Leadership Position

[DuctTape84]

Jocko Willink and All
I work at a large American CNC Company,I've been here 3 years and learned a lot but not enough. My boss is a Marine Vet. I look up to him,he's aggressive but not to much, enough to still respect the man.After Listening to your podcast and observing him,he maneuvers the bosses under him in a military manner (decentralized command) It Is very interesting to see it play out. I want to be in a leadership position,so I work hard every day I'm on time and I leave until my job is done. Almost everything I've learned in this company I try to teach my coworkers/team to keep us on the same page and get after it. I don't just want a leadership position,I want the leadership position because I can get the JOB done and make CHANGE in this company and for coworkers.Was That my ego talking.?

"The real question is how do I get my boss "A BIG BAD MARINE" to understand what I want for this company. He knows that I want the position and he is aware of the goals I'd like to set for the company. How can he see me as a future leader for this company. Thanks Jocko

[mynewunit]

If your leader is a Marine who owns a milling company chances are pretty good he has an idea of what your path looks like.

2 things: If the boss ever has something that needs to get done but isn't client work, look for the chance to help. Maybe a news letter, inventory forecasting, updating the website, Taking pictures of product, whatever. Things like this are the tasks that help a business grow and get new customers but take time that owners don't normally have. Also, ask him where the company is going. New materials, new products, new locations, new industries served.

Second thing, Ask you boss what your path looks like in the company. He is looking down on probably a dozen employees. He sees who is never going to move up and who is going to take his place. Let him show you what he sees as your path at the company. Maybe he wants you to take over some client interaction before giving you a promotion. Maybe he needs to move someone into a personnel manager position before he changes the project / production manager. Often an "Quick" change takes months to prep for.

Norris is a senior guy in a fab shop in Texas.  If you tweet him, he can let you know more about working in this industry.  
Tell him I sent you, Brian McLean.

[mynewunit]

If the guys are talking to you, you are already part of their leadership. There are a lot of reasons to talk to you about work issues that should be brought to the boss. They fall into 3 categories.
1. The speaker can't or wont tell the boss. A lot of time they are trying to see if others have their observation. If they are correct with an issue sometimes a third party can bring it to the boss because you are un-involved and more reasonable.
2. The Boss wont listen: This reason is the speaker has no clout or respect and his issue will be ignored. Often this is because the issue doesn't change the situation for the boss. A few vacations coming up doesn't change deadlines.
3. Morale: Each realm of work has it's own unavoidable grind. To blow off some steam we often complain about on of our corporate index of multiplier and UT. We ridicule them, then focus on the tasks we provide and how these tasks fit in the actual output of the company.

All of these things should be mentioned to the boss. Do not expect him to get involved in anyone of these. I am the "wise ear" of the people around me. They ask questions about why we do things, how serious corporate requirements are and feel out expectations. I am a nonthreatening equal. I often talk with the upper levels and relay the topics of the questions I get. They help me to understand the big picture and the "corporate line" on the issues that people are asking about. I then have the "real" answer for those who come and ask. Your boss should care more about effective communication, than chain of command.  A good leader is always grooming their replacement. You are acting and operating as the leader. The smaller the step between now and actually having the position, the more likely the step is to be taken.

GIANT CAVEAT: I assume they aren't telling you things that have to be directly told to a boss like vacation requests, injuries, sales and deadline issues.