Mike Seese

This a list of universal lessons which apply to most professions and industries, but I’ve found them especially applicable within my experiences as an Army Officer.​

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• Trust others, allow failure, but hold them accountable to growing from mistakes

  • It’s okay to fail, but don’t make the same mistake twice

• Rely on others to fulfill their roles and responsibilities

  • A leader who tries to do subordinates’ jobs will fail, will cause resentment, will inhibit the growth and development of subordinates

• Be authentic

  • Whether the quiet introvert, or outgoing extrovert, live your leadership style and brand

• Accept the “L” gracefully and go about your day

  • When you fail (and you will) either because you’ve made a mistake or someone in your organization has failed, you need to accept the Loss and continue moving with your head up

  • Use instances of loss or failure to coach others or coach yourself, and emerge a stronger individual or unit

  • If you fail and your boss doesn't know yet, tell him/her before he/she finds out.  Communicate the problem, and tell him how you'll fix it and/or prevent future occurences

• A meeting is not always necessary, and often its too long            

  • Write and agree to “business rules” for meetings.  Assign your XO or someone to clock speaking time and hold people accountable

  • Meetings are not the time to talk through lengthy resolution

  • When you take a new position, analyze all meetings at your level and below, decide if they’re necessary or not

• Build authentic relationships

  • Take time to learn people, shake hands, and ask how individuals are doing.  Take authentic concern for well-being of Soldiers and their families

  • The power of great professional relationships usually results in individuals going further lengths to make a team successful or help others in need

• Always be a team player, inside and outside of your organization

  • Don’t hesitate to offer help when you’re in a position to, it will always come back (ex: HHC commander offering range space to other CO CDRs in or outside of BN)

  • When you make a mistake, tell your peers about it, warn them to fix their own units

• Suffer hardship with your organization

  • Hard PT, menial involvement like doing grounds maintenance tasks with Soldiers

• Don’t follow others “down the rabbit hole”

  • When peers, seniors, or civilian authorities are speaking down to you or even trapping you into a position to get emotional and excited, don’t follow them.  Respectfully hold your ground, be polite, don’t lose your cool.  Know when to respectfully walk away.  Don't take it out on your own organization; find a way to vent that energy (think Deadlifts)

• The Army will always get their time and energy.  You must give time and energy back to Soldiers and families when they can get theirs

  • Garrison, non-field days should end when work is actually complete

• Unit successes are the result of your peoples’ efforts, unit failures are the result of your own mistakes

  • Use failure as an occasion to objectively analyze how to improve within your organization

  • Outside of your organization, own all mistakes/losses

• Make time for you, take advantage when the Army “throws you a bone”, and recognize when you can accept one

• Understand the risk you can really accept at your level, know when you need higher to approve risk or when you can allow risk acceptance to be pushed lower

• There is a time and place to express frustration, it is usually not during a meeting, and it should never be done with sarcasm or cynicism.  Control emotions

• Do not publicly put your bosses (OIC and NCOIC) in opposite corners; do not put your commander in a position of “picking” his/her NCOIC or you

• Be the leader who provides multiple solutions with associated costs, never a problem or question with no answer, never a “no”

  • “We can execute this COA, but the operational cost is X”

  • Be wary of unethical or illegal asks and solutions

• Be the leader who ‘reads ahead’ and tries to identify possible issues during planning, both for your organization and others

  • When you hear others problem-solving, use empathy to imagine the issue and how you would resolve it…  If you have a solution that could help, share it!

• Understand the costs of following a COA emotionally, and following through with it, when objectively it may be better to postpone, alter, or even drop an event/task etc.

• Combatant Commanders require physical ability to lead in combat.  Practice and improve physical fitness.  You don’t have to be the best, but you need to be the hardest worker in the room

• A promotion is a chance to reflect on both successes and failures; let this be a motivating occasion to review mistakes and plan how you can keep working with renewed fervor        

  • Celebrate, but take a hard look at how you can continue to refine your abilities