For those of you who do not know me personally, I have a confession to make. I am a huge history nerd. This means that The History Channel’s “America: The History of Us” is taking up a large portion on my DVR. I was watching the episode on World War II the other day when a particular statement from a General caught my attention. He talked about the reasons soldiers fight. He said that beyond all other reasons soldiers almost universally fight for the guy in the foxhole with them.
As a server, I can relate to this. When the entire restaurant goes down in the weeds, you don’t fight through it for the sake of corporation or their shareholders. You fight through it for your coworkers. You fight through it for those people who are fighting with you. After the fight it is a bond you share. There are many former coworkers out there I don’t particularly like as people, but will always respect because of the battles we went through together. I would lend them a hand when they need it, because I know I could count on them when I need it.
To take the military analogy further, there are two types of managers: Generals and Sergeants. Generals send you into battle. Sergeants lead you into battle. You fight for Sergeants and you curse Generals under your breath the whole time. Managers who fight with you and for you as Sergeants make you want to fight with and for them. Managers who command as Generals will find a staff unconcerned with helping them win their battles.
It all comes down to one very simple principle:
Read the full post at The Manager’s Office
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Jun 23, 2010 @ 02:49:39
Currently, I work for a sergeant. He replaced a general who like to tell everyone how much they sucked and how he could do everything better than they could. Most of the staff quit so he got to try out that theory. It didn’t work out well.
Jun 25, 2010 @ 22:41:01
Probably your best one yet!
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Sep 28, 2010 @ 21:10:47
I feel I have to give you a little background before I get into my comment. I realize that I am posting months after the fact. I stumbled across your articles because I am always trying to learn from other people such as yourself in hopes of one day becoming a great leader. The process never ends. I feel if it does end then you have taken a step back. I am also on track to opening my very own restaurant. I believe that my team will be the success of “our” business. I say “our” because I think if the employee has a sense of ownership then they will take the success more personally in turn helping me create a better product. Better product (generally speaking) equates to a better bottom line equates to success.
One of the greatest learning tools for leadership is the military. You take a very diverse group of individuals and put them in extreme situations together. For the most part there is no other job that demands so much from an individual. The point is this. If you can find a way to motivate individuals in those extreme situations you better believe that they will absolutely work in other industries that are not as dire.
There are ways to make it work as a general that does not join the battle, but you can bet they are joining the battle (if they are successful) from an indirect stand point. They likely have a subordinate that is on the front lines with those sergeants. I don’t particularly agree with this process, but I have seen it work and work well. Bottom line is there was always someone in the battle with the sergeants.
This is another great article.
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Oct 27, 2010 @ 09:48:38