Notes for Company Grade Officers

2016-03-04T13:10:05-05:00

A little over four years ago, LTC David Dunphy wrote the Iron Major Survival Guide, which has now been used and modified many times over by field grade officers as they embark upon their new positions as executive officers, operations officers, and support operations officers. They are trying to use this knowledge while also adapting their previous experience and knowledge to acclimate into their new environment. These individuals are now part of the proverbial “they;” their time on line has been curtailed for the foreseeable future, and their new focus is working behind the scenes to make the overall team successful.

Many times throughout our careers we have lofty and optimistic expectations of what we want to do in order to make the organization better. Years later, when we reflect on our time at the company, we realize where we failed to live up to our own expectations. I had similar expectations during my time as a captain and wish that I could use what I now know to improve the officer I once was.

1. Accept the responsibility and harden up.

Life is not going to be easy. Certain jobs in the Army are harder than others, but command is one of those aspects of your career that has the opportunity to be immensely enriching or overwhelmingly disastrous. It is what you make it. Accept the fact that there are going to be tremendously hard days, but relish the silver linings. You have been entrusted with this level of responsibility, and if you do not try to make your unit better each day then they are just getting weaker. It’s important to lead by example and by doing so, you will create a unit that is more resilient and ready for anything thrown at them.

2. Listen to your noncommissioned officers (NCOs).

One of the constant themes throughout our military education is to listen to your NCOs, but all too often we hear what is said without actually listening and implementing the best practices. This was something preached to me before I commissioned by a couple of great mentors, and it is something we must continue to foster within the units we lead. If you show the subordinate officers within your organization that you listen to the first sergeant, it expresses to them that they should do the same. Your actions are coaching, teaching, and mentoring the next wave of leaders.

I was blessed with two exemplary first sergeants out of the four I worked with in my two commands. Each first sergeant taught me something that I needed to know as a commander. First and foremost, the first sergeant should be the one who ensures that a brand new commander has credibility with the battery, company, or troop from the start. He or she writes the initial check showing the subordinate leaders that the unit is going to listen to what the new commander has to say. In doing this, the first sergeant will be able to make sure that the new commander is doing the right things to instill trust and confidence with the soldiers. Looking at the length of most first sergeants’ service and how it usually dwarfs their fellow command team counterparts, it is imperative that they pass along some of these lessons. The new commander must actively listen to what they are being taught.

The final first sergeant taught me another great lesson. As soon as he assumed responsibility for the unit, he exhibited exactly what I expected of him in order to put the unit back on track. I arrived to a unit that wasn’t functioning to its full extent and that operated with a very collegial atmosphere. My vision for the unit was not supported by my command team partner, but this new first sergeant bought in my vision for the unit immediately. This great leader empowered the subordinate leaders within our organization to hold their soldiers, including his favorites, accountable for their actions. He later empowered me to take my vision for this unit to the next level, something that I did not think was possible when I initially assumed command.

If your first sergeant is living by the NCO creed and holding the subordinate NCOs to the Army standard, then listen to what he or she is saying. If not, set the standard, and hold everyone accountable. If they don’t live up to it? Find someone who will.

3. Have a backbone and empower your subordinates.

Know what your standards and expectations are and stick to them. The leaders serving with you may not have the same values, but they will respect you for having a standard and not waffling on what is important to you. Also know what you are willing to “take it on the chin for” from higher up the hierarchy. Honest mistakes should be underwritten by the senior leaders above your level, especially those of company-grade leaders. That is what this time is for: learning how to lead larger and more diverse organizations. When mistakes happen, as the senior company grade leader, you need to be the one who stands up and takes the heat for your unit. I, for one, am more apt to trust my subordinates with more responsibility if they stand up for what they or their soldiers did, as it demonstrates that they are underwriting the “honest” mistake and that they have a backbone.

This is ultimately leader development, and as nearly every senior leader in the Army today says, leadership development should be the top priority. In my opinion, the Training and Doctrine commander General David Perkins put it best when he said, “If you don’t empower subordinates in training, the risk you postpone now will be added with all other postponed risk and it will come due in combat.”1 You must have the intestinal fortitude to stand up for what you feel is right, especially for your subordinates, as it may prove to be an exponential combat multiplier in the future.

4. Know who your friends are – and keep them.

If you are married, engaged, or have a significant other, that person is probably the first person on this list. They deserve your time when you are not in the office. Don’t stay late at the office or arrive before everyone else in the morning just because you want to show you can outlast everyone else there. Work smarter, not longer. Yes, sometimes there will be long days, weeks, and months, but when you have time to take leave or just a weekend and enjoy your family or friends, take it! You deserve it, as does whoever is closest to you, and so does your unit. They all deserve the best of you, and if you don’t take time to refresh, then you won’t be your best. You don’t need to “power-off,” but at least know how to “power-down.”

While in command, your fellow commanders should be next on your list. This is one area where I believe I failed until very late in my tenure as a battery commander. The other command teams might as well have been the enemy. It was both my and my first sergeant’s job to make our battery look better than their battery, and I believe they felt likewise.

This could not be further from what we should have done. The success of the unit is based on the overall success of each of its sub-units. The battalion command team knows when you are withholding information from your fellow commanders. The team player gets further, and it helps the unit get further. If you are value-added to the relationships that you have, others will seek you out and vice-versa. Iron sharpens iron.

Others that need to be on your speed-dial as a company grade officer: staff judge advocate, physician’s assistant, property book officer, maintenance officer, as well as a multitude of others (including branch specific contacts). Each of these individuals will be a lifesaver many times over.

5. Don’t command via email, text, or phone.

I never enjoyed having the “digital leash” that the cell phone demands in today’s world. I understand it and I use it, but I did not like it back then and I do not like it now. Leaders are where their soldiers are. If you are in command, you should do your very best to be where your soldiers are. If you are a staff officer in queue for command, you are at the behest of whomever you work for on staff, but to understand what the subordinate unit’s needs truly are you must get out of the office and see what the units are doing.

I always told the lieutenants in my batteries, there are three forms of communication: face-to-face, phone, and email. Face-to-face is always the best, and is the modus operandi when something needs to get done or something is time sensitive. It really bothers me to hear subordinate leaders say, “I sent a text.” Did you confirm the message was received and comprehended the way it was intended? I know there are many messages that are sent now via email because they need a fast response, but one should always strive to follow-up an email with a phone call or a face- to-face meeting to ensure the message was received in the way it was intended. Action passed is not action complete. Always follow up.

Also remember in the digital age we live in, as soon as you hit send on an email or text it is out there forever. Don’t end your career prematurely by sending something you probably should have reflected on overnight.

6. Know your boss!

Your job is not just to manage your subordinates – you should help manage what your boss finds important. Don’t make the sausage in front of the boss unless you want him or her to get involved. There is a time and place for it, and you should learn when it is.

A big part of managing your boss is knowing and understanding the environment you work in. I had the mantra of “bad news doesn’t get better with time” preached to me repetitively when I was growing up, but it is not just bad news that you need to communicate quickly. Many times it can be just as important to deliver the good news or the indifferent news. But understand the first report is generally wrong and the truth of the story lies somewhere in the middle, so do not make emotional decisions, especially when trying to influence your boss. It’s likely to come back and bite you. Deliver only the facts that you know to be true, and don’t add your own supposition, or that of your subordinates.

I had four battalion commanders as I served as a battery commander, each one of them different from the rest. I learned something from each of them that made me more successful in the eyes of the next, and those things are what you should be looking for. Established commanders will have a way they like things. Just as you will develop your own way once you get comfortable in command. If you are going to change something the commander is comfortable with, it deserves an explanation. In my opinion, if your boss is always in your business, then he or she doesn’t trust you.

7. Success begets success, be humble. . . but do work!

First place trophies and awards were the only ones I would allow in my battery areas. Competition breeds success. If you want your unit to get better, pick something small and pit the platoons against each other in friendly competition. You will be amazed at what soldiers will compete for. Something as small as a one-on-one competition between you and one of your soldiers will show the rest of your unit that if you, the commander, are beat in a friendly competition, you will pay up. My favorite payment for a competition lost was always some type of exercise - that way it is reinforcing the want to win. I would always try to win, because I don’t believe in letting someone win for his or her ego, and if I lost I “paid up” immediately. Friendly little competitions will help get the competitive drive started in any unit, and even the best units will improve if they are competing more often.

If your unit is already doing the required/routine things well, it is more than likely they will end up doing more things well. The best units can adapt to anything they are given, as they are more resilient. If the entire organization is successful, then you are successful. Leaders know where the right answers came from - no need to publicly pat yourself on the back.

8. Challenge contemporary thought. (Broaden your thoughts and those of your unit)

A big part of challenging contemporary thought is knowing how to disagree with people, especially your boss. Keeping your mind fresh is a good thing. Talking and exchanging ideas are good but, in my opinion, only after you have your own idea formed. If you don’t allow your ideas to percolate and to fully form, then you tend to fall into group thinking. If you don’t know what your thoughts are on the matter, take a minute and think. As the old adage goes, it is better to be thought of as a fool than to open one’s mouth and remove all doubt. Once you formulate a succinct thought, share it and the supporting reasons with those around you. If someone challenges it, then listen. If they dismiss it without much discussion, think some more and make a better argument.

“Grasp change, embrace change, and lead change.”2 Our thirty-eighth Chief of Staff of the Army hit the proverbial nail on the head. If you, as the leader of the organization, do not grasp, lead, and embrace change, then who will? You should be the agent of change. That is one of the great things about General Odierno’s guidance on command time that has now been codified into regulation.3 With no more than eighteen months in one command, or twenty-four in two, it prevents a commander from becoming too stagnant and comfortable with where they are. I had nearly thirty months in my first command, and I was completely burnt out at the end of that time. I was no longer the agent of change I believe I was at the start. I believed my own press and in some ways I became complacent.

Constantly evaluate yourself. This helps you to embrace change. It helps you to see deficiencies within your organization that you may have previously missed. Outside evaluators are a good thing. Evaluation can and usually does help you to make your organization better. I know we always want to look the best and present the best possible perception of our unit to those above us but what do the “green” metrics really tell you or your bosses? If you highlight the fact that your unit is deficient in an area and then plan out detailed training of how your unit is going to improve, that shows leaders more than a misconception of a unit full of over-inflated metrics. When you plan out how your unit is going to improve upon something that is not quite a deficiency, you are being proactive versus reactive.

Being proactive will help plan for a “black swan” or an unexpected event. If you have grasped, embraced, and led change, then you will have an organization that believes it can change the world around it. Therefore when an unexpected event happens, there is a greater likelihood that a better solution will be presented faster.

9. Know who you are and what you want to be.

What is the definition of success for you? Not your boss’s definition or your buddy’s - your definition. As my first brigade commander asked me during my first initial counseling as a battery commander, “What is your brass ring? What is your definition of success at the end of the day?” I knew what it was for me at that point in my career, and I constantly re-examine my overall goals. If you don’t know what your “brass ring” is then you need to figure it out. Overall, you will end up being much happier if you and those around you know what your goals are for both the short-term and the long-term. Don’t change who you are for anything work-related without reflecting on how it will change what you want to be when your time in the Army is done.

Don’t linger on regrets and don’t permit any job to allow you to lose perspective on your ultimate goal. Ultimately, the first point and the last point should provide the bookends for everything in between. Take what you will from it. Please do not take any of this as gospel, as I am still trying to make myself into a better leader on a daily basis. I challenge you to do the same.

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1General David G. Perkins, “Mission Command,” lecture, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, KS, April 12, 2013 speech given for attribution.
2 General Raymond T. Odierno, 38th Chief of Staff of the Army, “Mission Command,” lecture, U.S Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, KS, April 12, 2013 speech given for attribution.
3 U.S. Department of the Army, Army Command Policy, Army Regulation 600-20, para 2.5.E.1.A (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Army, November 6, 2014).

Response by SSG Ed Mikus made Mar 4 at 2016 1:12 PM

2016-03-04T13:12:22-05:00

This can be applied to more than Captains, thank you for writing and sharing this. it is a great read!

Response by MAJ David Vermillion made Mar 4 at 2016 1:22 PM

2016-03-04T13:22:00-05:00

All good information. After commanding three companies, never forget that you make mistakes too and realize a General can't command anything without the support of his subordinates. A leader doesn't make himself, good followers make you good or bad. You are here to lead of course, but look around and see who has your back. It's a people business, so respect, kindness and compassion play big roles in leadership. show you people you care about them and they will care about you. You don't want to be on a lonely island when commanding your troops.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 4 at 2016 1:33 PM

2016-03-04T13:33:02-05:00

Very well spoken Sir.

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 4 at 2016 4:15 PM

2016-03-04T16:15:03-05:00

Great Post!

Response by SP5 Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 4 at 2016 5:41 PM

2016-03-04T17:41:18-05:00

Fits beautifully in any hierarchical environment. I saw many of the positive aspects posted during my time in the telecommunications and consulting worlds. Thanks for providing such a well written exposition.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 5 at 2016 12:54 AM

2016-03-05T00:54:00-05:00

Stimulating post Sir. Thanks for the advice.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 5 at 2016 2:50 AM

2016-03-05T02:50:02-05:00

Sir, thanks for a great post. Like yourself, I'm learning about the importance of #4 at the twilight of my command tenure. Given your command length, how did you adapt when you had to give up the guidon? I'm not looking forward to the day where I can't use command authority to solve problems and have to rely on someone else.

Response by SSgt Boyd Herrst made May 15 at 2018 10:42 PM

2018-05-15T22:42:52-04:00

Having been an enlisted SM ... I enjoyed previewing various guidebooks for NCOs and Officers. It gave me understanding what they should know to do their position.. As an A1C I got into a casual conversation with our Squadron’s Senior
Mentor..(a MSGT) at The AF detachment at the Cook/Baker school at Fort Lee, VA.
I wasn’t one of the pipeline student Airmen but was TDY there for an advanced Firld Cook/Baking class.. There were 20 of uc.. Only 4 of us were Airmen Grade, the rest were NCOs. They did give us the biggest room.. but our personal spaces were tight, We each had a rack which we left as bunk beds and our wall lockers and a desk.. After con-
Versing with the MSGT he let me have a
PFE book of his(he’d just got a new updated issue..). I held onto that for a while.. until time for me to get a updated book. I learned quite a lot out of it ...
I knew my job good as a Cook and had filled the 1st Cook slot and been a Shift leader a few times .. doing the ordering of
Sustenance for the next day’s meal, filling the Cook’s log.. assign’g positions, closing out the sheet for the meal .. One of the E-4 Sgts (this was in ‘71).. volunteered to stay over and run the shift.. So i’d Fall back and be 1st Cook. That didn’t sit well with the other Airmen on the shift but they didn’t have much say In the sitrep.. We had things in control... our food supplies were given to us and we had divided up the jobs.. The Sgt. Decided he was going to make some changes in the assignments.. my 2d, who had been my 1st Cook let him. Know that we had all the position filled and that A1C Herrst, who had been shift leader had everything in control.. So don’r Change anything.. The Sgt. Sent him up front to talk to the Assist.
DH Supervisor . He’d called up front to say he had a problem coming up to see him.. A few minutes later, TSGT G came back with my 2d Cook and he told that SGT to let me run my shift and he be my 1st Cook.. So my 1st still had to be 2d Cook but he’d talked that TSGT into lett’g me run my shift. TSGT G. Had seen me run the shift and knew I knew my job.. and how good we all worked together.. he didn’t want to mess with that.. We had a meet’g later.. The SGT complained to the CMSGT (the Food Svc Superintendent and He felt he needed to cover the Sgt’s ‘6’. The SGT said I did a real good job, but he wanted to pick another of his buds to be 1st Cook.. it’d only be a few days and our shift leader would be back from TDY..
So back I fell to 2d Cook. Did I feel butt-hurt? Not in the least.. I been bust’g my tail sying on top of of everything.. shift leader is not an easy job especially when cook’g for a 1000 hungry Airmen(this included transients that were laying over for another flight to leave the next day..
We’d had a Captain that asked for the Shift leader or s’body in charge.. I asked him could I assist him.. He looked at me and stuck his snooty nose in the Air and said he wanted to talk to a supervisor.. a TSGT or higher.. “Not right at this Moment Sir, He’s in back with the bakers... Is there s’thing I can assist you with?” He started his whine again.. Then TSGT G came from in back.. The Captain had a complaint about the Bread pudding.. and it shouldn’t be served when pies and other cakes were available... our bread pudding was well liked.. We had it to balance out the other desserts.. that gave us 4 choices to offer..
a good fruit sauce or a nutmeg/ cinnamon sauce.. and we also had an ice cream soft serve machine so we had 5 items to offer... Don’r see Why he got so butt-hurt over bread pudding being served.. when the Base or Wing Cmdr came in they asked about the bread pudding.. We got our day old bread used up that way... along with making. Dress’g To go with chicken , Turkey or Roast pork... We had
5 slots for pans on our lines.. We’d have a item being sliced to order.. two more imeats in half pans, a gravy that works with pork, gravy or beef.. a starch item;
Potatoes, and rice or noodles ... veggies ,
Soup.. usually in a crock on the counter next to the last item.. a long enough counter then a rack of desserts.. a salad bar... Soft serve ice cream machine... ..
Also a freezer box with ice cream bars ...
they had a lot of choices...