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Erwin Rommel - Lessons for Leadership and Management in the 21st Century

22-01-2010

ERWIN ROMMEL – LESSONS FOR LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Erwin Rommel was one of the most widely-recognised exemplars of military leadership of the 21st century. His visual image is compelling; the purposeful steely-eyed stare, the classic leather or desert khaki coat, the scarf, the peaked cap adorned with armoured corps goggles.

Stories of his personal bravery are legend. Before World War 1 he eschewed the opportunity for membership of the German General Staff to remain with his infantry unit.

During action in the mountains of Italy during World War 1 he personally led a machine gun battalion mounted on a bicycle! Dramatic progress over horrendous terrain followed. His progress was only halted by the lack of facilities to house the thousands of Italian POW’s who were taken as a result of his antics.

The treaty of Versailles after World War 1 attempted to limit post war German military expansion, but the key element of army administration (the General Staff) formed again in secret. Plans for the resurrection of the German Army machine were hatched. Once again, Rommel stayed in an operational and training role during this time.

Since 1809, Germany had stolen the march on the rest of the world in terms of military “management”. General Helmuth von Moltke developed a new approach to the way that the army was organised. This was prompted by his review of the way the Prussian Army had performed in previous campaigns.

In previous centuries the Commander-in-Chief of the military was the emperor or king of the particular state. Senior commanders were chosen as a function of their membership of the ruling families. This was effective only where these people had some military nous, a random process at best. Bravery in combat was another valued attribute.

General von Moltke saw other possibilities. His plan was centered on a group of professional military officers (who had full time careers in the military) – the so-called General Staff. Selection was based on personal as well as academic criteria. Those selected were trained in military academies, and there was a new approach. These people were schooled in the “big picture” of military operations. They were made aware of the vast administrative tasks necessary to put an army quickly and effectively into the field. An army has to be trained, transported, fed, watered, treated for injuries and there needs to be effective communication between various elements. For all this to happen there needs to be an appreciation of the interface between the civilian world and the military eg. the Prussian railway system was designed so that troops could be transferred to various likely areas of conflict, as well as being an effective means of civilian transport.

Those working in general staff roles also spent large amounts of time working on so-called “scenarios”. This involved assessing likely areas of future conflict and planning in detail for them. Logistic and operational solutions were developed. These were then documented in fine-grained detail. If such a scenario arose, these documents then became “orders”. They merely needed to be dated and signed.

Young officers trained in this system spent time in general staff duties as well as serving with operational units. The spin-off was that von Moltke had confidence in officers in operational areas to take advantage of opportunities, without prior approval of HQ (in those days a time consuming process). These men were also put in key advisory roles with local commanders, who were sometimes the last remnants of the old hereditary system of command.

Fast forward to World War 11. Rommel’s World War 1 record of bravery and audacity had served him well. He was put in command of Hitler’s personal protection unit and as such became a favourite of the “Fuhrer”. He asked for, and was given, command of an armoured (tank) division. It took him only months to develop an appreciation of armoured tactics. The fast-paced action of this warfare matched his style perfectly. His personal presence at key points of action was his trademark. He was very visible, dressed in his own rakish style. Possessing what his men saw as a “6th sense” about warfare, he would arrive at a problem scene and personally supervise the solution.

He drove daringly across France in a matter of weeks, with no regard for his flanks, using surprise and speed to overwhelm an unsuspecting enemy. This was done despite his tanks being heavily outgunned and outnumbered by the French tanks.

His deeds in North Africa, in charge of the Afrika Corps were similar in their audacity. However, when he was criticized it was for his tendency to move faster than the backup required from the basic logistics. He often defied orders from above if he sensed an opportunity for rapid success. So much so that the German High Command on occasion sent more senior officers to “rein him in”.

That said, his reputation for humanity to POW’s and fairness was a constant. Later in the war he was involved in a conspiracy to remove Hitler, further evidence of his moral fortitude. As a result of this he was offered two options by the German authorities. The first was to go through a formal trial procedure which would have had negative repercussions for his family. The second option was for him to suicide and then be buried with full military honours, with appropriate compensation for his family. He chose the latter.

Rommel’s early successes in Africa were eventually thwarted by the length of the supply lines needed to support his military ability. When this reality struck, he supervised one of the most effective withdrawal actions in military history. In Montgomery he had a foe whose appreciation of the importance of logistic support and careful preparation eventually won the day.

Rommel typifies the image we have of a brave, audacious leader capable of incisive (and often successful) decision making. However, he was never part of the general staff in his earlier years. His focus was the operational aspects of warfare and it seems he was as good as anybody before or since at these.

One of the major factors in Germany’s dramatic earlier successes in World War 11 was their innovative management of warfare. Without the strategic detail and backup the bravery of a leader is stymied.

In business it is the same. The major long-term success stories in business are usually based on innovations in management. The successful companies in the current climate will be those which rely less on charismatic leaders and more on tapping into the intellectual potential of all of their people. They are the human equivalent of the wartime supply lines. What they supply is ideas. These are the munitions, food and water necessary for success in an increasingly changing and competitive business world.

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