User:Rmbirkenes

Robert Birkenes is a foreign service officer currently working in Baghdad, Iraq. He is the USAID representative to the joint inter-agency task force located inside the US military strategic operations headquarters at Camp Victory. His job is to try to help the military to see soft power options to address national security goals of promoting stability and prosperity for Iraq.

Here is Robert's list of advice to leaders, which he intends to use as a reference when he actually advances some day to a position of authority. ;-) (It's really advice to his future self, not to others.)  This is based on the past ten years of working in many different environments, both in Washington and overseas.  We can learn from watching those around us, and seeing what actions do or don't work in terms of enhancing one's leadership and gaining loyal followers.  This list will always be "under construction," because after all that's the whole idea behind Wiki, isn't it?  Progress, not perfection...

Collected Leadership Advice:
be sincere. people can recognize when you don't really care, so DO care. if you don't, then why are you doing this?

walk among the people, and listen to what they say about what's important to them. if you don't leave your office, you won't know what is really going on around you, below you.

if you find yourself not wanting to know the full picture before making decisions, chances are you are exercising authority in an arbitrary manner. when making decisions, seek out the full story so you can weigh the different options. you can only do this by talking with the people who will carry out--or be affected by--the decision.

find a balance between managing upward and downward: the people below you must be happy and productive before your team can produce results that will please your boss; and similarly, only if your boss is happy with your attentiveness and responsiveness will your team get recognized for their good work.

treat all people equally, do not look down on employees at the bottom of the hierarchy and do not bow to those above you. instead, bow equally to everyone since each person deserves your respect unless he/she proves otherwise.

assume the best in people. this includes subordinates, colleagues, and senior managers. try to help people and support their projects and dreams. but if experience with some person tells you that he/she does not want to keep up their part of the deal, then act appropriately.

for non-performing employees, try to find out the buttons and levers that they will respond to and change their behavior. if it's not the carrot, then maybe it's the stick or the leash & collar. perhaps it's peer pressure, or maybe the problem cannot be solved other than through termination of the employee. consult with the employee handbook and personnel specialists, they can be your friends in dealing with a difficult employee.

a few kind words, a kind gesture that shows you do care about someone--these things go a long way. without the evidence of human-to-human caring, employees might assume you really don't value them.

make sure that your stated values for the unit that you lead truly reflects the values that you live by, on a day-to-day basis. having lofty values of teamwork, diversity, and empowerment--which don't reflect the day-to-day emphasis on loyalty, chain-of-command, and control of information--this will cause employees either to be confused about which paradigm applies or to become cynical.

be direct, and don't avoid conflict. in other words, if it seems that someone has a problem with you and you are hearing indirect complaints filtering through other people, go to the source of the conflict. don't be confrontational, be diplomatic. stick to the facts, express your feelings, and then invite the other person to talk.