After getting commissioned as a officer what should be the sphere of emphasis that the young officer has to concentrate on to develope his leadership traits and qualities as a leader to enhance his standing within his unit, his subordinates, peers and superior officers with greater relevance to self improvement and self development personally and professionally.
The best thing he can hope for is a quality Platoon Sergeant…if he has one…and he is willing to pay attention and listen, that man will teach him everything he needs to know and then some. The Company First Sergeant and the Battalion Sergeant Major are also good resources…
But if you go in like a know it all…you are in for a hard time.
I’ll tell you what I always told young Lieutenants, you are in charge but this is MY platoon. If I tell you what you are about to do is stupid and you tell me you are in charge and we are gonna do it your way you remember this….
The Battalion Commander is not going to come to you when it is screwed up, he will come to me and ask why did you let that Lieuteanat do that.
I hope that gives you some perspective on how it really is.
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The best thing he can hope for is a quality Platoon Sergeant…if he has one…and he is willing to pay attention and listen, that man will teach him everything he needs to know and then some. The Company First Sergeant and the Battalion Sergeant Major are also good resources…
But if you go in like a know it all…you are in for a hard time.
I’ll tell you what I always told young Lieutenants, you are in charge but this is MY platoon. If I tell you what you are about to do is stupid and you tell me you are in charge and we are gonna do it your way you remember this….
The Battalion Commander is not going to come to you when it is screwed up, he will come to me and ask why did you let that Lieuteanat do that.
I hope that gives you some perspective on how it really is.
References :
Sir;
You didn’t mention your branch of service so you need to adapt my answer. I recommend you volunteer for one, or more, of the following. Airborne, Ranger, Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol, Path Finders, etc. Complete one of these and I guarantee you will "Walk Tall" and be in command.
Best to you, been there, done that but as a Non-Commissioned
Vaya con DIOS
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Seek extra duties and responsibilities. Even small potato stuff like the CGOC, social committees, etc. Those groups bring you into frequent contact and interaction with commanders at various levels, and gives you opportunities to be the lead organizer of events.
But always be superior in your primary job. Seek feedback and advice. Accept criticism gracefully. Be honest and forthright both up and down the chain of command.
Good luck, and God bless!
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What an exceptionally excellent and challenging question. You are engaging in battle the greatest and most rewarding opponent: yourself.
First, there are no pat answers. Excellence in leadership is rare. It is culturally dependent, like beauty. Tribes in africa think long earlobes are the key to beauty, and think Cindy Crawford is a dog. How the actions of a leader are recieved and followed are culturally dependent, both on the culture at large, and the culture of the organization. Both of those can be highly variable. Unless someone is an expert in their culture at large, their organizational culture, and the culture of the men under them their leadership is an act of magic, an accident, and not a expression of intentionality.
My suggestion to you is to become an expert in two and a half people. The first person to become an expert in is you. The ugly and weak things that we despise in others, are most despised in leaders. Find a way to objectively quantitatively understand who you are. Understand your own nature. That requires pondering, and being willing to step outside your own human arrogance, pride, selfishness, and even cowardice. Often an honest independent third party is very valuable.
The second person to become an expert in is "the men" who you lead. You need to understand their hearts, and their language masterfully. Both change over time, and as people move in and out. You influence both as well. The key to the power of Ronald Reagan was his ability to speak to one person: the american people. He had great vision but that only told him the path he walked down. His ability to understand and communicate with "the american people" was the reason that he did not walk down it alone.
After you know yourself, and your men, and can truly understand both their hearts and their language, then you can lead those men well, but that is not enough for your position. You must also understand your superiors: the half a man. If you serve them first, then you are not a leader, but a lapdog, a brown-noser. Neither they nor you want that. They want to impart vision, and specify some methods & protocols to a leader, and be able to trust that the mission will be carried out well and appropriately. You must understand what their language, and intention, and you must be able to communicate back to them well, but there must be a disconnect. You need to known and love the men under you more than the men over you.
You need to become a ninja in understanding the human heart and language of your subordinates. Part of this process, and one that runs concurrent to learning mastery of others, is learning mastery of yourself. You also should learn the language of your superiors, and the hearts of your superiors. Greatness does not come by serving their maneuvering, and internal politics, but by serving your men well.
I would read the writings of great leaders, and learn to ask hard and good questions like "why did they give that command? why didnt they give this order _____ ? What did the men understand when it was heard? What were the heart motives of the great leaders? What were the heart motives of the men they led? How did the leaders go about clearly transferring their powerful and infectious vision to their men? Where did they fail, why and how?"
The key to understanding something is first learning how to ask the great questions of it, and second by diving in as deep and far and hard as your strength allows and applying those great questions, and listen well and deeply internalize their answers. If you love something you will be able to go deeper and farther and stronger than anyone ever could by will or greed alone. Greatness in a field is accomplished by a great love only, and nothing less. Learn to love the field you are studying.
Great leaders aren’t only generals. They exist in all walks of life. They can be great businessmen, great politicians, and great writers. They exist in military, government, business, religion, … everywhere that human beings gather as an organization. Stand on the shoulders of Giants wherever possible.
Remember that you are not a giant, but a man. When you forget that, you have lost your battle and its all over with but the dying. The function of leadership is service. The function of the position of President of the United States of America is to serve the people who elected him. That is the entire reason leaders exist: service. They often corrupt it, and erect temples to themselves, and go into them and worship themselves, but the purpose of their authority isnt self-deification, but service of their subordinates, and their community. It is the essential idea behind leadership, the premise upon which all leadership is based.
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Leadership in the Army or the armed forces in general, is about respect. Remember that no matter how young you are, your soldiers look up to you. They obey your every command. So, soldiers are willing to fight for a platoon commander that they respect and admire, not someone they hate.
Be fair, and be flexible. But never tolerate undisciplined actions. If you prove to them that you are tough but fair, they will respect you. If they see that by your example you can prove to them that you are a model officer, then your leadership status will improve. Remember, always remember that leaderships grows as you assume responsibility for your actions and are to willing to sacrifice yourself for the goodness of your unit and each and every one of your men.
May God bless you.
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I’m an Army officer, too.
As a former National Guard Infantryman who always struggled with leadership ability I can tell you what I respect in a leader and what I wish that I had had.
Number one is decisiveness. Learn to make decisions quickly. A bad decision is not so great a problem as a problem left unresolved. Soldiers do not respect officers that don’t know what to do.
Know your soldiers. I had a company commander I would have really liked had he not kept getting me confused with a different NCO. We were both squad leaders. He only had 11 E-6s working for him, he shouldn’t have kept messing that one up.
Be professionally and tactically competent. Seek the best training and schooling for your branch.
Be a PT master. No one will think of you as a "real soldier" if you can just barely pass the PT test.
Be morally up right. A leader will lose the respect of his troops by falling down drunk, cheating on his wife, or falsifying records just easily as he will by being professionally incompetent.
All of these things are about projecting an imagine to the soldiers. Examine yourself and be truthful to yourself. Continue to seek self-improvement in any form and you will gain the respect of those you lead.
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