Before
every sortie, a fighter pilot of Sukhoi Su-30 MKI fighter plane relies and
trusts his technical ground team to have done the necessary checks and
maintenance ensuring the readiness of the flying machine; his life is in hands
of his team and a small mistake on the team’s part can cause a big mishap. A
captain of a naval ship trusts his technical team to have done the necessary
preparation for the technical work-ability of the ship before the impending
voyage. An army officer in war situation knows that his team will follow the
orders given in the true letter and spirit.
Do
you know that in all the three similar scenarios, the trust on each other is
reflected? Do you know why the team members go beyond the call of duty while
following their leader’s orders and ensure that the organizational goal is
achieved? How these military leaders have been able to win the hearts and minds
of their team, thereby, achieving unflinching commitment and selfless
dedication and devotion from their team? Do these military skills have any
business value also?
Like
Military, Corporate environment too has dynamic challenges, mostly in uncertain
circumstances, and demands team to work in a cohesive manner to achieve the
result. Leader plays a pivotal role in channelizing the team’s effort in the
right direction and hence, both in military and in corporate, it is imperative
that the team must be united, has confidence in the abilities of it’s leaders
and works towards the organizational aim with total commitment. The practices
adopted by military leaders, with great success, in gaining trust and
confidence of team have valuable and meaningful learning that can be adopted in
business world for driving success in business in terms of positive work
environment, high morale and motivation of team, improved team spirit,
increased productivity, and higher retention rate. Not only the HR
professionals must know these business skills of military
leaders but also every corporate leader has a lot to gain from
them.
The three lessons we can learn are as follows:
·
Lead
By Example; Take Responsibility
·
Know
Your Team Members Individually; Reach Out To Them In Their Problems
Crisis Management; Steer To Success
