Bill SituClub President As there are those of you may be thinking about becoming a club officer at this time, I've decided to create this series of posts titled "Leadership Lessons". In this series, I will speak about essential aspects of successful leadership based on my knowledge and experience. Welcome to the first instalment! A SEAL's TaleRamadi, Iraq. 2006. A US Navy SEAL team found itself locked in an intense firefight in what was then the epicentre of the Iraqi insurgency. When the firing ceased, Lieutenant Commander Jocko Willink, the officer-in-charge, realized that his team had made a fatal error. The people that they had just been shooting at were not enemy forces, but rather friendly ones. To make matters worse, there were three injured and one dead during the exchange of gunfire. LCDR Willink was in utter shock, and so were his troops. Still, things weren't about to get better. Upon returning to base, Willink's superiors were expecting an explanation — How did such a tragedy happen? Who was responsible? LCDR Willink had the answer, and it wasn't one that any ordinary person could easily give. The moment of truth came. The superiors wanted an answer. Several SEALs stepped up to claim responsibility. However, each time a SEAL spoke out, LCDR Willink reassured him that he wasn't to blame. Finally, LCDR Willink stepped up and gave a definitive answer — he himself was the one at fault for what had happened. This could have costed LCDR Willink severely, but it didn't. You're not perfect, but nobody isAmazon Kindle version of Jocko Willink's Extreme Ownership (co-authored with fellow retired SEAL LT Leif Babin) LCDR Willink and the SEALs under his command were without question respectable individuals in their own rights. They all had to survive some of the most intense and rigorous combat training in the world to earn the coveted title of SEAL. LCDR Willink was also a very seasoned and decorated officer. Still, needless to say, none of them were perfect at their job (If they were, the mission wouldn't have gone awry the way that it did). Truth is, nobody is perfect. Everyone has shortcomings, and this includes even the world's best leaders. This is an unfortunate, but true fact that every leader needs to come to terms with. When you are in a leadership position of any kind, you will inevitably make mistakes, and truthfully, many of them too. However, every reasonable person will be understanding if you mess up, so it really shouldn't hurt to admit mistakes. Even if it does, it'll hurt much more if you try to hide mistakes. LCDR Willink and his SEALs for a fact never lost credibility when they opened up about their faults for the incident. In fact, doing so (as LCDR Willink himself agreed with) had the direct opposite effect — it made their superiors trust them even more. The same will happen to you. A time when I fell short as a club officerRichmond Friendly Club Contest I have many stories that I could realistically share about the mistakes that I've made as an officer for my club, but there is one that I feel is worth sharing in particular.
Just a few months ago during the Toastmasters contest season, I was in charge of putting together the club contest. Despite being in my fourth term as a club officer, there was clearly a lot that I didn't know when it came to planning, because I had little to no experience with organizing contests. As I had envisioned, problems definitely did come up. For one, I didn't provide the correct agenda/script for the contest chair (who had no prior experience doing this role). There was also some confusion among certain club members over when to arrive. Simply put, it didn't run smoothly. Still, thanks to the efforts of fellow club members (and Toastmasters outside the club who helped out), we did manage to run the contest in the end. It wasn't anywhere near perfect, but the best thing for me to do was to accept it for what it was. By the end of all of it, I took it as a lesson for me (and my fellow club members) on how to run a contest in the future. To summarize, recognizing that you are not perfect is a necessary mentality to have as a leader, and it will make your leadership journey that much more positive of an experience. On a side note, Jocko Willink does have a podcast on YouTube and a book that covers various relevant topics on leadership, which he co-authored with fellow retired SEAL, Leif Babin. They are absolutely amazing and informative, and the book was a New York Times bestseller too! Check them out!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorSBill Situ Archives
August 2020
Categories |