How Weapons Training Made me a Better Leader

Weapons training is an essential part of any military’s training program. Soldiers need to understand how to safely operate their weapons as a part of their duties. This was no different for me in the Canadian Forces. However, I did not expect that a weapons lesson would eventually transform itself into a leadership lesson.

When I was going through my basic-level training I had an intense weapons instructor. He definitely placed a lot of stress on us candidates to conduct our drills quickly and get “rounds down range” as fast as possible. However, I can still hear three words which eventually changed the way I thought about leadership:

Smooth is fast.

His point was simple, the smoother we did our drills the quicker we were able to do them. Rushing through them fumbling magazines, missing buttons, etc cost time and in the worst-case scenario could end in disaster with a negligent discharge.

So how does this relate to leadership? Think about when a crisis arises, this is when your leadership skills will be tried to the extreme. You do not have the time to fumble your way through, nor do you have the flexibility for mistakes. So keep those words in your mind…

Smooth is fast