Becky Halstead has had a historic profession: A 1981 graduate of the US Navy Academy, she was the primary feminine graduate of West Level to be promoted to common officer. She was the senior commanding common (equal to CEO) for logistics in Iraq and was the primary feminine in U.S. historical past to command in fight on the strategic stage. Halstead was accountable for main over 200 multi‐disciplined models (20,000 army and 5,000 civilians) positioned throughout 55 totally different bases, offering provide, upkeep, transportation and distribution help to over 250,000 personnel serving in Iraq.
Reaching these milestones isn’t simply the work of mastery-level management; it additionally depends on the rigor of setting—and sticking to—your targets. Halstead will likely be one of many audio system on the subsequent Ladies Chief’s Join masterclass occasion diving deeper into this matter (be part of us!). She spoke with us forward of the occasion to present some perception into how she approaches goal-setting in a high-stakes atmosphere, easy methods to have follow-through and greatest practices for serving to your workforce step as much as the plate.
The next Q&A has been trimmed and edited for size and readability.
You’ve led tens of hundreds of individuals in high-stakes environments. How did you first develop your personal self-discipline round setting and attaining targets?
The only supply of my success in setting and attaining targets is I’ve at all times written them down. I’ve at all times reviewed them. I’ve at all times tried to ask myself, “Do they make sense? Can I actually obtain it?” I need it to be lofty, I don’t need it to be simple, nevertheless it must be measurable not directly. After which setting the aim pushes me to set a better aim.
I additionally share them. That’s a important piece as a result of while you inform somebody your aim, the fantastic thing about that’s they assist maintain you accountable for it. Accountability is a fairly large piece of aim setting.
How do you stability the necessity for these bold long-term targets with the truth of short-term constraints and sudden challenges?
It’s really easy to get caught up within the short-term and not likely put a foot or a thought into the long run. However that’s not simply with aim setting. That’s with all the things we do. I used to be in fight for a 12 months in Iraq, and so we have been having operations which might be taking place each single day.
I needed to inform myself to place one foot into the long-term mission. As a result of higher planning out the longer term—setting the aim, defining the mission, resourcing the aim, coaching individuals to perform that aim—permits the current to go off a lot better.
What I did myself is I had a circle of leaders that I put accountable for my future operations. Future targets for our mission in fight. Now fight’s long-term is 96 hours. But when two days go by and I haven’t walked all the way down to your workplace, you higher have the intestinal fortitude to come back up, get me and make me go down there. The power to concentrate to short-term and long-term, you don’t need to rely on simply your self. As a result of in the event you rely on simply your self, you’re going to be mired within the short-term, the current.
The opposite magnificence to that’s that once we’re considering out [into the future] or I’m listening to what my leaders are telling me that they’re serious about, I may give steerage now that can assist them within the improvement of that subsequent mission.
In any other case, what occurs is that they’re over right here, they’re going 100 miles an hour engaged on one thing that they know we have to do in 30 days. Then I’ll stroll in on the twenty ninth day and go, “I don’t know the place you bought that concept, however that’s not going to fly. Begin over.” Now you’re scrambling to get all completed.
How have you learnt when it’s time to readjust versus simply pushing by setbacks that you could be face?
You probably have any inclination that you might want to readjust, hearken to your intestine. I feel lots of people know that they should readjust they usually ignore it as a result of they’ve a plan. They’ve labored on a plan, they usually simply don’t need to do extra work and alter it. So, they persist with the plan that their intestine instructed them might be not going to work.
The explanation why we readjust is often as a result of we’ve extra info, we’ve extra information, we’ve extra information. Somebody has come and knowledgeable us of one thing we didn’t even know. And lots of people don’t like to alter their choices as a result of they suppose as a frontrunner, if they alter their determination that they appear weak. Nicely, I’d moderately any person thinks I look weak than for me to stay with the choice that could be a dangerous one.
What function does communication play in all of this?
It’s an enormous function. Within the military, we don’t need the tail wagging the canine—the place I’ve made some determination, however then no person knowledgeable anyone. It destroys the perspective and the mentality of the workforce.
For communication, if I’m making a call, if I’m altering my thoughts, if I’m placing out my intent, the very first thing I at all times ask myself is, who else must know? After which, and never only for me, however I’ll ask my workforce, who else must know this? And we’ve to intentionally do this. If we do, we’ve loads higher likelihood of speaking what’s happening extra precisely to all the suitable individuals.
However there’s so many types of communication. In order that’s verbal. We abuse communication with electronic mail. “Oh, properly, let me cowl my butt. Let’s simply put everyone on the e-mail. After which that method no person can say they didn’t know.” I’m very against that. If I write an electronic mail, primary, earlier than I ship it, I learn it and I ask myself, how would I obtain it? As a result of there are occasions, particularly in chaotic instances, fast-changing instances, once we simply blurt issues out and we’re not serious about the way it’s obtained on the opposite finish.
Lots of people, as a result of I used to be the highest chief in a company, they might always copy furnish me, after which they may say, “Nicely, I let the boss know.” I’d inform my individuals if I’m copy furnished, I don’t even learn it. When you really need me to learn it, you need me to be in concerned, you higher put me on the “to” line.
The place I labored, I received a number of briefings, PowerPoint by the hundreds of slides. And I instructed my people, in the event you’re going to present me a PowerPoint presentation, then on each single slide, I need to know who created the slide and when did they create it? And in the event that they used one other useful resource, both an individual or a written useful resource, I need that down there too. If I’ve a chart that has your identify on it, the place you’re employed, your telephone quantity, if I’ve received some form of query, I can simply decide up the telephone and name you and say, “You already know, I’m taking a more in-depth take a look at this, and I simply don’t perceive the info that you simply’re presenting. Like, why is that vital to me?” And it cuts out all these different 12 individuals going to get the reply once I can come on to you.
On this time of accelerating unpredictability for enterprise, what recommendation would you give to leaders attempting to navigate fixed change?
First, embrace the idea of change with a constructive perspective and don’t be that chief that must be dragged reluctantly alongside. Change requires a mindset of considering in a different way after which trusting the variations. Navigating change additionally requires leaders to actually hear laborious and create an atmosphere the place collegial dialogue isn’t solely allowed, it’s strongly inspired. Lastly, leaders could be properly served to take notes whereas listening. Certainly one of my most vital, important and efficient practices as a frontrunner has been conserving a frontrunner pocket book. Doing so has allowed me to trace actions, maintain a file of individuals and locations and tasks, and plenty of instances to be a instrument for reflection and creativity.
What do you see as the commonest mistake that leaders make when setting targets for themselves and for his or her groups?
Once you’re doing aim setting, put somebody accountable for it. We name that major effort, put a lead for the principle effort. Then if you’re the lead, you’re going to need to establish who’s the supporting effort to you. Who’re your go-to individuals. As a result of nobody particular person can do all of it.
And I already instructed you, write it down. The widespread mistake is individuals don’t even write it down. When it’s written down, go across the room and have individuals say again to you, what are the targets we simply set? As a result of It’s wonderful the way you set a aim, however they heard it in a different way they usually’re on one other path.
We’ve instruments within the army that we name the again temporary and the affirmation temporary. And so that’s once we put one thing on the market, individuals come again and say, “Right here’s what I heard you say, Basic.” After which I might say, “Oh, no, that’s not what I stated.”
Put timeframes on all the things. You’ll be able to alter off the timeframe, and it shouldn’t simply be me, the chief, the CEO, that places a timeframe on one thing. If I put you accountable for one thing because the lead, I’m going to say to you, “I would like this by the fifteenth of October. Do you suppose that’s potential?” It’s important to be able to know whether or not or not you suppose it’s or it isn’t. After which we’ve to trace it, and also you don’t wait till 14 October to say it wasn’t sufficient time.
It’s so typically we make a aim, and we shoot it on the market and we overlook. We name it hearth and overlook. And then you definately’re simply by no means going to satisfy these targets.
Do you could have particular practices or routines that you simply use that will help you keep that accountability and comply with by?
I’m a giant believer in spreadsheets. Once I did aim setting in fight, for the unit, I might put a aim on one web page after which I might lay out all this stuff I’m telling you: We’ve to plan, put together, useful resource, practice. The timeline could be on there, we might put price to it, how a lot is it going to be? And I had these one pager Excel and PowerPoint charts that I might take a look at one web page and have a extremely good thought of the place they wanted my assist. Can we really meet this aim? Do we have to readjust it?
I’ve had each Steno pad since 1977. And I set my Steno pad up in a really organized method. It retains me centered, helps me keep in mind who I assigned one thing to. Once I was in Iraq, I had 20,000 army working for me and 5,000 civilians. There’s no method I can keep in mind everyone and all the things. So, my pocket book helped. My one pager helped. After which once more, I’m a giant Excel sheet particular person, as a result of you possibly can search a number of information in a short time to do readjustments of targets or talk them too, observe them.
You’ve had a number of historic milestones in your profession: the primary feminine graduate of West Level to change into common officer and the primary feminine in U.S. historical past to command and fight on the strategic stage. How did aim setting and resilience play into these achievements for you?
I feel resilience performs a giant piece as a result of it’s really easy to need to stop while you get drained. And so, I’ll return to my spreadsheets. I’ve what I name private battle rhythm. And inside that spreadsheet, I’ll do one web page for 30 days. For me to maintain up a battle rhythm, to be resilient and maintain going, right here’s all of the bodily issues that I must do, the psychological issues and the non secular issues.
Now, I may not need to do them each day, however in a 30-day interval, I higher be doing them each infrequently. I feel that main is oscillating. You surge for one factor, and then you definately relaxation and get better after which come again up. It’s like a coronary heart fee; it’s a rhythm. It’s not only a flat line; [not] “simply do all the things.” That’s how I’ve maintained, for probably the most half, my resiliency as a result of I do know that I’ve to do issues bodily to maintain my vitality stage up, to remain wholesome.
After which in fact, mentally and spiritually, there are issues you might want to do to maintain your thoughts energetic and your perspective straight. I bodily write out what these issues are.
