JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. –
Great leaders are often mythologized as superhuman, "gifted" at birth with rare and amazing capabilities and thrust by fate into circumstances that they alone were equipped to navigate. This is an appealing but false narrative. In romanticizing leadership as we do, we appeal to the human spirit, drawing others to the challenge. However, we also short change great leaders, who became great because they worked hard over long periods of time to ingrain certain qualities within themselves.
In May 2000, Col. Robert Allardice took command of the 437th Operations Group. The unit was flush with talented officers, typically receiving only the top graduates from pilot training and routinely serving as a proving ground for the most well-regarded and elite mid-career commanders. The group had performed well a few years earlier in Operation Allied Force, showcasing the unique capabilities of the C-17. Given these conditions and the base's standing as the crown jewel of the Air Mobility Command mission,
Charleston's operators expected their new leader to simply place his hands on the controls and continue steering the unit on its established course. Allardice had other ideas. He saw unfulfilled potential. He knew there was much more the C-17 could do in its tactical and special operations roles and knew its pilots and loadmasters were not stretching themselves strenuously enough in training. He knew there would always be another conflict and that every conflict seemed to demand something different. He committed the group to expanding the mission set, training more rigorously and becoming more interoperable with ground forces. He faced doubt and resistance from his team and incurred career risk by abandoning the status quo, but remained true to his vision of a more capable and war-ready crew force. He empowered his subordinate commanders and prominent pilots to carry this vision forward.
Over the next 15 months, Allardice's vision was realized. Tactical expertise became the focus and source of professional reward. The special operations low-level program grew exponentially and a Tactical Instructor program selectively trained the group's best pilots on leading edge techniques. By the time the 9/11 attacks occurred, Charleston was far better prepared for the challenges that would follow. On Oct. 8, 2001, two C-17s conducted a combat airdrop over the skies of Afghanistan on the opening night of the war, delivering food to starving Afghans and delivering a message of hope and resolve on behalf of the entire coalition. This was possible not because Col. Allardice was a "born leader," but because he had prepared himself. He had developed an idea of what was important to his organization and cultivated within himself the moral courage to see it through. He'd spent two decades in the leadership arena, developing the ability to persuade and motivate others. His is a great military example, but leadership comes in many forms.
At the very same moment Allardice's C-17s were conducting missions over Afghanistan, a musician named Dave Grohl and his band, Foo Fighters, were in the studio, recording songs for an upcoming album. After three highly popular records, countless big-ticket concert venues and the accumulation of a large fan base, the band was feeling the weight of expectation. Initial studio activity for the fourth album had produced a number of disappointing recordings, yet the band marched on, financially and contractually bound to produce music. They went through the motions, finalizing work on a dozen songs. As band members sat back and reviewed their work, Grohl found himself at a moral crossroads. He and the band were obliged to produce a record, but they were also obliged to their fans and to their own integrity to release only their best work and these initial recordings fell well short of that mark. After reflection and conflict among the band, Grohl made the eyebrow-raising decision to void the studio effort, which had taken six months and cost several hundred thousand dollars and "face the music" with the lawyers and executives. For the next several months, the band existed in name only, with members engaged in side projects and their future very much in doubt. In April 2002, the band reunited in Grohl's home studio, where they decided to completely re-record the album. In just under a week and at a cost of next to nothing, the band produced the songs that would comprise the Grammy-winning album One by One and instantly regained their footing as musicians and teammates. The band has since enjoyed a decade of unrivaled commercial and artistic success, reaching millions of fans worldwide.
To successfully navigate this leadership challenge, Grohl had to stick with his long-term vision and exercise the moral courage to push back against industry pressures. He also had to understand his team well enough to employ unique methods to motivate and inspire them. Because of his experience and observation skills, Grohl knew that only by letting the band come apart temporarily could he keep them together for the long haul. He wasn't born with this inner genius, he developed it.
It is said that history may not repeat itself, but it rhymes. So it is with leadership. While it comes in many forms, leadership conforms to a pattern. Allardice and Grohl are just two of numerous leaders who've exhibited a unique combination of personal qualities to achieve big things. Great leaders become great by fighting resistance and skepticism, building the consensus and commitment of followers and keeping one eye trained on the long view. These qualities are not born into great leaders, they're developed over a professional lifetime of moral reflection, mental preparation and time in the arena developing the ability to influence and persuade others.
Allardice and Grohl are not mythological figures; they are hard-working, self-made leaders whose key qualities resulted in positive impact for millions of people. This is good news for their fellow mere mortals; whether your passion is combat airlift or rock-and-roll, you have the power to add your story to this narrative. Jump into the arena and commit yourself to developing vision, moral courage, and the ability to influence people. Develop these qualities and watch for your moment. Greatness is sure to follow.