[October 13, 2024] Growing up in the South part of the United States my biggest fear was getting eaten by an alligator, bit by a poisonous snake, and stung by a scorpion. One of the first scary films (I cannot remember the name) I saw as a kid showed a man falling into a pit of alligators somewhere in Africa. To me, the expression up to your neck in alligators has an additional, more emotional meaning.
Even good people find themselves surrounded by ‘alligators.’ It is easy to be overcome by the many miscellaneous and marginal issues, worries, problems, or tasks; so much so that we can lose sight of our values. I’ve found myself in this position many times. Too many things to do and not enough time is a common barrier to success.
For a leader, such a situation is rightly judged as a failure of discipline. A leader who is being overwhelmed is also a leader who has not properly delegated work, prioritized tasks, or given clear guidance. As an Infantry Company Commander, my unit regularly succeeded in external evaluations, but I was personally admonished for being a micromanager (an insult if there ever was one).
“I trust the people who are working for me. I delegate.” – Mario Draghi, Italian economist and President of the European Central Bank
My boss told me that I took on too many of the junior leader tasks that should have gone to my subordinates. It showed a lack of trust in their abilities and lack of respect for their rank and responsibilities. At the time, I thought to myself that this was a bunch of garbage, but later I understood.
It’s very instructive to realize that, as a leader, you cannot do everything. A leader needs to delegate, find the experts, and who is good at a given task, and consult with them. A big part of responsible leadership is knowing when to take something on and when not to.
In the U.S. military or any large organization, if you cannot delegate by the time you’re a junior leader, you will not make it. Watch out for the alligators, snakes, and scorpions.
Good one, Gen. Satterfield. I really enjoy these kind of articles.
Well, it has been a while since I’ve written a comment in Gen. Satterfield’s leader forum. Others here have asked where I’ve been and to settle this point, I’ve been in a special govt course for senior leaders. It’s not secret but the class developers asked us not to talk about it. My point is that “delegation “ is a tricky business that we all have to figure out. For example, how can you develop the trust necessary to delegate. The class developers said sometimes you just have to go for it (delegate) but to monitor what’s happening. Now this may not seem important, but for a junior leader or young person, it’s crucial they get this fixed in their lives. Thanks all for reading my note and have a great weekend.
Good to see you back, Jonathan. 👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀
Jonathan is always welcome. And, sir, very good points.
DELEGATION… the crux of proper leadership. I think today, that Gen. Satterfield is somehow testing us to see if we remember how he addressed this in earlier articles.
Good article, thanks!
Ha ha ha ha ha, watch out for the snakes 🪱. 🕷️and spiders. Why limit yourself to those things we fear most.
“ In the U.S. military or any large organization, if you cannot delegate by the time you’re a junior leader, you will not make it. Watch out for the alligators, snakes, and scorpions.” — Gen. Doug Satterfield. This is one of the early lessons of leadership. Never ever underestimate how critical this idea is for experienced leaders. 👍
Yeah! Getting eaten by an alligator just might be on my list of things to fear as a young child. Or bitten by a poisonous snake. Or stung by a scorpion. I can see where FEAR might play a part in developing your character on how to conduct yourself when in a chaotic situation. The army teaches us how to handle these circumstances.
Yes, got it. Great points.
Learning the hard way. Thi# i# what cracks me up about Gen. Satterfield, and we can read these similar scenarios in his “letters to my granddaughter.” So, sit back and enjoy this blog that will make you laugh one day, and be serious the next.
👏😆😅💯😎🙏🎶🥹⭐️
Welcome aboard Janice.