Review: It is an excellent presentation explaining the basic ideas and concepts of military command structure, "leadership." Some ideas brought forth are listed below.
One of the early ideas it stresses...Leadership training begins when the solider starts Basic Training and continues through his or her entire career. This is an excellent idea to emulate with the National Weather Service. Maybe we could develop a Mentor Program using senior personnel on station providing guidance and advice in understanding the office environment.
Military leadership is about caring, it is about honor, and it has a clear basic mission. A very good example of this came after the surrender of the Confederates States in the American Civil War. Union General Chamberlain feeling deep respect for the Confederate troops who had fought so bravely ordered his men to present arms as the Confederate troops passed. He later stated, Honor Facing Honor.
The military also understands that mistakes are going to be made, their goal in leadership training is to limit long-term damage to the unit, and develop a mistake into a learning situation.
Willingness to guide others is meaningless unless it is accompanied by willingness to learn. Therefore, followers are also entitled to know what is expected from them. They are the ones that are going to be required to complete the task.
Communication is the essence of leadership, because no leader is effective unless he can communicate. If everyone in the organization understands how his service contributes to the final product, this becomes a very motivational factor, understanding their importance within the unit.
Other ideas:
Leadership is not afraid of good ideas regardless of where ideas originate.
Your personal integrity is based on your code of ethics, your sense of right and wrong, and moral compass, without which leadership will deteriorate.
Love and leadership, explains the bond forged when leadership is at its best.
One of the excellent idea's that is related too over and over is how initiative and willingness to assume responsibility are the direct products of self-confidence and willpower. This is what will carry the day. A fine example was the D-day invasion of WWII. When the American soldiers hit the beach, all the plans about the operations went awry. What carried the day was the individual soldier's ability to accept responsibility and create new paths to success, the Germans simply could not achieve this task.
Know your men, know your business, know yourself...remember that 85 percent of all problems can be traced back to management, just something to think about.