As an ex-Navy SEAL in combat uniform, Marty Strong spearheaded combat missions and helped create a special operations capability during his 20 years in uniform. And although Strong left the military decades ago, he employs the strategies he learned to excel in business today.
After leaving the Navy, Strong, 64, has explored several career paths, from account vice president to his current role as an investment advisor, CEO, chief strategy officer, director and business investor. However, all these positions have one key attribute in common: leadership.
Managers and bosses today could take a few pages out of the Navy SEAL book on effective leadership, Strong said.
These are the top five lessons we’ve learned from the military for leaders looking to “improve their strategic planning processes” and succeed in the workplace.
Establish a “mission-oriented” culture
A company’s mission is what it does and for whom it does it. And developing a team dedicated to that mission not only helps the company achieve its goals, but also makes leadership much easier.
“From a military perspective…anyone in a SEAL team or a special operations force, whether you’re in the Marine Corps, Air Force or Army, the focus is mission,” Strong told CNBC Make It. “And the mission is well understood by everyone and well communicated from the top down, which is not always what you see in a commercial setting.”
“It’s really hard to be successful without a culture focused on the same set of goals and objectives. I’m talking about an ambitious light.”
happy to nurture others
Great leaders are constantly honing their skills and abilities, but great leaders also foster opportunities for team growth.
“[It’s important to] Prepare for the next wave of leaders. And you do that through training programs. ”
The training phase, Strong said, “is about imparting skills and knowledge, and is usually very professional and technical.” Coaching involves giving feedback on how the team is performing “collectively and individually.” Mentoring should be all about “polishing” and “keeping your edges sharp.”
Practice “Intellectual Humility”
According to Strong, becoming a Navy SEAL means being “psychologically resilient” and humble enough to accept everything as a learning experience, regardless of status, rank, or accolades. increase.
As a workplace leader, it’s important to recognize that you do many things right and you make many mistakes. However, it is important to be humble and remain self-aware and calm.
Strong believes that leaders “should shed all their recent victories and defeats, shake off that mental burden, and start thinking realistically about the world and information.”
“Even if you don’t have overly arrogant thoughts about how well you’re doing as a leader or decision maker, or negative thoughts that make you feel like a failure, you can’t rely on asymmetric sources or sources of information. You can immerse yourself in it, even if you don’t necessarily agree or haven’t tried it.”
Practice “intellectual curiosity”
According to BetterUp, intellectual curiosity is closely related to intellectual humility, a person’s willingness and desire to learn new things and dig deeper than the surface.Strong says it’s a ‘vehicle’ for being ‘genuinely creative’
“If we are humble, if we listen, if we are open to looking at learning differently, we can shape what the new normal will look like. [within your company]You can create new futures and change the status quo in beneficial ways. ”
As a SEAL, Strong has said that being curious and “agile” helped him solve problems and create solutions to complex problems within his force.
broaden one’s mind
Leaders urge us to stop analyzing “to-do lists” and “short-term metrics” to think about the big picture. She also says it’s important to analyze the situation from all angles.
In the military, this is known as “head-turning,” according to Strong, reminding the military to be alert, aware, and vigilant against potential threats. helps you analyze your workplace situation.
“You have to think further down the horizon, be it two weeks, four weeks, 12 months, 24 months,” says Strong. “[Ask yourself] what would the world look like? what will your life be like? What will your organization look like? Many people have to do it with a 360-degree situational awareness process. ”
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