Here is some advice that will help you avoid a few other
mistakes that new Commanding Officers are often prone to make due to inexperience.
• Do not pretend to know
everything. If you think you know all the answers—you simply haven’t heard (or
asked) all the questions yet.
• Do not make new policy
statements arbitrarily to assert your authority. Do not do anything
arbitrarily; think about how your people will perceive the new policy.
• Do not alienate everyone with
such statements as “I’m going to make this a first-class command.” It might
already be.
• Do not make snap decisions.
Ask your staff for their advice and involve them in the decision-making process
whenever possible. This is an especially useful technique for dealing with
disciplinary problems; have the supervisor recommend what to do about a
troublesome Sailor or civilian. In any case, if you really involve your people
and listen to them, it’s almost guaranteed that you will learn more from them
than they will learn from you.
• Use all available talent to
help you. Recognize expertise where you find it. The “expert” at fixing some
specific problem may be the lowest ranking Sailor in the command. Remember, you
cannot possibly accomplish the mission alone!
1 comment:
Sound advice for anyone in charge of other people, whether a Fire Team Leader, Platoon Sergeant, LCPO, DivO or Department Head etc.
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