Davis Ozier is a perfect example of the value Veterans can bring to business. After serving in combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan in the Army as leader, he is now working on his MBA at the Darden School of Business to apply his leadership skills in the private sector.  Through his experiences, he can help us learn some very important lessons in dealing with real world problems.

Here are 5 leadership lessons Davis learned through his service:

1. Make the decision (or recommendation).  We will never have all of the information that we wish, but will still be forced to make the decision.  The Army did a wonderful job of forcing me as a junior officer to make an informed decision with the information I had at hand and then execute accordingly.   We will never be perfectly at ease in ambiguous and constantly shifting environments, but we can at least be comfortable with making a well thought out decision instead of suffering from paralysis of analysis.

2. I have to work with others for the unit to be successful.  Contrary to popular belief, I could not simply issue an order and expect it to be carried out without opposition or voices of discontent.  Leaders in the private sector also recognize this and hopefully incorporate consensus building and collaboration into their managerial style.  This does not mean I have to accept every recommendation or cater to specific requests if I believe it isn’t in the best interest of the organization, but I do need to listen and incorporate feedback into my decision making process. This applies not only in the direct organizational hierarchy, but also with regard to working with adjacent departments and supporting functions.

3. Work within the commander’s intent.  The boss doesn’t need to specify exactly what he wants me to do or not do.  It is my responsibility to listen to his vision, his plans for my role within the broader organization, and understand his priorities.  I should ask clarifying questions where appropriate, but I have the necessary information to make sound and independent decisions on a daily basis.  I can exercise initiative to support the boss’s vision and improve the organization.

4. Deciding what I’m NOT going to do is just as important as what I am going to do.  Deciding where I am going to focus my energy and allocate resources is a constant struggle because I never have enough capacity to do everything I would like or that my boss has asked me to do.  In the Army, I realized I can continue to try to do it all with often mediocre results or I could prioritize and make informed decisions to assume risk in certain areas to ensure outstanding results in priority missions.  The latter always achieved better organizational and personal results than the former.  My bosses expected me to make tough decisions just as they had to do and when the situation prevented the successful completion of everything then I had to understand what the critical, no-fail objectives were and focus my energy and resources to be successful in those areas.

5. Assume positive intent.  It was a personal wake-up call when someone interrupted my complaining one day to point out that the individual didn’t wake up this morning wanting to screw things up for me.  I stood there speechless.  What a great reminder that we are generally all doing what we think and hope is the right thing to do.  My outlook and attitude as a leader completely changed when I decided to assume that the soldiers under my command, the staff personnel supporting my unit, and the people at higher headquarters were all working to try to make the unit better just like I was.  I became more patient and understanding, and guess what?  The organization improved much more drastically than when I was sitting back and complaining.

Davis Ozier served 8 years on active duty including combat tours to Iraq and Afghanistan and currently serves in the Army Reserves.  He is currently pursuing his MBA at the Darden School of Business at The University of Virginia.