish the men in very fire team and squad. For a rifleman, a leader's misjudgment, ignorance or inexperience can be fatal - no second chances. It is the monstrous burden of command..." -Bernard "Mick" Trainor”
Cherish the leadership journey that you are on and treat every decision you make with the privilege it is to lead others. And always respect that burden of command.
Stay Blue and Gold!