Patton just inspires me. I can’t find an equal from a leadership perspective when it comes to having a vision and a purpose. In this part of the series, I want to read the next sections of Patton’s Standing Orders and comment on them, because there are new reflections and new insights here that I think every leader should know.
Short answer: Patton’s field command orders say each leader, in their appropriate sphere, will lead in person, and any commander who fails to obtain the objective has not done their full duty. His visits to the front order says leaders must go see daily, observe and not meddle, and be seen by the troops. In construction, that means owning safety, quality, and team development yourself, and getting leaders out to the field for real reconnaissance.
What Is Letter of Instruction Number One?
It’s from Headquarters, Third United States Army, dated the 6th of March, 1944, to the corps, division, and separate unit commanders. It opens: “This letter will orient you, officers of the higher echelons, in the principles of command, combat procedure, and administration which obtain in this Army, and will guide you in the conduct of your several commands.” I love how this starts out. Hopefully it’s going to lead everybody who listens in your command as well, because you are the upper echelons. You are the leaders. You get it done.
What Does Full Duty Mean?
Under Command, Leadership, number one, Full Duty: “Each, in his appropriate sphere, will lead in person. Any commander who fails to obtain his objective and who is not dead or severely wounded has not done his full duty.”
In lean, we hear go to the gemba and lead in person. There’s the dilemma between being in the field and being back at headquarters, field and staff officers, which is called the dilemma of command. There’s always a balance. But go back to Jocko Willink’s extreme ownership: you are in charge, everything’s your fault, get it done. And to the nimble team of teams concept, where we don’t have the centralized command and control that militaries of old used to have. We’re more nimble. We need to make the right decisions and own them. See How Extreme Ownership Changed My Life.
Each, in his or her appropriate sphere, will lead in person. That means superintendents and PMs do not delegate safety. They do not delegate quality. They do not delegate team development. They are in charge, and they’re going to get it done. I don’t care about the excuses. Some people might think this is just talk, but when I was in the field as a superintendent, I was not going to let it fail. I’m out there doing the mobilization. We’re going to hit on time. I’m rallying the trade partners for the scaffolding. Oh, you don’t have the solution? Let’s go get the solution. We drove those projects because you have to take full responsibility.
What Does Visits to the Front Teach Us?
Number two, Visits to the Front: “The commanding general or his chief of staff, never both at once, and one member of each of the general staff sections, the signal, medical, ordnance, engineer, and quartermaster sections, should visit the front daily. To save duplication, the chief of staff will designate the sector each is to visit. The function of these staff officers is to observe, not to meddle. In addition to their own specialty, they must observe and report anything of military importance. Remember, too, that your primary mission as a leader is to see with your own eyes and to be seen by the troops while engaged in personal reconnaissance.”
This is pregnant with meaning. Not only do we have the concept that we have to go and see in construction, but this single concept would reduce so much waste and variation. See Gemba and Genchi Genbutsu.
| Patton’s order | What it means on a project |
|---|---|
| Lead in person, in your appropriate sphere | Superintendents and PMs don’t delegate safety, quality, or team development |
| Fail the objective and you haven’t done your full duty | No excuses. Go get the solution and drive the project |
| Visit the front daily, never both leaders at once | Leaders and staff get to the field every day, by designated area |
| Observe, not meddle | Observe to make support systems better, not to tell people how to do their job |
| See with your own eyes and be seen by the troops | Talk to people at their level and let them know you care |
Why Do Classical Managers Stay in the Office?
When you go back to classical management styles that fail and hurt people, there’s a disconnect between leadership and what’s happening in the field. We can’t have that. If we don’t want that disconnection, we have to be at the place of work. We have to know what conditions our people are in, and we have to get reconnaissance. Otherwise, going back to systems thinking, we won’t have the proper feedback loops to make real decisions. We’ll just be a bunch of people in an office making decisions that don’t affect anything in the field.
I’ve seen groups with organizational inbreeding and no diversity sitting in a conference room. They don’t visit the field, and they’ve never been a superintendent or project manager. They make decisions on surveying, scheduling, self-perform, project management systems, and what software to buy without ever having visited the front, and then they shove it down people’s throats. I’ve never seen that work. They do it because it’s safe. They don’t have to confront reality. But they make improper decisions without reconnaissance, they extend the feedback loop so it isn’t accurate, and they don’t solve the problem.
When seagulls come in, mess with everybody, crap on everything, and fly away, that’s not good. We would stop being seagulls as leaders if we followed Patton’s advice: don’t meddle, get the recon, and let people see you. See Seagull Management.
What Should Leaders Do?
We’ve got to get leadership teams, leaders, and CEOs out to the field. We have to observe with our own eyes, talk to the people, be at the same level with them, and experience what they’re experiencing. We need to observe for the purpose of making the support systems better so people can do their jobs, let them know we care, stay engaged, and make sure we have the recon to lead the business.
Here’s an example that fits. One young woman was promoted to team lead at Chick-fil-A on her 18th birthday. In her first month she did eight hours of leadership development with the franchise owner, read Ken Blanchard’s The New One Minute Manager, and shadowed a seasoned team lead for six eight-hour shifts. What if, when you promoted someone to foreman, you did 15 minutes of leadership development every day, required they read Jocko’s Extreme Ownership, and had them shadow another foreman for a week? Train on purpose. Train more people, eat more chicken.
So here is the challenge. Put a daily visit to the front on your calendar this week. Go to observe, not to meddle. Write down what you see, and fix one support system because of it.
Bottom line: Lead in person in your sphere, see with your own eyes, and be seen by your people.
If your project needs superintendent coaching, project support, or leadership development, Elevate Construction can help your field teams stabilize, schedule, and flow.
On we go.
Patton’s Standing Orders series:
Previous: Patton’s Orders to His Men
Next: The Execution of Meetings, Rest, & Command Posts
FAQ
What does Patton’s “full duty” order mean for construction leaders?
“Each, in his appropriate sphere, will lead in person. Any commander who fails to obtain his objective and who is not dead or severely wounded has not done his full duty.” For superintendents and PMs, it means you don’t delegate safety, quality, or team development. You are in charge, and you get it done.
What did Patton mean by visits to the front?
Staff officers should visit the front daily to observe, not to meddle, and report anything of importance. The primary mission of a leader is to see with your own eyes and to be seen by the troops. In construction, that means leaders and CEOs going to the field.
Why do leaders who never visit the field make bad decisions?
Without reconnaissance, they don’t have proper feedback loops. They make decisions on surveying, scheduling, software, and project systems without knowing the conditions their people are in, and those decisions don’t solve the problem.
People Also Read:
Seeing at the Gemba
Toxic Seagulls
Lead Like General Patton Part 2 – War Series #1
The Construction Gemba Walk Route Map
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