Scott Shaw – Counseling, Connecting, and Balancing Family

Former commander of the Asymmetric Warfare Group, Colonel Scott Shaw, shares his lessons from over 20 years in the Infantry. We get into counseling, connecting with Soldiers, team-building, and how to be a successful Army leader while still giving your family your best.

Colonel Shaw is also the author of the longest guest post on The Military Leader, a sizable summary of lessons he learned while commanding 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry at Fort Stewart, GA. Be sure to check out 2 Years of Lessons from Battalion Command after this interview.

Thanks for listening and enjoy!

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Posted on Wednesday, December 13, 2017

I ,Too, Was Afraid to Do Counseling

by Colonel (Retired) Rob Campbell

Wait, did I just accuse you of being afraid? After all, we are leaders who face grave danger in training and combat aren’t we? If it is not fear, then how do we explain why our people are not being counseled? Some might see it differently, but I argue that too many of us have either never experienced counseling or been counseled only a few times in our careers. In a career spanning 27 years, I could count on one hand the number of times I was counseled effectively, meaning my boss invested time working with me to identify the obstacles standing in the way of my growth and advancement.

Colonel (Retired) Rob Campbell speaks to troops while in command of 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division. Rob recently published the leadership book, It’s Personal, Not Personnel: Leadership Lessons for the Battlefield and the Boardroom.

Posted on Thursday, June 26, 2014

12 Tips for Effectively Counseling Your Subordinates

Counseling your team is a lot like creating a leader development program…if you overthink it, it’ll never get done. Plenty of leaders groan when we talk about counseling and typically cite any of the following reasons for not getting it done:

“It takes so much time to counsel everyone each month.”
“I give plenty of feedback in meetings and other times.”
“My people already know where they stand.”
“We have more pressing priorities than counseling. You know we’re deploying, right?”

Counseling

But most often, leaders don’t counsel because they’re uncomfortable with giving direct feedback. They also have difficulty telling subordinates that they’re doing an average job (it’s the best and the worst performers that are the easiest to give feedback to).

Leaders have to overcome these objections.

Posted on Saturday, March 18, 2023

The 16 Laws of Communication

As a young leader, I was fortunate to discover two authors who set a lifelong foundation of influence for me as a leader: General Colin Powell and John C. Maxwell. I read My American Journey in high school, five years after General Powell led a 35-country coalition to victory in the Gulf War and mere months before my own leadership journey began as a cadet. Inspired by his real-world leadership lessons in and out of combat, I typed up four pages of quotes and carried them with me for years. I called My American Journey my leadership bible.

John C. Maxwell, who I came across a few years later, perfectly complemented Powell’s influence in my life. In case you haven’t read his books yet, John Maxwell is the #1 bestselling leadership author of all time. His most popular work is The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. He writes in stories and simple principles and his books perfectly weave together insight, inspiration, humor, and conviction.

Simply put, John Maxwell is the Michael Jordan of leadership coaching. And his new book, The 16 Undeniable Laws of Communication, dives into the most important skill a leader can have.

Posted on Saturday, November 26, 2022

How to Build a Community of Leaders

As you continue to lead, your influence impacts more and more people. You look for opportunities to invest in them. Over the years, you may even build a community among those you mentor. They reach out to you when they approach significant career decisions. Maybe you share resources and thoughts with them through text, email, and on social media. You invest in them, but one at a time and in separate channels.

But…what if you had a way to bring them together? What if you had a way to build real community among those you lead?

Today, I want to share a leader development resource and offer some ideas about how you can build community for those you lead, whether that group is a part of a military unit, a business, or a distant group of leaders you have inspired in the past.

Airmen join in a group huddle at the conclusion of the Police Week Memorial 5K Ruck March at Yokota Air Base, Japan, May 15, 2017. The airmen are assigned to the 374th Security Forces Squadron. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Donald Hudson.

The Military Leader Podcast

Conversations with today's most successful leaders

If you’re like me, you value meaningful conversations about leadership but never have enough time for them. Or perhaps you don’t know where to look. Or don’t have an experienced mentor to coach you.

Well, I’ve reached out to some of the most successful and influential leaders I know, with the goal of bringing you conversations about leadership that you can use to grow yourself and your team. If you don’t have a consistent leader development program, I invite you to start with The Military Leader.

Season 3

Episode 2:
Colonel Bob O’Brien
The Army Command Assessment Program

Episode 1:
Major General Curt Taylor
Training for the Changing Character of War

Season 2

Episode 6:
Major General JP McGee
The Present & Future of Army Talent Management

Episode 5:
Michael Bungay Stanier
Leading with Curiosity

Episode 4:
Noble Gibbens
How to Lead with Emotional Intelligence

Episode 3:
Colonel Greg Gadson
A Warrior Living Beyond the Wounds

Episode 2:
Captain Florent Groberg
Immigrant, Soldier, Medal of Honor Recipient

Episode 1:
Major General Jeffrey Broadwater
Giver, Trainer, Leader

Season 1

Episode 1:
General Robert Brown
Authentic Leadership, Training for Combat, & Coach K

Episode 2:
Steve Leonard
The Story of Doctrine Man & Leading with Perspective

Episode 3:
Colonel Scott Shaw
Counseling, Connecting, & Balancing Family

Episode 4:
Brigadier General Ross Coffman
Loving Soldiers is Making Them Ready for Combat

Episode 5:
Lieutenant Colonel Adisa King
Shut Up and Listen!

Episode 6:
Brigadier General Marty Schweitzer
Mentorship is Everything!

Episode 7:
Colonel Eric Lopez
Creating a Vision Everyone Will Follow

Episode 8:
Command Sergeant Major Scott Schroeder
Rediscovering the Role of the NCO

Episode 9:
Lieutenant Colonel Matt Hardman
What It Takes to Be Ready

Episode 10:
Dave Grossman
Killing, PTSD, & the Physiological Effects of Combat

Posted on Thursday, August 10, 2017

2 Years of Lessons from Battalion Command

by Scott Shaw - "Cottonbaler 6"

Good leaders are always learning. But legacy only happens when good leaders also take the time to share those lessons with the profession. Lieutenant Colonel Scott Shaw is a great leader, and has selflessly compiled this substantial collection of tips, templates, warnings, and insights to help other leaders succeed in their own leadership opportunities, command or otherwise. He deserves much credit for authoring this incredibly helpful post, but (as he states) the Cottonbaler leaders and Soldiers deserve the real acclaim for creating the experience that led to it.

And…when you’re done with this article, jump over to The Military Leader Podcast and hear Scott give the in-person account of his time in command.

LTC Scott Shaw and the “Cottonbalers” of 3-7 Infantry at Fort Stewart, Georgia in January 2015, following his assumption of command.

Posted on Sunday, March 19, 2017

Picking Which Ball to Drop

by Harlan Kefalas

As the saying goes, when everything is a priority, nothing is. In a system that heaps requirements and tasks on subordinate units, leaders routinely struggle to reach 100% compliance. Though some try, leaders cannot do it all themselves. They must prioritize tasks and delegate work to subordinates. But what tasks are appropriate to delegate? Which ball drops when there are conflicting priorities? It would be helpful to have a framework to sort it all out.

The Soldiers are assigned to the Fort Bragg Warrior Transition Battalion who completed training for Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certification. U.S. Army Forces Command and U.S. Army Reserve Command partnered to provide the training to the Soldiers over several weeks in March and April 2012. Photo by Bob Harrison, FORSCOM Public Affairs.