Notes from the field...
Got your note today saying you did not like telling people what to do. Mostly, because their first inclination is not to do it. Your Navy must be on a different planet than mine. We are in the business of telling Sailors what needs to be done. It is good for them to know WHY. The "how" should be left to them unless there is a proscribed Navy 'how'.
The essence of being a Naval officer is getting the right things done, the right way, at the right time by the right people. To do that, you are going to have to tell people to do things.
... or as I used to tell my Sailors: Do routine things routinely, plan ahead to stay ahead, and always try to stay one step ahead of me. It makes "surprises" a bit rarer and allows more time for the family.
ReplyDeleteGood post, but another common error I see seniors make is to get involved in areas not assigned to them simply because they are senior. This causes mission creep, devalues those assigned to the work, and breaks the senior-subordinate trust base...the right thing to do if you are a senior is to mentor and enable those outside of your assigned duties where you are comfortable doing so. Far too often our seniors are looking to impress their seniors at the cost of their juniors who represent our future.
ReplyDeleteThere is a TED talk given by Simon Sinek on this very topic. (Perhaps it was the inspiration for this post.) For those interested, you can view it here:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action?language=en