Load Pad Leadership

by Michael Rutledge PART 2

“Nobody will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself or get all the credit for doing it” Andrew Carnegie-

“Why do I need to try to be a better leader?” It’s a valid question particularly if whatever technique you’ve used so far has resulted in a successful career. There are actually several legitimate, practical answers to the question, but we’ll highlight the ones which have the most immediate benefits. In simple terms we want to be more productive while minimizing supervision which, in turn, ultimately means more profitability. The inevitable, positive ripple effects include improved team cohesion and higher individual skill levels. If your employees feel accomplished at their respective jobs, they achieve personal satisfaction. It’s a win all around.

If we were to describe our end goal it would be to become Servant Leaders; employers and business owners who grow and promote the well-being of those who work for us, rather than viewing them as just a necessary component to our success. For any of this to gain traction you may have to arrange your motivation and priorities in a different order. We have to buy into the concept that our success is directly proportionate to the effort put forth empowering team members to become more capable and successful in their own right.

The road to becoming a better leader is understanding the techniques and qualities which make us more effective in getting our team’s best performance. As we discussed in Part 1, developing sound leadership tools is a learning process. If you’ve had the privilege of working with or for someone who’s a gifted leader, I guarantee they weren’t born a Jedi. It took several years and failed attempts to hone the technique. Along the way they learned either formally or by trial and error which characteristics make effective leaders. The following qualities aren’t all inclusive, but they’re most commonly found in those who run efficient and tight-knit organizations.

Setting the Standard: Being in charge is tough, if it were easy everyone would be successful. The most significant challenge is leading from the front and being credible. To do this we have to set the example in everything from technical expertise, work ethic, as well as being a moral compass; and it’s a sizable responsibility. This point spills over into mentorship, but in many ways leading goes hand in hand with mentoring. We can’t ask anyone to do something we’re not willing to do ourselves. If your team knows that, you’ll earn their respect. You don’t have to be an expert at everything but acknowledge the talents others bring to the table and some humility goes a long way in developing relationships. It also doesn’t mean you always have to sweep the hangar, drag a load hose, or get dirty under an airplane to make your point; they just need to know you’re capable and willing to do so if needed.

Integrity and Trust: This is possibly the most impactful trait which determines the cohesiveness of your team. We may not realize it, but our reactions to various situations are always being observed; good or bad. Your people have to be able to trust what you tell them. Failure to follow through on a commitment or something you said you’d do and it’ll have lasting negative effects. Our employees also pay close attention to how we conduct business. The ethics they see us use will likely be adopted to form their own operating standards. In short, if you lie or they don’t believe what you say, even to someone else, you’ll never ever earn their trust and in turn their full loyalty. They’ll do what you ask them but they’re doing it for a paycheck, not because they’re inspired to follow you. If this occurs, it’ll be challenging to achieve the benefits of leadership. You’ll never get beyond managing. In the military it’s not uncommon to salute or render honors to an officer you don’t care for, but we do it out of respect for the position, not the person. The point is, your folks can go through the motions without really meaning it and you get obedience but not necessarily loyalty.

Communication: This topic could be a multi-faceted article itself. Clear, concise and timely communication is the key to your team understanding what you want done and how. Mind reading or making assumptions is not a viable technique for your people to help run an efficient business.

Nobody likes wondering what’s coming next so at a minimum we need to provide what’s referred to as a Leader’s Intent; what you want done, why, to what standard and the deadline. This provides your folks all the information they need to budget their time and make decisions without you hovering over them; if you’ve provided a clear end-state, let them determine the “how”. If you micromanage your team it undermines confidence in their own abilities and negates the positive aspects of leadership.

Effective leadership also means you have to be receptive to respectful feedback. No matter how long you’ve been in the business our team sees things we miss. Provide the constructive opportunity to hear them out. This can be something as simple as an end of the season question of, “What would you change to make us run smoother?” It gives them ownership and you may be surprised at the innovative ideas that come out of a teenage loader’s mouth.

It sounds excessive but everybody performs better when they know the rules ahead of time. This is particularly true for younger team members who may be learning their craft. Communicating effectively takes preparation and planning, which is why it usually gets skipped. But when done correctly, it can go a long way toward making your operation a well-oiled machine.

Knowing Your Team: Inspiring people is also referred to as “leadership with compassion”, knowing what makes them tick. Understanding what affects them negatively is just as important as what motivates them. If one of your employees is performing uncharacteristically, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re just substandard, most of the time there’s something brewing beneath the obvious. Care enough to ask and find out what’s going on. Very few people are content with failure. Everyone one of us has a story and a compassionate leader takes the time to listen.

Getting your people back on track directly benefits the entire organization. Knowing somebody cares about your problems is an amazing motivator. I was once told “if you’ve got people, you’ve got people problems”. Your team won’t care until they know you care. Dealing with the full spectrum of what life throws at our folks is a necessary part of being in charge.

Projects Credit: An effective leader gives credit to the team when there’s a success and accepts responsibility for failure. This is a tough one because it means we have to acknowledge our shortcomings and that can be a tough pill to swallow. Napoleon once said, “There is no such thing as a bad army, just bad generals.” If your operation isn’t going the way you envisioned, there’s a good chance it’s because your team doesn’t have a clear understanding of what’s expected or hasn’t been trained to perform to your standards. Blaming others is the fastest way to erode loyalty and trust in your organization. If you take nothing else from this article, believe me when I say that once you take responsibility for your team’s failures and they know you have their back, your relationship and their performance will never be stronger.

Effective leadership is multi-faceted and we never fully master it, but everybody benefits while we figure it out. We’ve focused on leadership skills for operators and supervisors, next issue we’ll talk about what makes a good team member. I hope to see you all in Savannah and helping you build stronger teams for next season! Author: Michael Rutledge is a current ag pilot and operator in Indiana having served 30 years on active duty in several leadership roles as a Navy SEAL and Army special operations aviator culminating with commanding and teaching Leadership and Character Development at the United States Military Academy at West Point.