Leadership 101: Procrastination and Presence

By W. Thomas Smith Jr.
April 24, 2012

British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill, arguably one of thegreatest leaders in recorded history, valued time more than any otherresource available to him. Churchill embraced time, never wasting anhour – often to the detriment of his health – and he refused to tolerate procrastination in any form, at any level, from any of hissubordinates. He knew full-well procrastination meant failure and death; particularly in the time in history in which he was operating.

At some point in 1941, during the second year of Britain’sdirect-involvement in World War II, Churchill began forwardingdocuments, dispatches, and memoranda affixed with a red sticker (similar to our modern day sticky notes) on which he had written three simplewords, ACTION THIS DAY. This he did for the remainder of the war.

Time in war – just as time is in all high-stakes endeavors – isfrequently that which decides the fate of nations. Sounds a bitdramatic, but it’s true. All truly great commanders and other leadersfactor in the variable of time with the related variables of space,terrain, economy, chance, opportunity, risk, surprise, destiny andothers. And time is always the most important variable.

When we look at the principles of war (which we will examine in greater detail in a forthcoming lesson) – depending on what nation’s principles – we see that time is either a principle, a sub-principle, or it is anunwritten absolute always factoring into a principle.  

TIME IS THE PHANTOM COST

Napoleon, at the height of a battle in 1803, purportedly said to acourier (just before sending that courier off with a message for one ofhis subordinate commanders), Go, sir, gallop, and don’t forget theworld was made in six days. You may ask me for anything you like excepttime.

Napoleon knew – just as Churchill knew 138-142 years later – that aminute lost is a precious minute of living, of breathing, of thinking,of activity, and of direct action against the enemy that can never beregained.

Time is the phantom cost, says S.C. Comptroller General RichardEckstrom; commander of the S.C. State Guard, a former state treasurer,and retired Naval Intelligence officer.

Eckstrom is right. Though followers – and those destined for eitherloss or a life of always-following – have the luxury of ignoring time;we leaders must never deny the so-called phantom cost. We have toacknowledge the criticality of time. We have to place the highestpremium on time’s infinite value.

PROCRASTINATION

Procrastination, defined simply as putting off intentionally the doing of something that should be done, is the great and irresponsibleviolation of time.

Procrastination for a leader is nothing less than the disregarding ofopportunity, the irresponsible mismanagement of assets and thenegligence of people. It is no less ruinous to a leader as arecowardice, abandonment, and theft.

As leaders we don’t need a military academy or business schoolbackground to teach us how to embrace time and avoid procrastination. We may however need a reminder and a renewed vow to ourselves – and thosefor whom we are responsible – that we will never violate the adage welearned as children – Never put off until tomorrow what you can dotoday.
An appreciation of time is both simple and essential.

PRESENCE

Just as time is simple and essential, so is the presence of the leader.

Presence is simply we – as leaders – being there always, out in front and at our best.

As I mentioned in our discussion of Crisis Leadership, U.S. Marine Maj. Gen. James E. Livingston, a Medal of Honor recipient,tells us that in a crisis the combat commander must be seen by his men.

The physical presence of the commander is important, particularly when it gets tough, says Livingston.
But the men cannot simply see their leader; they have to see IN theirleader, strength of character – courage, ability, and cheeriness – and,yes, physical strength and good looks.

This doesn’t mean all leaders are – or must be – Olympic-class athletes or Hollywood handsome. But it does mean followers do not want to be led by Sad Sack or Gen. Halftrack.

APPEARANCE IS IMPORTANT

The leader – no matter what age or gender (or profession or volunteeractivity in which he or she is leading) – needs to be as fit as possible (as fit the individual leader can reasonably expect to be given his orher physical circumstances).

The leader needs to be clean and well-groomed, even when conditions are not conducive to cleanliness. It’s amazing how the presence andencouraging words of a smiling officer – just after shaving in coldwater and changing into a fresh shirt, even in a remote jungleenvironment where malaria, enemy snipers and shelling were a constantthreat – often changed the dynamics of a battle-weary infantry unitduring World War II.

The leader needs to demonstrate mastery in his (or her) skillsets andconfidence in his abilities (skills and abilities, like physicalfitness, are accomplished by ongoing training and conditioning).

And the leader needs to be out-front with his shoulder to-the-wheeljust like everyone else; never asking – much less demanding – thatanyone do that which the leader himself would not do.

We all remember the story of Gen. George Washington who – when he rodealong his lines and saw his exhausted men digging trenches – dismounted, removed his coat, rolled up his sleeves, grabbed a pick and begandigging with the men. The pure inspiration this act engendered among the rank-and-file was immeasurable, which is why the anecdote has survivedto this day.
 
Presence is vital, but, again, the present-and-visible leader has to be prepared to set the example. He or she must not delay in thatall-important preparation. After all, time is of the essence – Actionthis day!

Stay with us. There’s so much more, including a great deal more onprocrastination and presence. Previous Leadership 101 pieces areavailable here. If you have questions or suggestions, I’m at [email protected].

– W. Thomas Smith Jr. is a former U.S. Marine rifle squad leaderand counterterrorism instructor who writes about military/defense issues and has covered war in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. He directsthe U.S. Counterterrorism Advisory Team. He is a senior commissionedofficer in the S.C. Military Dept. He is the author of six books, a NewYork Times bestselling editor, and his articles appear in a variety ofpublications. Smith’s website is uswriter.com.