How do you lead when you don’t know all the facts? That’s a question that Don Vandergriff and George Reed explore in a thought-provoking article “Old Dogs and New Tricks: Setting the Tone for Adaptability,” published in Army Magazine . The authors, both retired Army officers, discuss the challenges the Army is facing as it continues being a command-centric organization engaged in a world and in battlefields that demands on-the-spot thinking, reacting and action all in split second time.

The article opens with a metaphor that former Chief of Staff, General Pete Schoomaker, used in describing the Army’s transformation as a cattle drive that was less about destination and more about the journey. Cowboys moving from the high country of Wyoming to the flat lands of Kansas knew they were moving southeast, but they did not know what or whom they would encounter on the trek. The landscape and stars pointed them in the right direction; experience held them together. Along the way, the cowboys, led by the savvy trail boss, dealt with the unexpected – weather, topography, and thieving poachers.

The issue of adaptability that Vandergriff and Reed explore for the Army has relevance to the corporate world. True enough desk jockeys are not seeking to outwit fundamentalist militants. But they learn soon enough that plans provide directions; leaders provide guidance. Thinking ahead as well as dealing with the unknown is part of the everyday reality. And so it is useful to explore ways of dealing with the unknown so that when the unexpected occurs, you will not be caught unawares.

“Reliance… on technically rational approaches will not suffice in the future,” write Vandergriff and Reed. “Instead of creating longer lists of false independent variables – knowledge, skills and attributes – that leaders must master… it may be better to address essential values and attributes such as fast learning, adaptability, and ethical reasoning.” Well put, and worthy of exploration point by point.

Learn fast. Preparation for change begins in the mind. You must think about what is coming next. Education conditions the mind to learning as does exposure to new and different challenges. Grooming leaders by having them work cross-functionally is valuable. Having them think and react in real time to situations that are new and different. In our global world, speed often becomes the operative factor in decision-making.

Adapt always. Change is part of business; adapt or die may be a cliché but it is reality. While change for change sake is churn, adaptability dictates observation first, flexibility always, and fundamental change third. Sometimes you change a process or a person, but not the whole system. Adaptability is more of a mindset that keeps the minds, people and the organization nimble. Comfort comes from a sense of preparation rather than a sense of status quo.

Reason ethically. Speed in the form of expediency may be tempting especially when everything seems to be falling down around you. However, the quick way out may end up costing more damage in terms of lost revenue, employees and reputation. By thinking ethically, that is, what is good for our stakeholders – employees, customers, vendors and investors – orients you to reality. Will there be trade-offs? Absolutely. Investors may advocate job cuts; customers may want more investment in product. Employees want job security. Finding the right balance is not easy, but ethical reasoning can point the leader in the right direction. Better it can allow the leader to make choices while painful in the short-term may be beneficial in the long run.

“The Army,” the authors write, “must be prepared to support, encourage, and reinforce adaptability.” So, too, must corporate leaders. The ability to change on a dime when necessary is vital to a company’s ability to meet evolving consumer expectations as well as unexpected changes in the economy and the geopolitical landscape.

But as much as we must embrace change, leaders need to hold firm to their values. The Army has its credo – duty, honor, service. Each company has its mantra, but so too do leaders. What matters is holding firm to your values but running forward, or standing firm, when the situation demands.

Adaptability does not always demand movement. Sometimes you hold your position. Knowing when and if to hold or move is essential to leadership, too. That comes with experience as well as with the support of an organization that prepares people to think on their feet and make decisions that matter. Dealing with you what you don’t know is unsettling and even frightening, but just like those old trail bosses heading out from Wyoming, judgment, experience and adaptability may help you ford the eddies and rivers ahead.

Source: Maj. Donald E. Vandergriff (USA retired) and Col. George Reed (USA retired) “Old Dogs and New Tricks: Setting the Tone for Adaptability” Army Magazine August 2007

[For more on this topic see Don Vandergriff’s newest book, Raising the Bar: Creating and Nurturing Adaptive Leaders to Deal with the Changing Face of War Washington, DC: Center for Defense Information Press 2007.]

Note: This column was first published on FastCompany.com on August 17, 2007

On the day after Thanksgiving 2008, StoryCorps sponsored a National Day of Listening. Friends and families were encouraged to sit down with loved ones and tell their stories. “StoryCorps,” according to its website, “is an independent nonprofit project whose mission is to honor and celebrate one another’s lives through listening.”

For several years, StoryCorps has been running stories of everyday people on National Public Radio, and in the process has evoked memories of people coping and celebrating the challenges and joys that life presents.

While StoryCorps is focused on personal stories, it teaches us key lessons that leaders can practice.

One, listen to one another. StoryCorps invites relatives as well as close friends to venture into their special recording booths to tell their stories via personal interviews. Leaders need no booths or recording devices. They simply need time. And time is what few leaders have, but savvy ones realize that if they can carve out time for their people, dividends in the form of information and insight are valuable. Surveys and polls cannot share the up-close and personal views that individuals carry with them. Listening in can open the leader’s ears to what is happening as well as what is not happening.

Two, share your experience. StoryCorps interviewees become interpreters of unique experiences, such as coping with loss, raising a child, caring for an elderly person, or helping a neighbor. A bond between interviewer and interviewee is shared by radio listeners. The same can occur, but much more directly, when leaders sit down and converse with their people. Genuine leaders are those who can make their listeners feel as if they are the only people in the room. That creates a foundation of trust that is essential to getting things done right, especially in tough times.

There is a third lesson, as evidenced by the vast collection of stories gathered by StoryCorps: all of us have a story to tell. Leaders need to spread the stories of their people as a means of creating meaning as well as purpose to their organization. These stories come in all flavors. Celebrate the good things that employees do for customers. Most often this comes through in customer service people going the extra mile for their customers. But they also come in the stories of volunteerism. So many organizations encourage their people to participate in community service programs, even on company time. The best way to encourage such participation is to allow people to share their stories through the corporate website. Do it via podcast or simple videos, or simple newsletter items.

Stories, as StoryCorps reminds us, are acts of sharing that enables others to gain insight into your own personal experience. Leaders who spread stories are encouraging the practice of learning in ways that extend behind words to create experiences reinforce organizational culture and purpose.

Never let them see you sweat is an oft-quoted show business adage. The statement refers to making things look easy. Whether you are a comedian telling a funny story, a juggler tossing flaming swords, or an actor delivering a Shakespearean soliloquy you want the audience to be absorbed in the action not in what the performer is doing.

The opposite may be true, at least some of the time, for leaders. You want people to see you sweat, or more accurately put in the time or doing some heavy lifting. This demonstrates that you are with your folks, not above them. This is not an excuse to micromanage or do peoples’ jobs for them. It refers to being one with your team. In my new book, Lead By Example, 50 Ways Great Leaders Inspire Results , I write about some of the ways leaders put their teams first:

Spread some confidence. People want to know the boss believes in them. So when people are doing a good job, it falls to the leader to acknowledge individual and team achievements. Such acknowledgements build confidence. At times, especially when times are tough, leaders need to lead the cheers and remind people of what they are capable of achieving.

Get out of the limelight. So often we consider leadership as a “me act.” In reality, leaders accomplish little by themselves. So rather than hog the credit for things gone right, shine the spotlight on those who have made good things happen.

Lighten up. Be real; sometimes work is work, even drudgery at times. Focusing on work is appropriate, but focusing attention on people who do the work may be more important when you want to accomplish ambitious goals that require long hours and close attention. When that happens, a savvy leaders will inject a change of pace. It could be as simple as springing for lunch, or as elaborate as staging an off-site retreat. Humor, too, works.

And while we’re addressing the revelation of character for a good cause, you also want to reveal something of yourself. You want people to see your heart; you want people to know that you care. This does not mean you must fraternize or socialize with your team, but it does mean you need to regard them as people. Some folks like it when you ask them how they are doing and how their family is.

Others want to keep their private lives just that – private. Leaders with heart are those that can discern the difference and act accordingly to the boundaries an individual employee sets. Regardless, you want to be present for your team, pitching in with the work, keeping in touch with individuals, and helping the team achieve its goals.

I don’t know if it is the recession with its relentless doses of bad news, but lately my wife and I have taken to watching occasional episodes of The Andy Griffith Show on the TV Land network. Watching the Andy and Barney with Opie and Aunt Bee takes me back to my childhood but also re-opens a window on an imaginary world where problems were simple and could be solved with patience, understanding, trust, and most of all love. Imaginary or not, Mayberry is a good place to visit when the rest of the world seems so foreboding.

The glue of the show is its star, Andy Griffith who modeled aspects of the series on his North Carolina roots. Small town life was depicted as quirky but gentle, problematic but solvable, and fun and especially caring. As Sheriff Andy Taylor, a widower with a young son, Griffith imbued the role with aspects of leadership character worthy of emulation.

Andy as lawman. Andy provided citizens of Mayberry protection from the outside world. He foiled bank robbers and bootleggers and even cow thieves. But when he wasn’t searching for lawbreakers he was serving as an example of how to uphold the law with an even hand, a cool temperament and a sense of humor. Leaders with power need to use it with discretion. Often you can accomplish more by demonstrating control rather than exerting it. That is, project authority and maintain sense of control by remaining cool and calm in the face of adversity.

Andy as friend. Andy was always someone friends could count on. He served as the voice of reason when citizenry got into trouble with each other. For example, Barney was the inveterate striver. Aunt Bee was the overly attentive caregiver. Floyd the barber was an inveterate gossip. Gomer was the honest but clueless gas station attendant. All found a welcome sounding board in Andy but few if any ever spared him their advice. Leaders must be patient and listen. They should always be open to feedback, even when they don’t want to hear it.

Andy as teacher. As Mayberry’s sheriff, Andy supervised his sole subordinate, Deputy Barney Fife. In show terms, Barney was comic relief but Andy always regarded his less than capable deputy as someone whom he could educate, much as he did to most citizens of Mayberry a time or two. Leaders who teach are those who have mastery over their subject and they show concern for others by a willingness to share such knowledge and experience with others.

Andy at leisure. Andy took work seriously but not himself. He loved to fish and take out erstwhile girlfriend Helen. He also played the guitar and sang. Work life balance was important to Andy and accounted for his healthy outlook. He had perspective. Good advice for any leader with a high pressure job; competing interests will all ask for time but unless the leader makes some time for himself he risks excessive fatigue and burnout.

Andy as father. Perhaps this what Andy did best, be a father to his young son, Opie. Though Andy was helpless in the kitchen, he was peerless when it came to letting “young ‘uns” discover how the world worked (at least in Mayberry) for themselves. Management is the process of enabling others to succeed; part of that enablement involves coaching: counseling, cajoling and challenging.

Andy was not perfect. His tolerance for Barney’s foibles would not pass muster on a real police force. He was old fashioned when it came to women’s rights though he did evolve after going out with Helen. And his easy-going nature sometimes got the better of him when outsiders sought advantage over him. Still he did his best to be a good example for his town and his family.

Mayberry is a fantasy of course. Filmed in the Sixties, the show avoided the race issues that were roiling the South and the nation. Only the light side of Southern life – hospitality, neighborliness, and good cheer – was portrayed.

For me, Sheriff Andy Taylor illuminates shades of leadership from which anyone in a leadership position can enjoy as well as learn from. Andy Taylor may not be real but his lessons are.