Navy Leadership Lessons

One of the best things about the Navy is that you get unparalleled opportunities to learn things that you just cannot learn in the civilian world. I assume that the other branches of the armed forces are much the same but my experience is with the Navy.

The way Leadership in the Navy works is interesting and in some ways mirrors civilian business and in others it veers wildly. There are actually two navies, the enlisted navy and the officer navy. Both are actually mirror images of each other and consist of ascending ranks of increasingly senior members culminating for the enlisted part in the MCPON or Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy, the acknowledged senior most member.

The nice thing about this kind of structure is that junior petty officers (the ranks from E4 to E6) can exercise leadership and responsibility while having senior personnel that they can look to for mentor ship. This is especially important because you start at a low position and as you gain seniority and experience you move to higher ranks. This also, by the way is unlike the civilian world in that you can't be hired as a Chief you have to ascend to that level. Because personnel move up through the ranks there is always a cadre of senior personnel to rely on and learn from which increases the stability of the entire military structure.

OK, now for the reason behind the long winded explanation of the military rank system. I mentioned in an earlier entry how not to be a manager. It struck me after writing that entry that the best bosses that I have worked for were all five to twenty years my senior. What this really meant was that they were seasoned and knowledgeable about not only their field but about how to manage. Younger managers almost always have a couple of major shortcomings. They are either lacking in the necessary leadership and management skills (not having had the time to develop them) or are woefully ignorant of the area that they are responsible for.

Now, before devolving into a rant about knowing the skills you are managing I want to say that you do not absolutely have to know everything about the area you are managing to be an effective manager. However, I believe that it is a crippling handicap to lack expert or at least basic knowledge about your area. My reasoning is that of you at least have a good basic knowledge you can at least as reasonable questions.

Now, back to the Navy and why I am writing this entry in the first place.

What the Navy taught me was first how to do the job I enlisted to perform and secondly by example I learned the skills and developed the tools to manage when I rose to a level where I would be expected to lead others. Again, I will re-emphasize that no matter the management problem that I might run into there was someone senior to me that had already faced the same problem.

If you cannot see how valuable that is try to solve a computer problem without referencing the web. One of first places I go to troubleshoot a problem that I haven't seen before is to google the error to see who else has had to live through the problem. I may not necessarily find the full answer there but I can get the guidance necessary to help me troubleshoot the error and arrive at a possible solution.

I am proud of the time I served in service to my country and more importantly I am appreciative of the skills and tools I gained while there. I firmly believe that when considering management positions I am sure that there are many errors that I will not have to worry about because of the training I received in the US Navy.