The Eighth Annual Hugh J. Clausen Lecture on Leadership

• Author: Major General Kenneth D. Gray
• Pages: 08

2003] EIGHTH ANNUAL HUGH J. CLAUSEN LECTURE 385

THE EIGHTH ANNUAL HUGH J. CLAUSEN LECTURE ON LEADERSHIP1

MAJOR GENERAL KENNETH D. GRAY2

1. Introduction

   General and Mrs. Clausen, General Marchand, General Wright, Ladies and Gentlemen, it is indeed an honor to return to the JAG School, especially to be asked to give the lecture on leadership named after General Clausen, one of my mentors. This is my first trip back since I retired. I have fond memories of my service and must admit that, on occasion, I do miss serving this great country, and the camaraderie and friendships I developed over my thirty-plus years of service.

   For those of you just starting your careers, you will remember your first JAG assignment more fondly than any other. Those in the room who are more senior can tell you that you will develop relationships that will last for a lifetime. My wife (Carolyn) and I still stay in touch with friends we made during our first assignment.

   I am also honored to have the opportunity to share with you some of my thoughts on leadership, how I used the skills I developed to help me in my current job, and what serving in the United States Army has meant in my life. I also want to talk about this generation of young people and what it takes to recruit them. Finally, time permitting, I want to talk about our soldiers.

2. Random Thoughts on Leadership

   I have also found that the leadership skills and experience developed in the JAG Corps can be transferred to just about any job you choose. The skills I developed in the Army have served me well in my current job. I

   had to modify some of my expectations and practices, but this has been a smooth transition for me.

   When I arrived at WVU, one of the first things that I did was to drop the title of General. I asked everyone to call me by my first name. I learned later that the staff was apprehensive about having a military person come to be their boss. They felt relieved when I dropped the title. It was a small thing for me, but huge for them.

   In his book, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership,3 John Maxwell says, "The only thing a title can buy is a little time-either to increase your level of influence with others or to erase it."4 He goes on to quote his favorite leadership proverb, "'He who thinks he leads, but has no followers, is only taking a walk,'" and, Maxwell continues, "If you can't influence others, they won't follow you. And if they won't follow, you're not a leader."5

   The culture is different in academia, and there is a different professional ethic among some. For example, generally speaking, in the Army, when someone looks you in the eye and tells you they are going to do a job, for the most part, you can rely on that person to do the job. In academia, I found that someone would say they were going to do something, and later I would find that it wasn't done. It took a couple of years, but those individuals have moved on. I didn't fire anyone; they decided that they didn't fit in the organization and found other jobs.

   1. Establish Mission, Vision, Goals, and Objectives

      It's important to understand the big picture: understand the Army's mission, develop a vision for success, and routinely create measurable goals and objectives. It's also important to know the purpose of your work, and you do that by knowing the mission and then developing a vision for your organization to follow.

      Our vision at WVU is for West Virginia University to be a student-centered learning community meeting the needs of West Virginia and the nation through teaching, research, service, and technology: a very clear

      and concise vision statement. I have a mission for my division to support the university vision. I work closely with the deans and directors of my units to cascade that vision down through the entire organization. When I think of vision, I think of seeing the future. Mission, vision, goals, and objectives help a leader begin the process of creating a high performance organization.

   2. Set Realistic Goals

      I mentioned earlier that I didn't have a dream of being a general officer or The Assistant Judge Advocate General of the Army. I also did not set being a general officer as one of my goals. During my early career, I always felt that making colonel would be a successful career. Later in my career, as times changed and the Army changed, I felt that making lieutenant colonel would not be a bad career.

      I have always tried to do the best job I could in whatever job I was assigned so that I would be competitive with everyone else for a promotion, assignment, or a school, realizing that there are never enough slots to accommodate all of the officers who are qualified for selection. Over the years, I saw many officers crushed emotionally and physically because they did not get selected for a particular promotion, or a school, or an assignment.

      It really is okay to have a dream that you want to accomplish, but it's also important to make sure the goal is realistic, and that you can accept the disappointment if the goal is not achieved. I believe that an important leadership trait is how one handles setbacks and disappointments. I can recall several disappointments in my career; one occurred when I was on the faculty here. I was in a pool of six officers on the faculty-five were selected, and I was not. Although I knew my chances were very slim, it didn't help to ease the disappointment.

      What did I do? I went home to talk to my best friend who made me a cup of tea, and we talked. We laugh about it today, but it was important for me to have someone to talk to who would understand and help me through

      the disappointment. I use minor setbacks as a learning experience and a basis for renewing my determination to succeed.

   3. Develop Shared Values: Create and Adhere to a Foundation of Shared Values

      Near the end of my first year at WVU, I took the leaders of the respective units on a retreat. I asked them to look at and revise our mission statement to support the university's vision more accurately. I also had them create shared values for the organization by working in teams, and they agreed on the following values for our organization:

      (1) Absolute integrity-honest at all times: Always tell the truth;

      (2) Commitment to excellence-set and adhere to high standards: Do the right thing;

      (3) Wisdom-competence in your job: Know your job and do it well;

      (4) Respect human dignity and cultural diversity: Respect for others;

      (5) Compassion and humility-a little tolerance of others never hurts: Be kind, understanding, and humble; and

      (6) Clear and concise communication: Pass on the right information.

      Later, they submitted goals and objectives for their units based on the vision, mission, and values established at the retreat. The team building and foundation established during the retreat allowed me to make necessary changes and meet the challenge of change that was taking place at the University.

      We also developed a motto out of that retreat, and the motto is "Students are our number one priority." I also told them that it's easy to say we are student centered, but a lot harder to make it a reality every day. So I challenged them to think about the impact their decisions will have on the students.

      The following is one example of why establishing the mission, values, goals, and objectives was extremely important. I was hired for this job about nine months before I retired from the Army. During that interim, Carolyn and I received the student newspaper at home so we could keep

      up with what was happening on campus. About two months before I was scheduled to arrive on campus, Carolyn was reading the school newspaper, and she said, "I see you are chairing the student seating and tailgating committee." The article quoted the university president as saying that he was waiting for me to arrive to chair this committee, and that I would solve the problems of the student tailgating lot. The students called this place "the Pit," and you can imagine what it was like. It was off campus and just a mess.

      When I arrived, I attended the first two committee meetings as an observer. I didn't take charge right away. During the first two meetings nothing was really...