Capstone Perspective: Transparency in Partnerships

Leader: Will Swenson

Topic: Vision, Values, and Culture

Reference: Medal of Honor Leadership Series

Capstone Overview

Medal of Honor recipient shares how mutual respect, honesty, and curiosity are critical to building trust for establishing partnerships.

Capstone Summary

When managing partnerships and specifically advising host nation partners’ militaries it is critical to be aware of the power differential.  Swenson managed relationships with the Afghan national armies and had to understand that these people who have been welcoming to the coalition forces have had good and bad from the relationship and individuals.  To work well together, it is important to understand their needs, cultural context, and who they are as a partner. Although different, the groups that make up these partnerships are all part of the same industry: warfighters in the military.  If you are knowledgeable about your profession, respectful of each others’ needs, you can usually find your way forward.  When managing partnerships it is important to have mutual respect and an understanding of one another’s needs.  If you come in with unrealistic expectations and demands they will poison a relationship.  Honesty is usually a very good tool for establishing trust.  If you are honest,  blunt, and sincere with an understanding of one another's' interests, you will advance much further than hiding information and slowly sharing it over time.  If you come into the relationship sharing your needs you will more quickly make significant progress.  You must be clear and  transparent  with your partnerships because trust needs to be earned.  Trust is something if you lose, you cannot get back.

Context

Swenson managed important partnerships in Afghanistan to help transition control of the war from the United States to the Afghan military leadership.  Swenson led mixed units with soldiers from both Afghanistan and the United States in an effort to train, equip, and prepare the Afghan military for future command and control of the war.  Swenson worked in combat zones to develop partnerships in Afghanistan.  Swenson is a Medal of Honor recipient, having received this prestigious award for his acts of valor in Afghanistan.   The Congressional Medal of Honor is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor.

Capstone Perspective Design

The Capstones Perspectives are short commentaries by leaders on a particular leadership topic. The run times for these videos are shorter than the leadership cases (typically less than five minutes) and there are no pauses for discussion. They are designed to spark conversation among small groups, but they can also be used for individual viewing.

Facilitation Questions

Use the brief video of this leader to spark discussion on the topic. You might want to consider a couple questions such as:

• Do you agree with this leader’s perspective? Why or why not?
• Share a personal experience that aligns (or conflicts) with what the leader shared.
• What personal values help you structure your own thinking on this topic?
• What leadership principle or perspective drives your behaviors and actions?

Considerations

The lessons shared by this leader are based on his own experiences. These lessons are not necessarily substantiated by academic research but are shared to spark consideration and insight.