Before a Navy SEAL platoon is deployed overseas, it goes through a preparation phase that can last anywhere from 12 to 24 months. In short, it trains as a platoon in all the basic elements of warfare and is then deployed in the event of war.
Sometimes war happens, but most of the time it doesn’t. Whatever the case, we were ready.
A common misconception is that the military creates robots – people who mindlessly follow orders and do not think for themselves.
I can assure you that this was not the case with the SEAL teams or the other special forces units I have worked with over the years. Quite the opposite. As the leader of these warrior groups, I often had to remind them that following orders was part of the business.
Why? Because they were essentially thinkers and doers, not robots. They often had to be prevented from implementing their big ideas because they did not always coincide with the fulfillment of the mission.
My job was to keep the balance between keeping them focused on their task while encouraging their creativity and independence. In my opinion, it was these creative and independent spirits that made the SEALs the greatest special forces unit in the world.
During our preparatory exercises, we were regularly tasked with carrying out seemingly impossible missions.
One evening we were tasked with carrying out a night raid where we had to string together a series of explosive devices in the water at night. My deputy platoon commander looked at me at the time with eyes that expressed the seemingly impossible nature of the task.
Although we of course knew that the operation was feasible, this was particularly difficult given the short period of time between the order being placed and the operation being carried out.
I told my assistant that I would sit out the operation. He was in command. Then I went to the training cadre, the group responsible for conducting all the pre-deployment training for the platoons in our unit, and told them the same thing.
At first they were not happy with my decision, but after I explained my reasons, they understood.
“This will be a good reminder to them that they don’t have to wait for me to solve their problems; they have to think for themselves,” I told the instructors.
In short, the operation was a disaster. It took them over four hours to complete what was supposed to be less than an hour.
If this were a realistic scenario, the operation would have been aborted in any case. The squad asked me what I was going to do when it became clear that the operation would not be completed as planned.
“You have to finish solving the problem,” was all I said. So they went on into the wee hours. (This would never happen in a real combat scenario.)
It was a blessing. They had to solve the problem themselves without me being there to guide and direct them as they were used to.
My goal was achieved. It was a simple reminder to the train that they need to think and solve problems for themselves and not just wait for someone to tell them what to do.
When I advise organizations on leadership, the most common thing I hear is that people lack initiative. They don’t do anything until they’re told to.
What quickly becomes clear is that they, the leaders, create an environment where people sit around and wait to be told what to do. The leaders do not ask the simple question, “How do you think we should do it?”
When leaders are confronted with the fact that they have failed to create an environment in which thinkers can thrive because they have not asked this fundamental question, they always resort to the expediency of simply telling people what to do.
Yes, asking people to proactively solve problems takes more time in the short term, but the ultimate benefit of training thinkers obviously outweighs the few extra minutes it takes to ask your people to think.
Create thinkers and doers by asking, “How do you think we should do it?” and then let them wrestle with the answer.
I think we can all agree: thinkers and doers are better than robots.
