Reflections on the past week
On Command and Control, On a "Trust-based" Leadership Style
A lot has happened in the past week during the exercise, things which should not be mentioned so publicly, but at the end of it all, when I approached S3 for a debrief, there was one thing he mentioned which doesn't really sit well with me, and its still bugging me.
He mentioned about mine, or in general, Alpha's leadership style, to be built on trust. It is our tendacy he says, to have things done based on "trust". Trust in that our junior commanders, our subordinates can get things done right. He wanted me to place sufficient command emphasis on our guys, supervise them and ensure that things are done exactly the way we want it to unfold, rather than to leave it to "auto-execution".
In defence, I cited the proficiency, expertise and experience my subcommanders and ADSS have to offer. S3 warned me against their complacency and an "everyday" attitude. Its apparent that my management style is different from him. No one's wong here, but I can't see myself being another kind of leader. I let my ADSS run the show, and I try to keep abreast of events happening. I feel that this is rather akin to the way my big boss runs many taskings of mine.. NDP, projects, etc. Somehow, someone must realise that I also do not have sufficient bandwidth, and most important, precious time to respond to minute details given my numerous taskings.
So is it just the assertiveness lacking in my command and control, or was it just a style differental? I feel that if I tighten my grip on my sub-commanders, the efficiency of the platoon management will suffer, and most importantly, conflicts will arise. So should my management style change?
A lot has happened in the past week during the exercise, things which should not be mentioned so publicly, but at the end of it all, when I approached S3 for a debrief, there was one thing he mentioned which doesn't really sit well with me, and its still bugging me.
He mentioned about mine, or in general, Alpha's leadership style, to be built on trust. It is our tendacy he says, to have things done based on "trust". Trust in that our junior commanders, our subordinates can get things done right. He wanted me to place sufficient command emphasis on our guys, supervise them and ensure that things are done exactly the way we want it to unfold, rather than to leave it to "auto-execution".
In defence, I cited the proficiency, expertise and experience my subcommanders and ADSS have to offer. S3 warned me against their complacency and an "everyday" attitude. Its apparent that my management style is different from him. No one's wong here, but I can't see myself being another kind of leader. I let my ADSS run the show, and I try to keep abreast of events happening. I feel that this is rather akin to the way my big boss runs many taskings of mine.. NDP, projects, etc. Somehow, someone must realise that I also do not have sufficient bandwidth, and most important, precious time to respond to minute details given my numerous taskings.
So is it just the assertiveness lacking in my command and control, or was it just a style differental? I feel that if I tighten my grip on my sub-commanders, the efficiency of the platoon management will suffer, and most importantly, conflicts will arise. So should my management style change?
posted by Joseph at
Friday, May 04, 2007
1 Comments:
interesting question... but i guess u could ask for feedback from the ground as well? See if they think that you are exerting the correct amount of C&C on them? or if any more of it will hinder operations?
Too much management could turn into both a hassle and a hit on morale when ppl think u dun trust them also...
But I'm sure ur S3 has good intentions in mind~~ =)
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