Introduction
Initially in the book, the two authors set the stage for the ideas early in the first part titled “The Operating Environment.” This is an opening salvo in the text that eventually depends majorly on lessons from Dempsey’s 41 years of Army service. In spite of the great impact of the military profession in the book, the initial sections rather leverage the second author’s younger days to advance both their theories. The theory of the digital echo, which is a term coined by the two authors, is important to the main theme of the text.
In the digital era, the phenomenon mentioned above is prevalent and possesses the ability to control how information is conveyed without the knowledge of people. This means that individuals are usually unable to lessen the effects and at times, may resort to extreme measures. Dempsey & Brafman (2018) write about the power of a narrative in a text “In the absence of verifiable truth, competing narratives will vie for allegiance.” They paint the image of the relevance of narratives as well as their role in creating perceptions of firms and people alike. With the stage set, the two writers advance their supposed concept, how the book can aid organizations and companies win in terms of the narrative battle.
The release of the book came at a moment when seemingly some military as well as government organizations were attempting to innovate and trying to accomplish more with less effort. They did this while also considering the lowering competition edge in terms military and technological capacity. A top official in the Department of Defense claimed that there was no room for complacency. He also stated that history is clear on the fact that the United States does not have preordained right to victory when battling. The purpose was to reiterate that there was urgency on the matter and everyone needed to contribute something to the defense. As the authors elaborate the power of inclusion stems from three issues, that is, participation, purpose and personalization.
Radical inclusion: What the post-9/11 world should have taught us about leadership has discussed participation by giving an example of a story in 2009 about meeting an infantry captain. Central to the encounter was a young officer’s description of the decentralized status of the people they were battling. More essentially was the notion that a single officer was part of surroundings as well as culture where he could participate. Therefore, impact the understanding and training of the military with respect to the enemy.
Brafman and Dempsey in their book emphasize on the need of a leader at any level to encourage an environment that embraces participation. This means that they do have to be part of all meetings but can still influence organizational objectives. Both army units as well as large companies share one specific characteristic. This is that they consist of human beings with peculiar and personal beliefs, perspectives, backgrounds and stories. Whether it is Microsoft’s next business move or the National Defense Strategy, the ways to accomplish strategic goals must eventually be conducted by humans. In describing the purpose and personalization, the two authors remind that the key to inclusion is linking the how and the what, along with the why.
Leadership Theories, Skills and Styles
The book by Brafman and Dempsey highlights various principles regarding leadership. For instance, the first one states that a leader should create memories for the people. The most essential responsibility of leaders is making their people feel that they belong. These opportunities to accomplish this are available and it is important to do so since it makes individuals understand that one cares about them by investing time in them. A leader needs to understand how to make people feel that they belong. This can be in the form of a private word in a hallway, complement during a meeting or inquiring about the wellbeing of the people.
The second principle challenges a leader to make things better. Every individual wants to believe that what they do is important. Among the leader’s responsibilities is making sense of issues for his or her followers. The enable others close to them know how their ideas and opinions help in improving the status of an organization. Good leaders do this intentionally while the best do it regularly. It is noteworthy that it both the follower and leader’s responsibility to improve the status of issues. Every person needs to identify that their lives can and should matter. Each has to embrace the notion that they can make a difference which can be in a small or big way.
The other principle highlighted by the book is that a leader should relinquish control to build as well as sustain power. Instead of trying to dominate, the authors suggest that a leader learns to surrender control. Rather than grasping at it when they feel that it is getting away from them, they should embrace the evolving nature of power. It is suggested that managers should allow others to have control as long as they are capable, well-trained and part of an organization. The overall objective is increasing efficacy and building a record of success stories within a corporation.
Power gives a leader the capability to act whereas order enables predictability in the actions of the team. Preserving the two over time and at a reasonable cost is a great challenge people encounter in the evolving world. Without the former, it is impossible to expect an individual to lead. However, leaders usually use control when it is not necessary and at an unjustifiable cost. Power concentrations cannot persevere in the new environment (Dempsey & Brafman, 2018). Whereas it still remains necessary to have power to be an effective leader, the path to sustainability is not via control anymore. Actual power is identified by the capacity to find the key to solving a particular issue. For instance, in Afghanistan and Iraq, the United States military leaders as well as diplomats learned that to preserve power to convince tribal, political and religious leaders, they needed to be willing to surrender control.
Pros and Cons of the Book
The various principles highlighted in the book by the authors can be helpful in the leadership of today. For instance, in the political world, individuals will learn how to better treat followers and find ways of solving their problems. An individual voted into a position in the government by citizens of a country, for example, the President, is expected to deliver good for the voters. By using the idea of the authors that a leader should create memories, the person can ensure that the time they serve at the particular position is well spent. This means that after their term is over, they can definitively say that they have changed the lives of individuals who depended on them. The disadvantage of the book, however, is that not everyone can relate to some of the experiences that prompted the writers to come up with the theories on leadership, for instance, military life.
Lessons Learned That Are Applicable to A Manager’s Job
Among the lessons a person can learn from the book and apply to a manager’s job is that one does not need control to lead others effectively. This is true as most successful individuals have been witnessed delegating roles to various people. When this happens, the other person has been given control and obligation to ensure a certain task is accomplished which lifts some of the weight from the actual supervisor or manager. Another lesson is that a leader should care about the people following them. This can be in the form of making them feel as if they belong. Employees are motivated and perform better when they are assured that they are an important part of a company.
Critique of the Book
The book by Dempsey and Brafman is educative on the topic of leadership. It offers insights from real life experiences which increases its credibility. It focuses more on what a leader needs to offer others than what they need to receive. The authors have worked well together to highlight some principles that can help a leader. Despite some of the stories not being relatable to many, one can still utilize the knowledge in any career.
Reference
Dempsey, M., & Brafman, O. (2018). Radical inclusion: What the post-9/11 world should have taught us about leadership. Tom Rath.