The Leadership Moment – Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain

Chapter 5 of Michael Useem's “The Leadership Moment” takes you back to 1863 during the civil war.
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, the colonel of the 20th Regiment of Infantry of Maine acquires a new
batch of badly needed troops. It was not your regular transfer however, these troops were being
transferred under armed guard. They were mutineers and Joshua was told you make these men fight or
shoot them.

To make things worse, Joshua was about to enter one of civil war's greatest battles in Gettysburg. Few
men are faced with leadership decisions and challenges as this one. Joshua had to get these men to fight
and in very little time. He had to determine a way to win the support of his men so they would willingly
follow him into battle. This chapters examines the ways he did that.

The first part focuses on how Joshua enlisted these men. He did not simply say fight or die, instead he
explained the situation to the men and made his vision, their vision. He talked to the men and explained
that the cause was just. The quote of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain's re-created comments shows how
this was done (pg 134):

“Here you can be something. Here's a place to build a home. It isn't land – there's always
more land. It's the idea that we all have value, you and me, we're worth something more than the dirt..
What we're fighting for, in the end is each other... “
The chapter also provides examples from recent history. I have seen instances of this in my own work.
I remember when the leadership of my company spoke at an important meeting. They explained how it
was different this time, they explained that someone will win, if it is not us then it will be our
competition. They were transparent and made their vision and objective a shared one which ultimately
wins the support of the team.

Another aspect of this chapter examines how small actions, which may seem insignificant at that time
do matter and in fact make a difference when it matters. Joshua won the confidence by making
investments early before his new troops had to face Gettysburg. Situations in my own experience come
to mind, the little things make a huge difference in the support you may get from your team when you
are under the gun. It could be as simple as some encouraging words or notes, consistently thanking
your members or even providing eggs in the morning for breakfast when your team members arrive
early to work.

Taking responsibility and action when there is no clear directive to do so was also briefly touched
upon. One of my career anchors is autonomy so I appreciate how recognizing when an autonomous
decision should be made is important when you are in a leadership position. I have made these types of
decisions in the past, sometimes with success, sometimes I have been burned. In the case of this story
and the battle that occurred, an autonomous decision certainly directly effected the outcome of this
battle.

Finally this chapter took a look at what must be done when thrown into a leadership position with little
warning. It brought to light the importance of knowing how to learn and gave some sound advice.

1/5/2011