to a working party supervisor gives and receives orders.A leader must set the example when following orders aswell as when giving them. Giving orders effectively isan art form. You must first ensure the order is necessary.Inappropriate or unnecessary orders produce conflict,confusion, and ill will.As a midlevel manager, the majority of orders yougive originate at a higher level of command. You aresimply passing the orders along. How often do you usethe following manner to give your workers such orders:“LT Jones says we have to have personnel inspectionevery morning.”This method of giving orders iscommon but wrong. When YOU give an order, state itas YOUR order. What do I mean by this? Here is anexample: “Beginning tomorrow, we will hold personnelinspection every morning.” In this manner you buildyour own authority with your subordinates. But whydoes it matter? One day the need may arise for you totake charge in an emergency or during a superior’sabsence. Passing orders in the properpreconditions your workers to respondcommands.PROVIDING LEADERSHIP GUIDANCEmannerto yourThe Navy intends that chief, senior chief, andmaster chief petty officers occupy a position of esteemand general respect. This distinction is crucial to themanner in which our ships operate at sea. Over the yearsthe smooth operation of our ships has proven thewisdom and success of this policy.Since the time you began to wear the chief pettyofficer hat, both your superiors and subordinates havelooked to you with esteem and respect. Since that time,you have also gained a broad managerial andadministrative background. That background makesyou responsible for the training and guidance youprovide your subordinates, peers, and superiors.Because of the wisdom and knowledge you have gainedthrough your years of experience, they depend on youfor leadership.Leadership is intangible, hard to measure, anddifficult to describe. Its qualities include the following:A measure of inherent ability to control and directSelf-confidence based on expert knowledgeInitiativeLoyaltyPrideA sense of responsibilityEven if people do not have a natural ability to lead,they have dormant leadership qualities they may notknow about. Learning, or teaching others, to developthose leadership qualities is not easy, but can be done.Remember, the Navy can and does make leaders.JUNIOR OFFICERSAt this point in your career, you should understandthe difficult role of the junior officer assigned as adivision officer. As a senior or master chief, you need tobe understanding of the predicaments junior officersoften find themselves in. They lack experience andtechnical know-how, but nevertheless must take theirplace as leaders within the chain of command.Most junior officers report aboard their first dutystation with limited leadership experience. As a senioror master chief, you need to be sensitive to that andsupport the development of these junior officers. Oneway you can do that is by suggesting to your divisionofficer what can be done and what should be done tosolve leadership problems. Also, tactfully let yourdivision officer know if he or she is charging off in thewrong direction. To do otherwise could becounterproductive and would do nothing to strengthenyour division officer’s confidence in you.The Navy places considerable emphasis on thetreatment a chief should accord a junior officer. Youshould be careful not to provide too much negativecriticism. That will cause a young officer to becomereluctant to make future decisions for fear of morecriticism. The fear of repeated negative criticism willproduce an outcome directly opposite to what you aretrying to achieve. Your goal is to build your juniorofficer’s confidence in his or her leadership ability. Evenif you disagree with your division officer’s finaldecision, do not undercut him or her by saying so inpublic. Also do not tolerate criticism of your divisionofficer in public on the part of the crew.Your division officer may be required to execute adecision made by someone higher in the chain ofcommand. In such cases, the division officer will knowwhat must be done but must rely on your support,knowledge, and experience to accomplish the tasksuccessfully. The division officer may have difficultynot showing resentment when a chief makes suggestionsabout a plan he or she has put together. However, as anexperienced chief, you may have just as much difficultyaccepting an unseasoned officer’s decision not to takeyour well-intended advice. Rather than waiting for a4-5
Integrated Publishing, Inc. - A (SDVOSB) Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business