When I think about leaders with heart, it’s someone who’s confident in themselves, but also really interested in growing the people around them. They want to coach their people and provide access and open up spaces for growth.
Today on the show, our guest is one of my great friends, Scott McCarthy.
Scott McCarthy’s Full BIO
Scott’s leadership journey began when he was young and had the drive to take control of everything that needed to be planned. Transferring these skills to the Canadian Army, Scott enrolled as a Logistics Officer in 2001 when he was selected to attend Canada’s prestigious Royal Military College of Canada.
At the age of 24, Scott commanded an Army transport platoon comprising of over 80 soldiers. At 33, he was selected to command a Logistics Squadron of 200 members. However, his experience goes beyond commanding.
In 2009, Scott deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan where was selected to help train, mentor, and coach members of the Afghan National Army.
Scott believes that everyone needs leadership skills. As a leader, he believes that delegation is a force multiplier, that teamwork is the centerpiece of all organizations, and that leaders have an obligation to leave a legacy which outlasts them.
In this episode, he shares tips on how to be a more effective leader, the importance of communication in an organization, building deep connections, and a lot more.
Click the play button below to listen to the episode!
What Motivates You To Be The Type of Leader That You Are?
There’s one question that goes through Scott’s mind every day, and it’s “How can I make my people’s lives better?” Ultimately, that’s what he’s gearing towards because the reason why he gets things get done is because of them.
They’re the ones who achieve results at the ground level. Granted I give them the strategic vision, I empower them and all that jazz…the better I can make their lives, the easier work gets for them, the more they can achieve, and the better we, as a unit, operate.
Delegate, Delegate, Delegate
Scott’s leadership style involves a lot of delegation.
Give your vision, your intent, and empower your subordinates to achieve the results, and not by telling them how to do it. Share on X The biggest thing that will either make or break an organization is #communication. Share on XI was talking to one of my captains and he looks at me one day and goes, “You know boss, you didn’t give me enough rope to hang myself with.” I looked at him weirdly and I went, “What?”
He goes, “You gave me enough rope to go bungee jumping with.”
My whole style is I don’t want to do anything. What I mean is, I delegate as much as I possibly can.
I tell my guys, if the boss doesn’t need to know or do anything about it, I don’t care.
I’m all about delegation, pushing as much as I possibly can down to my troop commanders and telling them to delegate as much as they can, so basically the lowest level has the ability to make decisions on the fly.”
A Leader’s Actions and Inactions Have Consequences
Before he got his platoon, he only had one guy working for him. Long story short, he needed to communicate something to his boss at the time, but for whatever reason, it just never happened.
We need to make sure that we are continually communicating as an organization so that our people, in the end, don’t suffer. Share on X Spend the first 30 mins of every workday walking around, talking to people, creating deeper relationships. #leadership Share on X Build your team and those deep connections so that they will be willing to go the extra mile. Share on XWhat happened was, the one guy that was working for me, we ended up having to take him off a career course to fill another job. That actually delayed his career for six months.
What I thought as a minor mistake at the time turned out to be pretty drastic and had an immediate impact to this guy.
Granted that he got back on track six months down the road, but once it all came to light, I realized that my actions have direct impact on people’s lives. It solidified the whole need for constant and clear communication within an organization so deep in me.
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