Leadership and human behavior work hand in hand. To be a successful leader, you must understand your people and work with them to resolve their problems. Each of us has needs, and we direct our energies to meet these needs as we see fit. Helping your people resolve their problems will result in a unit that will operate smoothly and be highly productive. HUMAN BEHAVIOR Human behavior is the result of attempts to satisfy certain  needs.  These  needs  may  be  simple  to understand and easy to identify, such as the need for food and water. They also may be complex, such as the need for respect and acceptance. Why do people act the way they do? Why do some people have an easy time, while others have a hard time adjusting to shipboard life? Why, with an upcoming extended deployment, do some crew members look forward to visiting foreign ports, while others prefer to stay with the familiar homeport? Finding the answers to these questions is not easy. In fact, a whole branch of science and psychology has tried to answer such questions but has found no hard-and-fast answers. In general, you could say people behave the way they do for a reason. However, the reason may not be clear; in fact, it may not be logical or rational either to you or to the person in question. By observing human behavior, you can gain the knowledge you need to better understand yourself and other people. You can learn why people act and react in certain ways. You can learn how to identify the various types of behavior and needs of people. You also can learn how to influence the behavior of people so that they can see how meeting the needs of the command will satisfy their own needs. Don’t  take  lightly  human  behavior  and  its application to the areas of leadership and supervision. How well you understand and apply the basic concepts could determine, to a great extent, your success in the Navy. All successful petty officers must have an understanding of people’s behavior. If you understand the needs of your people and help them to satisfy those needs, you will succeed as a leader. We can reasonably determine an individual’s needs by understanding basic human needs. We all have five basic levels of need. Our needs are in order of importance, such as our need to relieve pain (survival) is more important than a need to be liked by coworkers (social belonging). If we satisfy one level, then we work to satisfy the next level of need. This need satisfaction is an ongoing behavior that determines our everyday actions. Now look at the five groups, or levels, of needs and the definition of each: 1.  SURVIVAL—The survival level consists of the basics we need to sustain life itself; for example, oxygen, food, water, sleep, and relief from pain. 2.   SAFETY-SECURITY—The   safety-security level  involves  the  need  for  protection  from  possible threats,  such  as  violence,  disease,  or  poverty.  It  also includes the need for the security of an adequate job and money in the bank. 3.   SOCIAL-BELONGING—The   social,   or belonging,   level   concerns   the   need   to   be   liked   and wanted  by  family,  friends,  coworkers,  and  others  with whom we associate. 4.   ESTEEM—The   esteem   level   involves   our feelings of importance. To satisfy our esteem needs, we must  get  a  feeling  of  importance  from  two  sources. First, we must have a feeling of importance that comes from  within;  this  feeling  is  self-esteem.  Second,  since self-esteem alone will not satisfy our esteem needs, we must feel that other people believe we are important. 5.   SELF-ACTUALIZATION—Self-actualization is   the   full   realization   of   our   own   potential.   Simply stated,   that   means   we   know   our   limits   and   try   to perform, within those limits, to our full potential. These   five   levels   of   needs   are   acted   out   in behaviors.  You,  as  a  leader,  with  an  understanding  of these  needs,  can  help  your  people  satisfy  their  needs and be more successful. INDIVIDUAL WORTH What  is  an  individual  worth—not  in  dollars  and cents—but   to   you,   to   the   Navy,   and   to   the   person himself/herself?  You,  as  a  petty  officer,  will  have  to determine  that  through  experience.  Every  person  has different   wants   and   desires   and   has   a   different emotional   makeup.   Remember   that   one   trait   you cannot change is the emotional makeup of a person, but you  may  be  able  to  influence  the  person  or  situation toward  a  favorable  outcome.  If  you  observe  how  a person  acts,  you  can  often  tell  how  a  person  feels.  If you  observe  your  personnel,  you  will  be  able  to  help them adjust to almost any situation. 1-6