Many years ago, a store manager offered me some of his "books" about management. They were little four-inch by three-inch staple-bound pamphlets. There were called something like Horse Sense or some such, but there were pretty cool to read back then - and the big boss was offering wisdom. Short anecdotes, long before our attention spans had dropped as far as today, made for quick learning. He also seemed to have left random paperclips in some of the books. And, that is where I started with a story about General Washington, a corporal, and a cart. I'll never forget it.
I've since found those books on Amazon. They're proper title is: Bits and Pieces: A Monthly Mixture of Horse Sense and Common Sense About Working People. I found them to be quite good early in my career.
The story, and it was the first one I read, went something like this. It is, apparently, quite famous now on the web, but then there was no web back then. General Washington went for a walk among the troops one cold evening at Valley Forge where he encountered a problem. A group of soldiers were working furiously to free a cart that was stuck in the mud, or had slipped off the path, either of which is acceptable here as it makes to difference to the story. Standing nearby was a Corporal barking orders at the team of soldiers as they pushed, slipped, fell in the mud, and got up again to continue pushing, but to no avail. These were truly depleted soldiers. Winter at Valley Forge at that time was quite harsh, they were under-supplied, to put it mildly, and their strength was not what it ought to have been. Their spirits were near breaking as the Continental Army had been successful so far in the campaign.
The Corporal continued barking orders as Washington approached. The General, not riding his horse and thus not quite as recognizable as usual, moved through the winter mist and joined the group of soldiers to begin pushing with them. The added force made the difference and the cart broke free. With the cart un-mired the soldiers continued on with their efforts. General Washington turned to the Corporal.
"Why didn't you help?" he aksed.
"Because I am the Corporal," came the reply. Washington moved ever closer so as to become easily recognizable.
"Well next time you need help, call me, because I am just a General," he said before moving on with his walk.
Did it happen? Probably in some form or another, and it may not have been such a well-known persona as Washington. But that is of no matter now. What does matter is the effective use of labor, effective management, and knowing when taking direct action is more meaningful to the mission than status.
Not long ago there were times that I might arrive an incident a bit later, and my team could count on something. I was not there to take over, unless that was needed. Otherwise, I would pitch in appropriately. Sometimes it was just to keep other organizational leaders at away while those best qualified - my team - dealt with the problem. It's all about training and learning. You did not hire them to fawn over you, you hired them to succeed, to solve problems, to mitigate crisis, and most importantly to take the best possible action in the absence of direction. To become leaders.
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