Tag Archive for: Hegseth

Blog on Hegseth’s Military Purge Shows the Value of Viewpoint Diversity.

Hegseth’s Military Purge Shows the Value of Viewpoint Diversity

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When you surround yourself with people who tell you what you want to hear, you develop a taste for silliness.

Army Chief of Staff Randy George became the last casualty in Secretary Hegseth’s war against uniformed senior leaders (Randy George and I served at the same time in Afghanistan in 2009 and have some friends in common, but we do not know each other well). In just over a year, at least a dozen three- and four-star officers have been dismissed from the services. It is a purge. I spoke about the matter on TV here.

As I’ve mentioned before, I want Secretary Hegseth to be successful and for the Department to thrive. The alternative is too troubling to fathom. I firmly believe in civilian control of the military, and Secretary Hegseth has the authority to promote, retain, and dismiss the Department’s senior leaders. It’s not a question of CAN, but SHOULD.

The pretext for George’s firing is a promotion list to brigadier general. Hegseth wanted five officers struck from the list, including two women and two black men. George, rightly fearing for the integrity of the Army’s promotion system, wanted to discuss the matter in person with Hegseth. The meeting never occurred, but the request brought about the firing.

What’s troubling is the very clear signal Hegseth is sending: disagreement is intolerable.

Strong Leaders, Strong People

Did you ever notice that strong leaders surround themselves with strong people? They have the self-confidence to seek out the best people for their team. They welcome respectful disagreement because it is the source of innovation and better ideas.

I remember getting into a substantial disagreement with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta about Afghanistan. I did not know him well at the time, but figured that he deserved to know one of his assumptions was wrong.

An hour or so later, I received a message from his Chief of Staff. I opened it, fearing the worst. “There are 20,000 people in this building who will agree with anything the Secretary says,” his chief wrote. “He appreciates how you stood your ground and told him your point of view.”

Weak leaders, by contrast, surround themselves with weak people who don’t threaten the leader’s self-confidence. They seek out people who agree with them and do their bidding.

To curry favor, their subordinates tell the leader what they want to hear and how wise they are. The most savvy ones play to your impulses, dragging you into your own fever-swamp.

Soon, you are admiring your own clothes and aroma.

Avoiding the Hegseth Trap

The military culture is sound enough to withstand a short period of top-level viewpoint conformity, but I worry the Secretaries who follow will implement the same playbook as payback.

Ambitious senior uniformed officers will see the game for what it is, and curry favor, leading to a politicized military that no longer offers professional military advice. Such sycophancy undermines the profession and puts people’s lives at needless risk.

Here’s my question to you: Are you moving toward the Hegseth trap? How often do people disagree agreeably? How quickly do they flag problems and nip them in the bud? When did you last hear a fresh idea or example of someone trying new things?

You have to be intentional about creating a culture of respectful candor and vigilant in maintaining it. This is particularly true as your company grows and you become more senior. Left unchecked, you suddenly find that you are getting better looking every day, your jokes are funnier, and your decisions increasingly wise.

Hegseth Shows That Slogans Have Consequences

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I am deeply troubled by what appears to be the killing of defenseless survivors by the U.S. military. The facts are still coming in, so it is essential to leave room for more information.

What makes this moment especially disturbing is the implied guidance from Secretary Hegseth to “kill them all,” as reflected in numerous slogans like…

Lethality first. Lethality last. Lethality always.

Warfighters must have complete freedom of action.

You kill people and break things for a living.

I give the military the benefit of the doubt when it comes to judgment calls in highly ambiguous situations, and it’s reasonable to believe that Hegseth’s guidance shaped the admiral’s decision to order a second strike to kill two survivors clinging to the debris of their destroyed boat. 

I have been in firefights when our troopers were wounded and killed. I know the rage that tempts you to shoot at anything that moves. That is precisely why the U.S. military trains its leaders to restrain that impulse. 

When a combatant loses the will or means to resist, they are no longer combatants. They become your responsibility. That distinction separates a professional military from a mob.

How Careless Words Create Drift

Careless bravado creates powerful incentives. “Kill them all” is the kind of chest-thumpery that reduces a complex situation to a slogan. Subordinates may take it more literally than you ever intended. Ethical drift often starts this way.

This dynamic shows up in business all the time. Leaders want urgency. They want excellence. Yet when their words carry too much heat or too little clarity, people begin interpreting them as permission to cut corners, hide problems, or push boundaries.

Your words can create the belief that results are the only thing that matters.

When Leaders’ Words Backfire: Business Lessons

Wells Fargo

Senior leaders promoted an aggressive “eight is great” cross-selling mantra. No one instructed employees to create fake accounts, but the relentless pressure made many believe integrity was optional. Millions of unauthorized accounts later, the consequences were unmistakable.

Uber

Travis Kalanick celebrated hustle and disruption. Employees absorbed that message as a cue to outmaneuver regulators, bend rules, and treat people poorly. Most were not unethical people. They simply followed the incentives they believed their leader endorsed.

Boeing

During the 737 MAX program, executives emphasized speed, deadlines, and staying ahead of competitors. Engineers heard that loud and clear. Some safety concerns that might slow production were muted or ignored. The words themselves were not illegal, but the pressure behind them shaped the choices that followed.

Everyday Companies

Even common phrases like “we don’t lose deals” or “make the problem go away” can prompt otherwise principled people to misrepresent information or rush work that undermines quality. Leaders mean to inspire. Their people hear something else: winning matters more than how we win.

The Leader’s Responsibility

This is where your leadership matters most. Your people interpret every signal you send, especially when the stakes rise. When your words are clear and aligned with your values, they reinforce professionalism and integrity. Ambiguous bravado creates drift.

What phrases might your people be hearing that could be misunderstood if taken literally?

You already know the power of your voice. The opportunity is to use it with the intention and steadiness that help your people make choices they can stand behind with pride.

3 Ways Hegseth Can Make His Big Beautiful Meeting Count

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This week’s newsletter is a twist: an open letter to the Secretary of War after his recent meeting with uniformed senior leaders.

Dear Mr. Secretary, 

Your meeting in Quantico, Virginia, for all U.S. flag-ranked officers worldwide was one of the most expensive peacetime military gatherings in history. And with so much on the line, the return on that investment must be real. Here are three ways to turn that investment into lasting impact.

I’m not a political partisan. I want you to be successful. The consequences of the alternative in today’s world would be damaging to our interests and perhaps irreversible for the foreseeable future.

Lead From the Front 

Some people argue that your points about fitness, appearance, and standards seem out of touch with today’s high-tech, AI-powered world. I disagree. 

Fitness builds stamina to perform under high stress for long stretches. Out-of-shape people are at higher risk of fatigue, which can lead to bad decisions that get people killed. 

A person’s weight and fitness are their own business, but we’re talking about military leaders who defend our republic. 

Flag-ranked officers and senior leaders should set the example. Nothing screams “our standards aren’t serious” more than privates being drummed out of the military for failure to meet height-weight standards while senior officers and NCOs get a pass. 

Create your own SecWar challenge, something like The Secretary of War Elite Aptitude Test (SWEAT), and give anyone an “I beat the Secretary” certificate who bests your score. Imagine the esprit de corps if young officers and troopers could say they outperformed the Secretary of War.

Signal that standards matter by holding senior leaders accountable. They should exemplify standards, not excuse themselves. 

Fix the recruiting problems by strengthening standards, rather than repeating the mistakes of past administrations by watering them down. 

Break the Failure Cycle

You said that victory is the only acceptable end-state, and yet we have no clear idea why our major military interventions, and the vast majority of our minor ones, keep turning into disasters. Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan: one failure is an unfortunate accident. Two fiascos are a terrible coincidence. Three quagmires reveal a pattern of behavior that we’ll continue to repeat until we fix the causes. 

Add in Libya, Syria, Yemen, and Somalia, and the case goes from pattern to pathology.

Commission a study of the chronic policy and strategy errors that are leading to these failures. The so-called Afghanistan War Commission is insufficient because it does not examine other conflicts, so it will miss the systemic problems. 

I outlined many of these recurring errors in Zero-Sum Victory: What We’re Getting Wrong About War, which can be a starting point.

If we fail to learn, the next war could be even costlier. Once you determine the causes of these failures, you can put the measures in place to fix them. These policies won’t guarantee victory in the next war, but they will reduce the risks of repeating past errors.

Build a Winning Inner Circle

Common sense is like oxygen, John Lewis Gaddis said, the higher you go, the rarer it gets. 

​​Leaders who feel under siege tend to surround themselves with cheerleaders. You may feel better being around people who make you feel better, but you will increasingly lose touch with reality. It’s always a downward spiral.

At the same time, avoid a team of rivals who thwart your goals, have differing agendas, or want your job. You’ll get hyperactivity, chaos, and no progress.

Your plate is overflowing: strengthening the defense industrial base, harnessing technology, deterring adversaries, and reforming culture, among other priorities. These are daunting tasks requiring the best talent. 

Hit the sweet spot with trusted advisors who share your goals and bring complementary gifts to the table. A proper trusted advisor meets three tests: 

  • They have expertise that you don’t.
  • They are willing to tell you the truth, and 
  • They align with you on purpose. 

They will alert you to blind spots while expanding your options and thickening your solutions. Legendary leaders distinguish themselves by surrounding themselves with truth-tellers who bring fresh perspectives and insights.

Of course, my newsletter readers will recognize the more universal lessons here.

  1. Play to your strengths. Energy and joy follow focus. Focus preceded outcomes.
  2. Fix systemic problems. Complexity breeds chaos; simplicity unlocks progress.

Surround yourself with complementary talent. Fresh air is bracing at first, and makes you better.