Communication

The chain of command is valuable bureaucratic protection for juniors. If the chain of command is being bypassed it is because the chain of command is not adding value. The supervisor in an organization does not believe in "good" surprises. The supervisor's belief in his junior's personal loyalty is critical to a satisfactory working relationship. The junior must earn that belief and keep it.

Weekly reviews of what has been done, learned, and planned, and how those things have or will help or affect the supervisor, are spaced at about the right frequency. Daily reports are usually too frequent, even for the straw that stirs the drink. Routine, periodic written self-reviews are valuable. Logical missteps are more difficult to miss in black-and-white assessments.

From RADM Dave Oliver's book LEAD ON