What are your first steps toward leader-leader?:

I read this book about six months before I took command of a Patriot Missile Battery in the INDO-PACOM AOR.  I was convinced that I was going to change the branch by implementing these great ideas… but within the first couple months I realized that Leader-Leader doesn’t apply to everyone.  Frankly speaking, some of my Soldiers weren’t ever going to be real leaders, but that doesn’t mean that the concept wouldn’t work.  The first steps I had to take before I was successful was identifying WHO the Leaders were/were going to be, and then taking the appropriate action of putting them in the right places and giving them the right tools (sounds like empowering… but I actually EMANCIPATED* them from the micro-managerial leadership concept that had been in place at the unit for years).   My NCOs and Junior Officers took the concept and ran with it, and it was in full effect at the Battery, Platoon, and even Squad level within about six months.  We were tested shortly after when DPRK began launching ballistic missiles and my battery was called upon to rapidly deploy to protect US Interests in the region.  By the time we were 90 days into deployment, I felt like I could’ve left for weeks and business would carry on as usual, and that’s an awesome feeling.

*Thanks for the word choice, Sir