By. Colonel Curt Taylor
I recently heard General Dave Perkins, the Commanding General of TRADOC, describe a funeral for a senior general officer long retired. At the funeral he noted the attendance of several middle-aged men who had served as squad leaders under this general decades before when he had been a battalion commander. So powerful had been his impact that they felt the need to be present when the ‘old man’ was finally laid to rest many years later.
General Perkins then challenged the audience to define the success of our careers not by the rank we attain but by the question, “Would your squad leaders attend your funeral?” Reframing the experience of a military profession in this way transforms our priorities and our very definition of success. It alters our calculus from a focus on ourselves and a nervous anxiety over the next promotion board, to a focus on others and a desire to improve our own leadership skills because of the impact it has on the people that we lead.
The Army is full of first sergeants and lieutenant colonels who had lasting, lifelong impact on generations of soldiers, but for reasons of luck and timing failed to achieve the rank that their potential warranted. The opposite is true as well. All of us have met the narcissistic careerist who displays brilliance at the key moment but fails to engender a lasting loyalty in the people with whom he serves. Such behavior can and often does lead to advancement in an organization that is rightly focused on producing results. But this leader and the causes he championed are quickly forgotten when the torch inevitably passes to a younger man or woman. Which are you? And how do we organize and define our careers to prioritize the impact we have on others over the rank or office that we hold?
Colonel John Boyd was one of the finest fighter pilots the US Air Force ever produced. Creator of the famous OODA-loop concept, he transformed the Air Force’s thinking about air-to-air combat. Throughout his career he struggled against the Air Force bureaucracy and often found himself on the outside of the inner circle. Reflecting on that experience, he offered this excellent advice:
To be somebody or to do something. In life there is often a roll call. That’s when you will have to make a decision. To be or to do? Which way will you go?
To be or to do? To pursue substance over title, consequence over prestige. We would all hope to achieve both in life, but reality is never that simple. While the choice is never black and white, how we value those competing alternatives will shape every interaction and decision that we make as leaders.
As a brigade commander, I spent a lot of time counseling young officers about the next step on their career path. No doubt, there are important tactical moves for those who seek to continue up the ladder. But the danger begins when we allow tactics to become a substitute for strategy. If the purpose of our career is to have lasting impact on those we lead, then our strategy for success does not require any particular path but a concerted and focused effort, through reading, reflection and study of role models, to improve our leadership abilities every day. Only then can we have the impact on others that the awesome responsibility of military leadership demands.
David Brooks, a NYT best-selling author, reminds us that, over a lifetime, we weave two stories. The first is our resume and, the second is our eulogy. Both tell the story of who we are and how we lived. The first story recounts titles, activity, and achievement. The second is one of relationships, investment, and impact. Which story will become the defining narrative of our life and its ultimate measure of success? This is perhaps one of the deepest questions that each of us has to answer in a military career.
Colonel Curt Taylor is an Armor Officer in the United States Army. He recently commanded the 1st Stryker Infantry Brigade in the 4th Infantry Division.
COL Taylor,
This is great article and with a great definition of a successful career. I have been fortunate throughout my career to have leaders who met GEN Perkins’ standard of success. As a young SGT I was fortunate to witness the leadership of John F. Michitsch when he was a colonel and the Chief of Staff of the 7th Army Training Command. Although I didn’t work directly for COL Michitsch at the time, his leadership left a great impression not only me but on many others in 7th ATC and also in his many other assignments. “The Chief” as he was affectionately called, touched so many lives at Grafenwoehr and several of us were present at his funeral and his internment at Arlington last year.
Often times when we talk about leadership, we routinely give preferential treatment to direct senior-subordinate relationships or command leadership positions. MG (Ret) Michitsch’s example shows that the leadership relationship is less important as the impact by their leadership.
Thank you for sharing and challenging us to think about our own narrative.
Be in a C/O is time and happenstance. Be a true leader is wisdom and persistence.
COL Taylor, I was privileged enough to serve under you in the mighty bandit platoon of Bravo 3-66 AR so many years ago when you lead us as our BC, a lasting impression on my career to this day, I remember after the battle at Disi, when you landed and were with us in our AO, while I will keep the words you said to us to myself, understand that those, and so many other moments by yourself, and so many other incredible leaders from that time in my army life, have not only shaped and influenced my career, but drivin me to maintain and keep that same standard of impeccable leadership I was so grateful and fortunate to have for that deployment. I hope one day as a senior nco I am now I get to once again serve under your command.
Thank you for making it count sir..
The question of personal respect for the commander. To the real leaders are not rare and ordinary soldiers come to say goodbye.
Sir, that last paragraph about David Brooks really helped me understand what Colonel Boyd meant in the quote of his you included. You did an excellent job of incorporating complementary sources to explain your message well.
“[Our resume] recounts titles, activity, and achievement. [Our eulogy] is one of relationships, investment, and impact.” This helped me understand the meaning of being versus doing. The things we do make up our resume: the accomplishments, the accolades, the successes and failures, and the titles achieved. The impact we have on others, and the change we cause in our environment through our relationships and influence, these things determine who we are, and therefore correspond to our being. Both are components of who we are as a person and our effectiveness as leaders.
I am thankful to you for sharing your wisdom with me in a way that influenced how I view service and leadership.
Great article. I would add to our resume and our eulogy our legacy. Our legacy is not what we do, but rather what those who have followed us do.