TOWER BARRACKS, Germany – Col. Kevin A. Poole, U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria commander, spoke to University of Regensburg students about different leadership styles as well as his own experiences and challenges June 21, 2023 at the university campus.
The one-hour lecture was part of an intensive three-week class on executive leadership, designed to give the students a better understanding of leadership skills employed by executives, the sources and uses of power, the empowerment of followers, different work values, how to effectively lead during a crisis, and more.
David Balkin, the guest lecturer and professor from the University of Colorado Boulder who conceived the course, has been able to offer the course at Regensburg eight times in the last 15 years.
“I hope with this class all students will develop an appreciation of leadership skills and learn to recognize a good leader from a poor leader and be proactive by using this knowledge for their own benefit,” said Balkin.
“As a leader you want to build people up," Poole told the students. "You want to be able to trust that your employees can take over one day and do a good job. … Trust is essential. You have to have trust in your subordinates, but you have to earn their trust as well. And never be afraid to fail; learn from your experiences.”
Poole demonstrated in his exchange with the students how the approaches to leadership and decision-making mechanisms used in the military can apply to challenges in a corporate context.
“We like to invite USAG Bavaria leaders to give lectures to hear about their insights on Leadership," said Michael Dowling, professor and chair of Innovation and Technology Management at the Faculty of Business, Economics and Information Systems at the University of Regensburg. "It gives our students practical insights."
One of the people attending the lecture was Marvin Mueller, research associate at the Chair of Innovation and Technology Management at the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Regensburg.
“Leadership is enormously related to experience in my eyes,” said Mueller. “With over 20 years in the service, including overseas deployments and involvement in combat situations, Colonel Poole undoubtedly brings a lot of experience to the table, which gave him a special aura and charisma that was palpable throughout the presentation.”
“What I liked best was the comparison of an executive in an extreme pressure situation with a duck swimming on water,” continued Mueller. “While the duck looks completely calm from the outside and glides almost motionless through the water, the feet have to paddle properly under water. I found this analogy to a manager who must not let on how critical the situation is so as not to unsettle his team very inspiring.”
The class ended with a lively Q&A session. All parties are looking forward to more collaboration like this lecture in the future.
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