Leading Movements

[JC004]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW8amMCVAJQ

I have seen this video before, but I watched it a couple times again because I like it.

It's about leading movements.  Something as crazy as this guy who probably had too much of one or more intoxicating substances demonstrates the basics of creating a movement and leading people.

Leadership is motivating people to achieve a common objective.  This man was probably an accidental leader, but a leader nonetheless because he motivated people to dance (in a silly way, I might add).

I believe that leadership will be even more critical in the years to come.  This is for several reasons.  For one, the increasing complexity of our world – in CAP, of training cadets to meet challenges that we can't yet completely anticipate.  Our challenges of tomorrow won't be like the challenges of 10, 20, 30, or more years ago.  In part, because of the speed at which our world now operates.  When our country was founded, it took weeks for news of the Declaration of Independence to reach England.  Today, that would take mere seconds and the leaders 3,000 miles away would be able to respond instantly.  Our world continues to evolve rapidly, particularly in the area of communication.  Look at the Iranian elections and the use of Twitter in that election for one example.

I was watching TV about a week ago and saw your typical television news show commercial.  They were advertising (with the typical suspense) that a major change in the weather was to come and I had to stay tuned for the next two hours to find out what that would be.  Really?  I could have typed "weather" and my zip code into a text message to Google Mobile, browsed to a weather site on my laptop or phone, used the Weather Channel mobile app, or done any number of other things to have that information instantly.  All that without needing to wait through the story about the sports team losing again.  So here we see fundamental shifts in communication.

Communication is the heart of leadership.  If you cannot communicate, you cannot lead.  So, with changes in communication must come changes in leadership.  I see movements, as this video talks about, as an increasingly important element of leadership for the future.

Sure, movements have always been fundamental to leadership, but I think that it is becoming more important.  The way that movements are formed has also changed and that is also a very important area where we need to adapt in order to lead in the future. 

30 years ago in CAP, if I wanted to get a group together to promote the adoption of a pink shoulder cord (or the destruction of the Triangle Thingy), I'd have to build something slowly in person, by phone, by mail.  Today, I can passively create a movement by engaging tribes (another topic) directly and with extraordinary speed.  I've lost track of how many people have adopted one of the Anti-Triangle Thingy banners, but there are quite a number now.  People joined this movement almost instantly. 

Today I can connect with tribes (niche groups) in real-time and in large numbers.  Our massive shifts in communication technology allow for the creation of movements and the increased effectiveness of leadership.  I think that CAP, by far, has failed to recognize and harness that potential. 

A couple of years ago, I decided to create online training for members.  The response was incredible.  I had instant enthusiasm and support with more requests for enrollments and offers for help that I could initially handle.  The only thing that stopped me was higher headquarters killing the idea of online training.  NHQ now has e-learning but hasn't even got as far as I did by creating a little movement that grew quickly.  Had it been allowed to continue its existence, it probably would have been huge today.  Using this movement, I had some 20 or so courses together in a matter of weeks.

We have the incredible power to create these little movements now in CAP – to harness the potential of tribes and go forward with greater speed and in a better way than ever before.  General Courter has put together these committees of volunteers.  I commend that (love it, in fact), but that is not harnessing the incredible potential that we now have by harnessing technology to lead our organization forward.  We can create movements instantly.  We can say "ok, volunteers, we want proposals for a comprehensive marketing plan, new information technology implementation, better training, sample materials for local units, best practices, etc., etc., etc."  The potential is limitless.

If we harness this potential to create movements, whether it's a movement toward better member training or an improved Aerospace Education mission, we can go forward in ways that NHQ cannot even imagine.  We need to do this not only because of the great potential but because the new generation of leaders, the Millennials, expect this.  If they don't get it, they will leave.  It is that simple.  This generation is fundamentally entrepreneurial, social, communication-oriented, and focused on speed and agility. 

Now, some will say that CAP is a military-oriented organization and that we must operate top-down.  I would be happy to debate anyone on this issue, SMWOG or Major General.  The Air Force itself is adapting to these changes and the military has always had leaders who challenged the status quo.  Patton, MacArthur, Billy Mitchell, Colin Powell – among many others.  Colin Powell even said that the field elements (not headquarters) are right until proven otherwise.

Failing to create member-driven movements and harness our potential as an organization through technology and communication will be the death of us, especially as the Millennials move up in rank.  Mark my words.  I am willing to stake my reputation on that.

[vmstan]

I'm with you 100%!

(First follower )