Do Nothing Change of Command

My classmate wrote something the other day I really liked. Nicole wrote about leaders who take command waiting to make any changes until after they have observed and processed what the current state of the dept or organization is. 

In the military, after a change of command, the first thing the new leader is supposed to do is do nothing. They are supposed to observe and process for several weeks and months before making any changes. During my time in the military, we had three new first sergeants come in and take charge of our company. 

This would be similar to a new VP or COO coming into an organization. Two of the three sat back silently and just watched. One didn't. The one with the greatest number of challenges and difficulties, the one who had the least success ultimately was the one who did not do nothing. 

I've tried to remember that throughout my career. I think the one thing that will stick with me most about this class was the essay on leadership by Haskins (2013) about whether or not leaders really matter. In that essay Haskins (2013) makes the argument that a team's processes and procedures are more significant to the health and success of a team than a leader. I think that this standard of do nothing plays into the theory that leaders don't matter that much. 

Reference

Haskins , C. (2013). Do teams' leaders really matter. In E. Salas, G. Latham, D. J. Cohen, & S. I. Tannenbaum (Eds.), Developing and enhancing teamwork in organizations: Evidence-based best practices and Guidelines (pp. 121–153). chapter, Jossey-Bass.