Editor’s Note: Recently, General Carr re-submitted an opinion piece on military leadership that he had submitted to the Journal over a decade ago in response to Colonel Randall Wakelam’s excellent Autumn 2003 article (Vol. 4, No. 3) entitled Aerospace Power and Leadership Perspectives: The Human Dimension.
General Carr had a distinguished wartime record as a Spitfire reconnaissance pilot, and was decorated with the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) for his services. Later, that distinguished service became his hallmark as he progressed through the ranks to eventually become the first commander of Air Command in 1975. He was, and remains, well-placed to assess both effective and ineffective leadership traits. His wartime recollections of his squadron commander of the day, and those of a polar opposite, remain, in my opinion, just as valid today with respect to the fundamentals they represent as they did when General Carr origi-nally penned them many years ago. For our readers, the ‘shining example’ portrayed herein was the British Wing Commander Adrian Warburton, who would amass an illustrious career in his own right as a fearless, outstanding reconnaissance pilot. For his exceptional service and leadership by example, he would be awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) twice, the DFC three times, and an American DFC in the bargain. While General Carr’s article is ‘air’ situated, the principles of leadership he brings forward are universally applicable.
L
eadership is simply the ability to inspire others to achieve goals. The leader may establish the goals, but often the achievements of others are not in his/her hands. Yet, in the exercise of leadership, the leader perhaps manages how they are achieved.
This is an oversimplication of a complex process, and usually, the view of leadership by those being led is based upon many factors, not the least of which is peer pressure.
Humans need ‘recognition,’ and it is little different in peace or war. A person needs to be seen by his contemporaries as well as his superiors and subordinates to be carrying their fair share of the load. A member must feel that their contribution is what is expected of them and is up to the level of those around them involved in similar pursuits. For the warriors specifically, they need their fellow fighters to see that they too are a worthy comrade-in-arms.
In my 39 years of military service in peace and war, I saw good leaders and bad ones. The good ones inspired me. The bad ones confused and dispirited me. Indeed, some disgusted me.
I do not profess to have a profound understanding of leader-ship, but I do believe that certain factors identify what the elusive subject involves. And I am firmly of the belief that leaders are developed, not trained. Managers are trained.
by Lieutenant-General (ret’d) Bill Carr, CMM, DFC, CD
Spitfire PR XIX, serial number PS853, Rolls-Royce’s tribute aircraft, and perhaps the most elegant of the Spitfire line.
© John M. Dibbs
Some years ago, I was asked to state what I believed to be the mark of a good squadron com-mander. I put it in writing, and while at it, I also described a bad one that I had encountered. Upon review, I have a feeling that my thoughts on the matter might just still be valid.
I have been a member of 11 squadrons and commanded two of them, one in wartime and one in peacetime, but only one squadron commander of the nine I served and have known stands out as the ideal, because:
• He inspired people to fly to their limits (not his) and to achieve objectives with zeal even though they might get killed.
• He had courage and wisdom. His wisdom was demonstrated continuously by the manner in which he survived, and, if you listened to him, caused others to survive by making them think.
• He obviously was a superb pilot but he didn’t flaunt it, and he didn’t in all humility, think he was as good technically as many of the squad-ron members, and I don’t think he was…
• He demonstrated loyalty to his superiors and subordinates through being concerned about others, and not himself.
• He was sensitive to people, their foibles and their differences.
© IWM(ME(RAF) 7589)
Wing Commander Adrian Warburton when Officer Commanding 683 Squadron RAF at Luqa, Malta.
Bill Carr
Bill Carr as a wartime PR Spitfire pilot flying with Warburton out of Malta.
VIEWS AND OPINIONS
• He demanded, expected, and got the best you could give – and then thanked you.
• He did have charisma, but he was not aware of it.
• He was an innovator but tried the new idea himself, whether he invented it or not, before accepting it. If it worked, he thanked the originator in front of his peers.
If it did not, he thanked them privately and told them why it did not.
• He always put his service and his people before himself, except in the matters of women and swordsmanship…
• He was not outwardly ambitious, nor, do I think, inwardly selfishly ambitious.
• He fought for and got the best for his guys, and he knew all of us individually by our first names. We respected him as an airman, a commander, and as a man.
• He would not suffer fools, and he did not condone carelessness.
• He saved many ‘weak sister’s’ lives by identifying them at the outset and ‘booting’ them from the squadron and endorsing their flying logbooks accordingly.
• He had the marks of greatness in his appearance, his approach, his ‘hell-raising,’ his stamina, his common sense, and his moral guts.
• He failed to return from a mission over enemy territory in 1944, and his remains were not identified until 2002…
Another stands out as the worst I have known:
• He could fly better than anybody else, and he told us so.
• He was selfish and ingratiating to his superiors, and he blamed others for the squadron’s poor performance.
• He knew no one by their first name, and only a few by their last.
• He used the service and his people to further his per-sonal ambitions.
• He ‘sat on the fence’ with superiors until he decided the answer that they wanted – and then he gave it.
• He was class-conscious and would not mix or socialize with underlings.
• He would not test fly his own aircraft.
• He was a clock watcher, and, despite this, he was
‘Johnny-on-the-spot’ when the boss was around.
• He was morally dishonest. He might say one thing to a person’s face and the opposite behind his back.
• He never had an original thought, but pushed the ideas of others and gave no credit to the originator.
• I never heard him say thank you, even to the bartender…
• He retired many years ago as a wing commander, divorced, and his kids do not even know if he is still alive.
• He is not missed, but he is remembered…
Bill Carr
Excerpt from Bill Carr’s wartime flying log book. Based upon his squadron commander’s endorsement, the respect was obviously mutual.
Another fine shot of Spitfire PR XIX, PS 853 above the clouds.
© John M. Dibbs