Blogs

You are responsible and accountable as the leader for being a catalyst for change and for setting exciting, interesting and attractive goals. You must organize the efforts toward the end game, and make it all begins in your mind’s eye. You cannot wait for an extraordinary goal to be achieved; you must use your imagination to create a positive force for the future and the willed outcome to your vision.

No doubt, you say, the future is vague and there are too many variables. OK, that is a given. Now, how do you wrestle with the future and achieve something only you can imagine and create? Let’s look at an interesting character of WW II. Before WWI, Lt. George Patton was a proponent of the virtues of the horse and the value of armed cavalrymen, (brandishing a straight saber of his own design). In WWI Patton was promoted to Captain and joined the new United States Tank Corps. Later, after the war, he began to associate with Gen. Pershing and the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington, DC, becoming immersed in the proposals around new experimentation with mechanized cavalry.

During this time in Germany there arose a magnificent and chivalrous officer, Erwin Rommel. Colonel Rommel distinguished himself in WWI and was awarded many medals of honour and courage. His early exploits were with the 6th Württemberg Infantry Regiment, but eventually took command of the Württemberg Mountain Battalion of the elite Alpenkorps. He was a decisive tactician and always tried to capitalize on the confusion within a battle. He authored a well known text, Infantry Attacks.

During the first Axis offensive in Africa in 1941, Rommel developed his reputation as the Desert Fox by overwhelming British Forces at Benghazi. General Archibald Wavell abdicated much of northern Africa to a light German force whose ‘hit and run’ strategies outwitted the British. Eventually in the North Africa Campaign, Patton’s II Corps engaged in a tank battle at El Guettar with Gen Rommel.

Eventually in the North African Tunisia Campaign in 1943, Patton’s II Corps engaged in a battle at El Guettar with Gen. Rommel’s elite forces. The American Forces had only recently taken considerable casualties at the disastrous Battle of the Kasserine Pass, right before Patton took command (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-C_C7sRGvg&NR=1).

Rommel was called back to Berlin to meet with Hitler. He placed Gen. von Arnim in command with orders to move 50 tanks of the crack 10th Panzer division along with Marder tank destroyers to El Guettar in order to intimidate the Americans.

Patton was outgunned, out tanked, and potentially out maneuvered. However, he had a vision and he had read Rommel’s text, Infantry Attacks, and could anticipate Rommel’s vision for a tank battle. Patton provided his field and artillery commanders with greater autonomy than Rommel’s highly centralized command and control.

Patton engaged the Panzer division with only 30 M10 tank destroyers, which in combination with artillery, pinned the Panzers in a mine field. The result was a German loss of 30 tanks within one hour. Although demoralized, Patton rallied his troops with a sense of confidence and respect that was rare on the Battlefield. Indeed, unlike many commanders, Patton did not wait back at HQ and gave orders. He was “blood and guts” and savored his time in the field of battle.

Patton could imagine incredible opportunities for his troops to out maneuver the almost invincible and overwhelming force of German tanks because of the new flexibility furnished to his commanders. The Panzer officers had to wait for orders in the midst of a battle before they deployed or moved, making the tanks sitting ducks for the agile II Corps. The Germans were forced to retreat, and continued to be hammered by Patton until they were pushed into full retreat from Tunisia by April.

Without the courage and capability demonstrated by Patton at El Guettar, and later at the Battle of the Bulge, the Allied troops would have been decimated in Africa and may never have had the opportunity to overrun the German strongholds in France on D-Day. Patton epitomizes Principle 1 of the 2^nd Practices of Exemplary Leadership by his strength of vision and will.

Let’s bring this scenario back to the workplace. How can you develop a strength of vision that will carry your team to successfully achieve your goals and objectives, while so many around you will be sabotaging your efforts? At the very least, you will be continually confronted by enough organizational friction to minimize the transformation quotient of the E2.0 initiative? Be creative and inspire your direct reports and fellow stakeholders with a passionate and exciting view of the future. Find a tangible method to help them see what you have already experienced.

As I mention to my Executive Leadership MBA learners, “…you must have the courage to see the future and the will to make it come to the present.” Next week we will review the next principle for Inspire a Shared Vision. Your feedback would be humbly appreciated.