Leading Indirectly

[Briski]

I was recently tasked with teaching the class on Leading Indirectly at the upcoming Training Leaders of Cadets (TLC) course to be offered by MIWG. While preparing for the class, it occured to me that it would be a beneficial discussion to have here, too. So, in order to jumpstart the discussion...

1. What does "indirect leadership" look like for SMs working in the CP?
2. How much freedom do you give the cadets you work with?
3. How do you judge whether or not you need to get involved in a given situation?
4. How do you go about counseling cadets in a way that will help them grow?
5. How do you resist the urge to step in when you know you could do it better?
6. Is it always situational, or are there some concepts that remain constant?

As someone who is new to the SM side of running the CP, I'll be very interested to see how this discussion goes.

Thanks,

[RogueLeader]

One way to lead "indirectly" is initiate conversations and give that SM a scenario, and ask them what they would do.  Give them the opportunity to ask questions and such.

For whether you should intervene,  ask yourself if the matter is being settled, if the matter requires you to step in.  If you hear a member tell a prospective member that there are 15 cadets in the sqdrn, and there are 14 or 16- it doesn't matter; but if you see 2 people going at it, yes you should step in.

Remember what it was like when you were new and still figuring everything out.  They'll learn.

[ZigZag911]

1) there is no substitute for leading by personal example
2) as much as they can handle responsibly, always keeping aware of their plans, problems, and activities
3) as far as possible, only as a last resort -- if someone is at physical or psychological risk -- a judgment call
4) you listen more than you speak!
5) at times, with extreme difficulty
6) open & honest communications -- clear rules & expectations, applied equitably

[dwb]

When I directed TLC, I had a great person to do the indirect leadership module.  One of the things he said was that indirect leadership is "teaching leadership through leadership."  I thought that was a neat quote.

The TLC lesson plan offers plenty of ideas, so I won't repeat them here.  What I will do is offer some presentation tips based on our TLC:

1. Decide in advance roughly how much time you want to spend on each subject, and jot those times down on a piece of paper.  Keep a large digital countdown timer on the table in front of you, and make sure you're staying on track.

2. Use the whiteboard or easel.  Write down student responses to the definition of indirect leadership so you can refer back to them.  You'll have a better chance of making the core concepts stick if you refer to them a few times during the lesson.

3. Call on students that don't raise their hand.  One of the things that always happens in the "guided discussion" type classes is that there are some people that want to share every single thing they know, and others don't say a word.  Spread the love.

Malcolm Dickinson (user mdickinson on CAP Talk) did a great class at our encampment workshop on how to give a class.  You can find his PPT slides here.

Good luck!  TLC is a great course, and indirect leadership is one of those subjects that a lot of people probably haven't had to deal with before.  Someone picked you to teach a tricky subject, they must be under the impression you know your stuff... 

[Eclipse]

Walk the talk, that's where it starts.

[Briski]

As previously mentioned, I'm new to this whole CP officer thing, so I don't claim to be an expert by any means. But just to offer a different perspective and to further the discussion, I'll answer these questions based on my experience as a cadet. All of my interactions with SMs WIWAC can be classified pretty easily: 1) whether or not they left me alone to do my job, and 2) if they did interact with me, whether they actually helped me or just made my job harder.

1. What does "indirect leadership" look like for SMs working in the CP?
In a nutshell, it means remembering that it's the CADET Program. Yes, deep down cadets are kids who will need mentorship and guidance, but it's their turn to experiment and try things on their own, not yours. Sometimes (though not always), the best way of learning is to make a mistake and then be counseled about it afterwards, as opposed to constantly being "saved" by the adult supervision who already has that experience.

2. How much freedom do you give the cadets you work with?
This one depends very much on the situation. I was given a lot of authority by the Command Staff to run the cadet side of the encampment where I served as C/CC, but I was also a 20-year-old C/Lt Col, COS and RCLS grad, I'd been C/XO of two previous encampments, and I had just finished up my freshman year at a senior military college. Had it been a smaller encampment where the C/CC was a 16-year-old C/2d Lt between sophomore and junior years of high school, the Commandant probably would have been more hands-on than he was with that 20-year-old C/Lt Col.

When I first joined CAP, we had a strange situation in the squadron I joined. The C/CC had both too much authority and too little all at the same time. When it came to inspections, drill, and PT, cadets were completely in charge with zero SM supervision, mentorship or guidance. Then we'd go into the classroom and see what the Sq CC was going to teach us about that night. As a result, the C/CC didn't establish any goals for the squadron, never provided direction, and never planned any meetings or activities. But when cadets were in charge, without SMs around, the only leadership style ever used was very authoritarian (I learned how to wear my uniform by being yelled at and made to feel dumb during weekly inspections, as opposed to actually, you know, being trained regarding standards and expectations first), and there were a few situations that I learned later in my cadetship were really pushing that whole CPP thing.

It's a careful balance, but generally having a little bit of common sense can be pretty useful in determining how to maintain that balance.

3. How do you judge whether or not you need to get involved in a given situation?
Good commanders uphold the motto "Never pass a fault." Good leaders believe that "The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook." The ideal CP officer (and the ones I loved and went to time and again for advice WIWAC) knows how to balance both of these ideas.

4. How do you go about counseling cadets in a way that will help them grow?
The SMs I learned the most from WIWAC were big question askers. If I had a problem, I'd go to them, they'd let me vent for a while, and then they would ask me leading questions. If I'd screwed up, they would come to me and ask me to explain the situation in my own words, and then start in with the questions. Very rarely did they give me the answers. They asked questions that would force me to approach the situation from a different perspective, reflecting on factors that I may not have previously considered, and in the process I would figure it out myself. I learned how to think critically as a leader through these counseling sessions. Generally, after I came to the answers with their guidance, they would follow up with a story from their own experience (or from past experiences of working with me) to further illustrate the point.

5. How do you resist the urge to step in when you know you could do it better?
Is someone in danger? If yes, step in.
Is this going to compromise mission accomplishment? If yes, step in.

If no on both counts, wait it out. You don't want to rush in and take over, crushing the cadet's confidence, just before the cadet figures it out on his/her own and gets back on track. The hardest part is figuring out when you need to step in for the sake of mission accomplishment, and when the job will still get done (though perhaps the road will be a little rockier than it could... which is where those after action informal counseling questions where you ask questions to help them analyze and grade their own decisions comes in).

Micromanagement robs the cadets you're supposed to be training of important leadership experience, but sometimes you have to be willing to sacrifice the training of one cadet for the sake of the training of all the cadets entrusted to his/her command.

6. Is it always situational, or are there some concepts that remain constant?
A lot of CP SMs like to use the phrase "I give the cadets I work with just enough rope to hang themselves with." This is generally a good policy, as long as you're there to cut them down before they actually die. But we also have to keep in mind that cadets are all kinds of different heights and weights. While this has a literal meaning, I'm using it in the figurative sense. Each cadet is at a different place emotionally, psychologically, socially, and especially in the arena of leadership training and experience. You can't use the same rope for every cadet. Some will need thicker, stronger ropes and others will need longer or shorter ropes. It's up to you as a CP officer to determine what kind of rope and how long the segment to give to each cadet, as well as how long to let them dangle there swingin' in the wind before stepping in to help.

Again, I don't claim to be an expert in anything related to being an SM yet (except maybe for donuts with sprinkles and the process of transferring from cadet to senior and then processing special appointment promotions based on CP awards), but this is what I experienced as a cadet working with various SMs, way back in my cadet days.

[Psicorp]

Captain,

I agree with you on pretty much every count.  I'm not involved much with the CP, my unit has two outstanding Officers in that capacity and I'm not one for stepping on toes.  Would I do things differently? Definitely.  Would my way be better?  I have no idea.  WIWAC, the majority of the time my exposure to SMs came in three flavors, 1) nowhere to be found 2) didn't want much to do with Cadets 3) wanted to play C/CC.   This isn't to say that I didn't have exposure to some great SMs, I did, and it's those SMs that I've always tried to emulate.

"Indirect Leadership"

This has been discussed in another thread, but how that works depends greatly upon the make-up of the squadron's Cadet corp.  If you have some older / senior Cadets, then more responsibility can be placed on their shoulders, but if the squadron is made up of younger / junior Cadets, then this may not be as possible.     I'm a firm believer in establishing a Cadet staff with defined roles and responsibilities.  Once a Cadet understands the given position and what is expected AND has the tools and authority to do the job, then more things can happen without direct SM involvement.  The younger Cadets can learn the staff positions by watching and learning from the senior Cadets.    The key is to know how to coach.  The SMs should coach the Cadet staff and the Cadet staff should coach the Cadets.   Think about how an Encampment works (or is supposed to work) that, I believe, is the ideal. 

"Freedom of Movement"

If you have a good Cadet staff, or at least a Cadet staff with potential, then it should be the Cadet staff planning meeting schedules, training, and managing the Cadet Program.   Cadets should facilitate and the SMs sponsor, provide oversight, and perform the duties that Cadets can't.   I also believe that a 20 year old C/Lt Col should not be the C/CC (at the squadron level).  He or she has "been there and done that" by that point in their Cadet career and should be in a position to be the Cadet Staff Adviser. 

"When to Get Involved"

I completely concur with you.  I would also add the phrase, "never pass up a teachable moment."

"Counseling"

Troy Deitrick defines Counseling as "Counseling focuses on correcting perceived problems by changing behaviors and attitudes."    Coaching is "empowering superior development through increased knowledge, improved talents, added skills, and personal motivation. Its purpose is to assist, through partnership, the highest possible level of performance and achievement."       Save the counseling for problems and be a Cadet Coach.

"Stepping in (it)"

Just one thought on this, how often do SMs step in for the sake of expediency...that is to say, the Cadets could have gotten it right eventually, but the SM didn't have the patience to wait and see?   

"Situational or Constant?"

There are always going to be times when the situation is outside what the Cadets are used to, and this is a good thing.  Leadership skills that can only be conveyed in a squadron meeting or Encampment setting aren't very meaningful in the long term.