By Eric Basu, Contributor I’ve written several times in this blog about the connections between military leadership and leadership in the commercial sector, particularly in startups. I was sent this blog posting by LCDR Benjamin “BJ” Armstrong on the role trust plays in good leadership. I haven’t read his book, but I do like the emphasis in his write up on trust as a fundamental component of a great leader. “The Natural Inborn Power of Trust By: BJ Armstrong Trust. In principle it sounds great, but in practice it appears to be a frightening concept to some leaders. Sometimes it even appears ineffective. Over a century ago the naval officer and strategist Alfred Thayer Mahan thought and wrote about the vital importance of trust and its critical place in effective leadership. A founding member of the faculty at the U.S. Navy’s War College, Mahan believed that teaching leadership and command was as important as strategy. His lessons about the interplay between risk and trust are applicable to leaders in all organizations in the 21st Century. Mahan’s best example of the positive results of trust came from his study of Lord Admiral Horatio Nelson, the most celebrated Royal Navy officer in history and a renowned combat leader. His victories at defining battles like Copenhagen, The Nile, and Trafalgar have inspired generations of officers and sailors. In his studies of Nelson, Mahan wrote that the British Admiral combined the attributes of conviction, confidence, and most of all: “the natural, inborn power of trust.” Nelson’s trust in his subordinates, as Mahan wrote, “took form in an avowed scheme of life and action, which rested, consciously or unconsciously, upon the presumption in others of that same devotion to duty, that same zeal to perform it…which he found himself.” He entered any decision, or any argument, with the assumption that his officers and men were going to do the right thing or try their hardest. When asked by the head of the Royal Navy to select his own subordinates for a command Nelson responded, “Choose them yourself. You cannot go amiss. The same spirit actuates the whole profession; you cannot choose wrong.” The Admiral’s trust of his people was electrifying. Those who he believed made every effort but failed were recognized with kind words and career support just like those who succeeded. Nelson himself once wrote that “If I ever feel great, it is in never having, in thought, word, or deed, robbed any man of his fair fame.” His men knew it. They knew that if he had any control over the situation he would get them the recognition that they deserved. The result was that one of his officers wrote “he is so good and pleasant that we all wish to do what he likes, without any kind of orders.” The officers that served with him not only helped him lead the Royal Navy to famous victories, but after his death they were the leaders who maintained the global Pax Britannica for half a century. Nelson wasn’t …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest
