Q. In your new book, ‘Eyes on the Horizon,’ you point out problems with what you call ‘stovepipe bureaucracy’ and vertically aligned communication within an organization. What’s your solution to broadening the communication chain?
You need to have the people who directly report to you be part of this. It starts with how you develop your message and vision. The leader is responsible for developing the vision and strategic direction, but the more you make that a collaborative effort in developing that vision and strategic direction then the more likely that you’re going to have buy-in and the more people you’re going to have promulgating that vision and direction throughout the organization.
A big failure is that some people don’t recognize the importance of communicating that vision down and trying to get alignment within your business or organization. From my experience in the military, trying to get alignment from the private to the four-star (general), you want alignment in vision and strategic direction throughout the organization, and that is not an easy thing to achieve.
But if you develop your vision and direction in a more collegial way, then you’re going to have more disciples out there selling the message. I don’t think any one leader, no matter how good, can do that by himself. You have to have a lot of buy-in from the next level down and the next level down after that, and so on. The strategy is to build champions. They have to have real buy-in because you can’t dictate buy-in. You can only achieve it by working together.
Q. Does trust become a key factor in achieving that?
Absolutely. It’s true in any endeavor that trust and trustworthiness are important. You, as a leader, have to be trustworthy to the folks that are working with and for you, and you have to have trust in them. One is not sufficient. You have to have both to have the kind of relationship that I think you need in order to be successful.
Q. What’s the best way to build trust?
Doing what you say you’re going to do and being open and forthright. Whatever the problems are that you’re working on, you want to make sure that the people you’re working with aren’t worried that you have something that you’re not telling them and that you don’t have any cards up your sleeve that you haven’t played yet.
Be open and honest, and then you start to build that trusting relationship. Yes, the leader is going to have to make the decision at some point, but if people feel you’ve been open and honest with them in the process, they’re going to live with and support whatever answer comes out in the end.
Q. You’ve faced a lot of challenges in your career, including the aftermath of Sept. 11 and the war in Iraq, what’s been your greatest leadership challenge?
From a more strategic level, it was that the chairman of the Joint Chiefs is a part, but just a part, of the national security apparatus. It was trying to convince others in government that we needed to bring all our instruments of national power to bear to focus on the problem of global terrorism and global security. It wasn’t enough to just focus on the military instrument of power, in say, Iraq or Afghanistan. Instead, we needed to have all our instruments of power — the diplomatic, political and economic instruments — to be brought to bear, as well. The military was being disproportionately used and suffering the consequences. That was a real challenge, working in a bureaucracy.
Q. In the face of a crisis, it’s imperative to remain calm. What tips from your experience do you think business executives could apply during their own challenging times?
I focused on the job at hand. It wasn’t hard to do because we had American men and women in harm’s way, dying and being badly injured. That was a lot of motivation to stay focused. What I did was to make that the No. 1 priority. I relegated some other things to second and third priority.
I said, ‘I’ve got to be physically fit’ — that meant getting whatever sleep I required, I’ve got to work out a little bit, and I’ve got to eat. Also, get whatever spiritual nourishment you need. All that contributes to your mindset to make sure you are prepared for the challenge. I remember telling my wife at the time, I said, ‘Our relationship is going to take a backseat to what I have to do right now. And then, at the end of four years, you’ll be No. 1 priority and the family will be, as well. But right now, it has to be my responsibilities as chairman.’
Q. What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
Probably two things. First, after a great report by the inspector general on a unit I was leading where we got great marks, a superior officer came to me and said, ‘That’s great, but what have you done for me lately?’ That made me realize how to put it in perspective. It’s like golf. You can have a great golf shot, but the question is whether you can do it again. You can’t rest on what’s already happened; you always have to be looking forward.
Second, no matter how smart you think you are, you can’t do it by yourself. You have to empower people. You have to surround yourself with good, smart people who can be part of a team and help you make sound decisions. This whole notion of not thinking you can do it yourself is important. No one individual can be perfect.
