Posted on Nov 16, 2017
Can you be a great leader without technical expertise?
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I’ve seen different schools of thought here. Some say you just need to surround yourself with the right people, while others point out that the most effective leaders have strong technical ability to fully understand problems facing their team. Curious to hear everyone’s thoughts.
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Posted 7 y ago
Responses: 21
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It depends on your business, There are technical fields like engineering, if you don't have an engineering foundation you simply cannot lead, you can serve as a figurehead with a competent deputy, who makes your decisions for you, but you cannot transform an organization without a technical foundation related to that organization. This is true because as the leader you need to make the technical decisions as part of your leadership responsibility, IT, software coding, doctors, all the professional fields where you need to be sure you are right before you start. Problem is good technical without interpersonal will get you the job, but you'll fail miserably, and hate the job.
For most organizations interpersonal skills are far more important that technical skills, the Army is a good example of this type of organization, you don't need to be a technical expert you just need to instill enough confidence that people want to follow you. You still need to be competent, but do not need specific expertise.
Most importantly you need to be balanced, too much technical without interpersonal and you'll fail everywhere, only people skills with no technical competence and you'll also fail everywhere.
For most organizations interpersonal skills are far more important that technical skills, the Army is a good example of this type of organization, you don't need to be a technical expert you just need to instill enough confidence that people want to follow you. You still need to be competent, but do not need specific expertise.
Most importantly you need to be balanced, too much technical without interpersonal and you'll fail everywhere, only people skills with no technical competence and you'll also fail everywhere.
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CDR Dan Cunningham
MAJ (Join to see) - Good answer. A Tactical Action Officer on a Navy ship has to know more than any single expert on his watch team, and most normally know more than the Commanding Officer, because they're supposed to. That's why they have weapons release authority.
By the way, I've been at sea, submerged on German subs, and the average CO is a LT. I doubt one 'didn't know how to flush'.
By the way, I've been at sea, submerged on German subs, and the average CO is a LT. I doubt one 'didn't know how to flush'.
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MAJ (Join to see)
CDR Dan Cunningham - Wikipedia is great, there is a dedicated article to the sub U-1206 is the WWII German sub that took on water due to a "misuse of a new toilet" which cause a flood reaching the batteries, releasing chlorine gas, forcing the commander to surface which led to it's quick demise at the hands of the British. The commanding officer stated he was in the engine room at the time of the toilet flood. Heck of a way to loose four of your Sailors and an entire sub.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_submarine_U-1206
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_submarine_U-1206
German submarine U-1206 - Wikipedia
German submarine U-1206 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. She was laid down on 12 June 1943 at F. Schichau GmbH in Danzig and went into service on 16 March 1944 before sinking a year later, in April 1945. The boat's emblem was a white stork on a black shield with green beak and legs.[3]
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CPT Lawrence Cable
SFC Thomas Butler - I will tell you that when I was a rifle platoon leader, I qualified with every weapon in my platoon, made sure that the guys saw that I knew how to PMCS our vehicles (not hard, a Jeep or Humvee and a 2.5 ton) and that I had real licenses for both. I check, adjusted or corrected their sector of fire during the defense and made sure that they knew I could read a map and was reasonably proficient in the tactics being used. It helped that I had been enlisted and it certainly helped that I had a couple of very good platoon sergeants (and a couple that were just OK). It's my opinion that to earn the respect of the enlisted, they have to believe that you are technically and tactically proficient. Even as an Engineer Officer, I went to the trouble of licensing on every vehicle I had in the compound, so I drive anything from a Humvee to an AVLB. You don't know how it works, you can't inspect it. You don't inspect it, it doesn't get done.
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CDR Dan Cunningham
MAJ (Join to see) - Thanks for that article - wish I'd known about this when I attended the German War College. Anybody who's ever spent time on a warship has their share of CHT (aka sewage) stories.
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Capt Brandon Charters "Can you be a great leader without technical expertise?"
the question is not that simple, so the answer is, it depends.
At the lowest and mid levels, no, you can not, you can be a good leader, but not a great one if you do not understand the specifics , have the technical expertise of those you are trying to lead.
At the higher levels of leadership where planning, guidance, leadership is not in the weeds with "how to do it" yes you can be a great leader without the technical expertise of the systems, methods your units may be employing. You have SMEs that can provide insight, advise. You have lower level leaders that write the specifics of a particular part of a plan, guidance, or policy who have that technical expertise.
the question is not that simple, so the answer is, it depends.
At the lowest and mid levels, no, you can not, you can be a good leader, but not a great one if you do not understand the specifics , have the technical expertise of those you are trying to lead.
At the higher levels of leadership where planning, guidance, leadership is not in the weeds with "how to do it" yes you can be a great leader without the technical expertise of the systems, methods your units may be employing. You have SMEs that can provide insight, advise. You have lower level leaders that write the specifics of a particular part of a plan, guidance, or policy who have that technical expertise.
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SSG Carlos Madden
FM 22-100. "Be. Know. Do."
"6-29: ... In every organization there are certain skills in which all members must be proficient. Soldiers know what they are and expect their leaders to be able to perform them ... organizational leaders must identify and be proficient in those critical, direct-leader skills they need to assess tactical training and set the example."
In order to be a good leader you need to know what you're talking about. You must have a deep understanding about what you're asking of the people below you so you're able to make good, sound decisions and understand the risks involved in those decisions.
"6-29: ... In every organization there are certain skills in which all members must be proficient. Soldiers know what they are and expect their leaders to be able to perform them ... organizational leaders must identify and be proficient in those critical, direct-leader skills they need to assess tactical training and set the example."
In order to be a good leader you need to know what you're talking about. You must have a deep understanding about what you're asking of the people below you so you're able to make good, sound decisions and understand the risks involved in those decisions.
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In my opinion, I don't think you have to be technically sound to be a leader. Leadership is about giving your folks the best training and equipment possible, giving them expectations and holding them accountable for results. Building relationships with your folks letting them know they are the experts and you expect them to be the experts and get the job done. I do think it is important that you have a big picture understand and that they are required to ensure electricity flows through the lines but I don't think you need to know the grade of copper in the wires as long as the electricity is flowing. As a leader you don't need to know how to build a watch, you need your people to be able to tell you what time it is.
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SFC Thomas Butler
"Leadership is about giving your folks the best training and equipment possible, giving them expectations and holding them accountable for results". If you're not technically capable, how are you supposed to know what the best training is, how to prioritize it, or how to inspect it?
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Lt Col Scott Shuttleworth
SFC Thomas Butler - As a leader in a large organization with multiple specialties, you can't be the technical expert. Especially as a military leader. I expect my Air Traffic Controllers, load master, plumbers, dirt boys etc to get the technical training at tech schools that I don't and won't attend. I expect them to be a full up round when I get them. My job then is to take them to the next level by making sure they get to the advanced training, OJT from the senior guys above them who have moved up, and let them do their job. As a leader at the senior level I don't know what the best training is but I have always relied on my SNCO's who grew up in that field to tell me what they need to make these guys succeed and what training they need to advance. I inspect the final product....simple...was the mission a success and I leave the lower level inspections to the Senior technical personnel. My mantra was always that I have you to be the expert...if I have to jump in and learn your job and do mine as well then I don't need you. DOn't get me wrong...technical expertise helps but I don't think it is required. Prime example...I was put in a recruiting squadron as a commander. I couldn't even spell recruiting or had any idea of what it entailed but I led that squadron from last place in the nations in recruiting in one year to first place the next year and first place in diversity recruiting. I learned enough technical expertise to speak the language and made sure my SNCO's and recruiters had what they needed, when they needed it so they didn't have to sweat the small stuff.
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COL Vincent Stoneking
100% spot on.
There was an article in HBR (I think) recently arguing that leaders had to be technical experts in "their" domain(s) the other day. While I agree that it helps to have knowledge about the specific kind of organization that you are leading/managing (argument for another day: I don't think those two items are as different as commonly said. If you suck at one, you will likely not excel at the other.) What is missing from this analysis is that leading/managing IS its own domain.
There was an article in HBR (I think) recently arguing that leaders had to be technical experts in "their" domain(s) the other day. While I agree that it helps to have knowledge about the specific kind of organization that you are leading/managing (argument for another day: I don't think those two items are as different as commonly said. If you suck at one, you will likely not excel at the other.) What is missing from this analysis is that leading/managing IS its own domain.
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