In this age, I don't care how tactically or operationally brilliant you are: if you cannot create harmony - even vicious harmony - on the battlefield based on trust across service lines, across coalition and national lines, and across civilian/military lines, you need to go home, because your leadership is obsolete. - Jim Mattis

I've been a leader of people for many years across various roles; I believe some are built for it, have natural attributes that lean them towards leadership, and others are followers. All good leaders will be able to learn from others, evaluate good and bad examples, and apply that knowledge to becoming a better leader. This new series is designed to expose great quotes by various leaders and to investigate how they may relate or apply to myself or others. _{original im src}

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This week's leadership quote

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In this age, I don't care how tactically or operationally brilliant you are: if you cannot create harmony - even vicious harmony - on the battlefield based on trust across service lines, across coalition and national lines, and across civilian/military lines, you need to go home, because your leadership is obsolete.

_{- Jim Mattis -}

I get it, you're not in a war and you don't operate on the battlefield which is what this quote refers to. It's about operating as a cohesive unit, creating an environment in which various elements are able to function individually, autonomously and with a degree of flexibility - but as part of the entire force - towards the individual units' goals and the overall objective.

You might not be on the battlefield, but doesn't the above work in a business environment just as easily as in a military situation? I think it does.

Come to think of it, this quote, the principles of it, could also apply to a family or to a person-to-person relationship, where harmony and trust help form the foundation for other elements to be built upon and work cohesively.

Trust across service lines, across coalition and national lines, and across civilian/military lines might not seem appropriate for the office, but don't we have colleagues, departments, customers, management structures, share-holders, boards and the like? Of course we do. Doesn't it make sense for trust and harmony to exist between these elements? Of course it does.

Breaking it down further, within a department is many elements, let's call them people.

I think trust and harmony existing between these elements is going to deliver a more satisfactory result than the lack of it; don't you agree? Discord between team members will spill over to thoughts and attitudes and negatively effect work ethic and effort and that can leave a manager at great disadvantage and exposed to ultimate failure.

Now, before I go...Think about the concept of harmony and trust applied to the entire planet, across people from all countries. Think about what may be achieved, what wrongs could be set right, how the present could be improved and a better course set ahead for a brighter future than we have on the horizon right now. Think about it.

Do you think your relationships would be better with increased trust and harmony? Would your workplace be a better and more productive place to work? Would you be happier as an individual and would society as a whole be happier? I think yes. But I'm not a fool, and neither do I reside in a fantasy world; that harmonious, trusting world I mention above is, probably impossible. Still, we can all work as individuals, upon ourselves, and towards change of thoughts, attitudes and behaviours right? If enough of us do it maybe change will come.

We're all leaders; we all have the ability to lead ourselves to better thoughts and actions and to lead those who come after us by example.

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If you have any thoughts on this leadership quote, experiences of your own, or questions please feel free to comment below.

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