Is Circumstance more important than Ability?

Reflections on Company Command

I arrived to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team (BCT), 82nd Airborne Division — 2/82 BCT — via an unusual path. I was a “junior” Captain in June of 2011, meaning I had yet to command a company. I had almost seven years time in service, more seniority than many “senior” Captains possess when they finish their command tour. I’d also never served in a light unit before, let alone an Airborne unit. I started my journey as a professional Soldier in a mechanized unit in Germany — the polar opposite of “America’s Guard of Honor” based in Fort Bragg, NC. I initially saw this as a challenge to overcome, and perhaps it was, but I think that it was ultimately the reason I was successful as a company commander — that is to say, I succeeded because of my circumstances at least as much as my aptitude.

The 54th Engineer Battalion (Combat) (Mechanized) was, in many ways, the best possible place to grow up in the Army. Shaped by circumstance in its own way — being the only Americans around for miles is a tremendous incentive to build strong bonds — the 54th Engineers was an organization I would constantly reference myself back to and think: “Man, I didn’t realize how good I had it!” The 54th ran the way I thought an Army unit should run in most ways and, because of that, I took a lot of what was great about the 54th for granted while I was assigned to it. The Army, like any bureaucracy, has a number of systems and policies. Though many are cumbersome, they are born of good intent and, sometimes, paid for in blood. The 54th, more than any other unit I’ve known, did an exceptional job of integrating and synchronizing bureaucracy and operational effectiveness. This was, in retrospect, the basis of my success as a Commander.

I spent 18 months on the 2/82 BCT staff, working in an Infantry officer’s billet (I’m an Engineer) as a “Battle Captain.” My standard joke here is that the Battle Captain is charged with all the responsibility, and NONE of the authority, for running the BCT. This occurs while the Commander (CO or CDR), Executive Officer (XO), Operations Officer (S-3), and Chief of Operations (CHOPS) are too busy to do so — which is more than you might think during a deployment as part of the Global War on Terrorism, as I found out almost immediately. Still, I was lucky to work with some supremely competent individuals in the BCT’s Tactical Operations Center and I eventually earned my shot to take a company command within THE Division. I had tremendous respect for, and considerable awe, our mission. We were to jump (parachute) into combat and win, anywhere in the world, with 18 hours notice. I’d heard about the greatness of the 82nd since I was an ROTC cadet. I was working hard to come to grips with the magnitude of the opportunity and responsibility before me.

You could fairly say that many officers in the Army, particularly from combat arms branches, are preoccupied with tactics. That’s understandable since we spend so much of our career in tactical assignments, focused on winning and surviving the crucible of combat. That’s certainly what was on my mind as I took Command. How would I lead my company so that we could fight and win under incredibly demanding conditions? That wasn’t the real challenge though. Indeed, the American Soldier has rarely needed much encouragement to perform tremendous feats of gallantry, valar, and heroism. I like to joke now that Soldiers most often succeed in spite of their leadership and great unit’s are those whose leaders do the best job getting out of the way. However, getting out of the way is a little more complicated than it sounds in the Army.

The Army’s bureaucracy has requirements and when they are left unattended, their sudden enforcement can cripple or overwhelm a unit. A Commander’s most important job may be choosing where to fail, where to accept risk. Commanders decide what will not be done, because there is ALWAYS more to do than time/resources available. The best units understand this at every echelon of command and share the burden of decision making and risk acceptance. My company, unfortunately, hadn’t been holding up our end. At their most basic, the Army’s requirements insist that leaders and their units take proper care of Soldiers and provide good stewardship for all the resources the American taxpayer entrusts to us. We weren’t doing that as well as we needed to. It came as a huge shock to me that this would be my primary and most important challenge as a Commander.

Looking back, having spent almost eight years in the XVIII Airborne Corps at every echelon from company to Corps, I realize that my company was not unique in its problem set. Further, we are all products of our experience, perhaps especially in the Army. This was my advantage. I didn’t grow up in the 82nd. I grew up in an organization that routinely executed all the little tasks and processes that the 82nd struggled with everyday. I didn’t just know what they were, I’d seen them done successfully many times. I won’t lie — there was much left undone, so much I still wanted to do, as I left command. However, we took a bite out of the elephant everyday and I know we were better together when I left than I when I arrived. Convincing my company to hit some of the Army’s small, persistent targets created the space needed for me to get out of the way so that my Paratroopers could succeed — which is exactly what Paratroopers and Soldiers do when you let them. It really didn’t have much to do with me at all, other than providing some organizational focus/vision.

What would have happened if I had served in another type of unit or organization where my experience was not unique and uniquely suited to making my company better and more effective? What if, for example, I had taken command in the same 54th Engineers I grew up in? Would I still have been successful? Would I have been more successful than my peers? Maybe. It certainly would have been a much truer test of talent and skill, though. The Army undoubtedly has such leaders — those successful by virtue of talent and skill. However, every organization has leaders that are successful, in significant measure, by happenstance (luck, if you will). They were in the right place at the right time and good enough. We HATE that idea. We reject the fact that our success is due to numerous factors that are not us, and often not even in our control, but it’s true. Ability is only half the equation and, if you don’t understand which half, you cannot really assess it. An inability to separate the leader from their circumstances undermines talent management. It might just be the most critical challenge any organization faces.