West Point and Leadership

A scene from the movie “Top Gun: Maverick”.

“Don’t tell me. Tell it to his family (With that explanation, would the families of the lost be satisfied?)”

These are the words posed by Maverick, played by Tom Cruise, an instructor, when a simulation resulted in a wingman being shot down due to a pilot’s judgment error during flight training for Top Gun pilots.

When I saw this scene, I was reminded of a story I heard at West Point (the United States Military Academy in New York) when learning about leadership from an officer who had just returned from the front lines.

For this officer, who led a unit of the U.S. Army, a wrong decision in operational execution not only meant the failure of the mission but also exposed his subordinates to the risk of losing their lives. The question posed in the movie becomes a stark reality for him.

At the time, I was grappling with how to manage myself in the face of the responsibilities and pressures demanded of me as a leader in a corporate organization. Hearing from this officer made me realize how trivial my own concerns were in comparison.

In my case, even if I couldn’t fulfill my responsibilities as a leader, at worst, I would only lose my job. I wouldn’t lead colleagues or team members to their “deaths”, nor would I inflict significant emotional or financial harm on their families.

Looking back, the lessons I learned at West Point were a breakthrough for me in terms of mental strength as a leader.

“How to increase the pool of potential leaders” is one of the essential challenges for a company to achieve sustainable growth. Merely progressing linearly from a managerial position doesn’t necessarily lead one to become a leader. There’s a significant discontinuous gap, and a “leap” or jump is required.

Cultivating leaders requires continuous investment in corporate management. It’s crucial to have a long-term perspective and provide potential leaders with various training opportunities, as well as intentional challenging job experiences known as stretch assignments.