Organizational Leadership:3 Laws For Higher Leadership Effectiveness

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“Organizational Leadership: 3 Laws For Higher Leadership Effectiveness”

by Wally Adamchik       

As a Marine Aviator, business owner, and consultant I have discovered three simple principles that, when properly applied, will make your leadership journey incredibly rewarding.

• Law # 1 – it is all about you.
• Law # 2 – it is all about them.
• Law # 3 – it is all about the organization.

I confirmed these proven principles in interviews with over one-hundred successful Marine leaders, fifty on active duty and fifty former Marines now working in business. In fact, these principles make up the chapters of NO YELLING: The Nine Secrets of Marine Corps Leadership You MUST Know To WIN In Business. I have seen these principles applied successfully in many organizations. I have also seen them disregarded in many failing firms.

These principles are the foundation of success in any endeavor. The Marines have a legacy of success and they rely on these principles to achieve that success. However, these principles readily translate to what you are doing today. Conscious application will enable you to achieve higher levels of personal and organizational success. Here they are:

Law # 1 – It is all about you.

You must make the conscious choice to accept the leadership role. It is not enough to occupy a position of leadership (as defined by a box on the organization chart with your name on it). In fact, many people have made the choice to lead, exercising vast influence, without being in a so-called “leadership” position. If you cannot, or will not, lead yourself, you cannot lead others. These are fundamental and must be mastered before you can proceed.

The three essential elements of this first law that you must first master are:

• Integrity – 100% of the people interviewed cited this principle. This is about more than telling the truth. Do you consistently deliver on your commitments? Perhaps most important, you can’t decide if you have integrity, others will make the decision based on your actions.
• Technical competence – do you understand the tasks being done?
• Setting the example – are you a proper role model?

Once you embrace these three elements, you are ready to move on to the next law.

Law # 2 – It is all about them.

In this case, them refers to those we lead. Your purpose as a leader is to engage and motivate your employees to bring 100% of themselves to work, every day. This applies in the office and in the field. Truly successful leaders are ware of the impact they have on people and are able to modify their approach for maximum impact. It is your responsibility to create the right environment for them to motivate themselves and to exceed your expectations. You focus should be on helping people perform more effectively and efficiently.

The three essential elements of this law are:
 
• Self-awareness – do you know what you do well and what you don’t do well? Are you able to modulate and moderate your approach to be effective with a wide variety of people? 

• Taking care of people – do you look out for them? This is not about coddling people. The performance standard remains the standard, never lower the standard.

• Developing new leaders – do you help people advance?

Now your employees will become more efficient, more productive, and more effective –which brings us to law number three. If we only follow the first and second laws we would have a nice club where everyone got along. The principles in this law orient us towards something bigger than ourselves. 

Law # 3 – It is about the organization.

We come together in associations or businesses to accomplish something that we could not accomplish alone. In fact, people purchase something from you because they cannot do it themselves. This is your mission and reason for existing as a company. Your employees give you their time and you compensate them with benefits. As a leader within your organization, you must recognize that you are part of the organization, but not the organization itself. The organization has a job to do and these principles help people understand what that job is and how the firm will do it.

The essential three elements of this law are:

• Commander’s intent – where are we going and why? These two questions enable people align themselves and their actions with the goals of the organization and to make decisions to help accomplish those goals.

• Culture and Values – what makes this place tick?

• Practice – Do we work to get better at what we do? Do we talk about what went wrong?

Clearly, there are many layers to each of these laws. There are nuances depending the type of firm you are in. The business world is an opportune one these days. Many market sectors are at record, or near record, high levels. Once you embrace these three laws, you are on your way to becoming a truly successful leader and you will create a thriving organization as you navigate your way through the tumultuous sea to the land of new opportunities – new opportunities not seen by many.

About the Author:

Wally Adamchik, President of FireStarter Speaking and Consulting, is as an author, speaker and business consultant. He helps businesses and organizations apply these leadership philosophies in pursuit of operational excellence in business. His new book NO YELLING: The Nine Secrets of Marine Corps Leadership You MUST Know To WIN In Business is loaded with examples of what effective leadership looks like, and how to do it in the trenches, on the shop floor, and in the office. (www.noyelling.net)

Tomorrow: “Action Centred Leadership”

Jonathan Farrington