By Donna Hoffmeyer
(original post on Medium)
“Ma’am, my leadership is pretty upset with me.” the service member stated
“Why is that?” I asked.
“Well, I was explaining what their role was in the situation, and my commander seemed put off by this.”
Let me stop here and give the background to the above scenario.
This was an actual conversation I had with one of the Guard and Reserve service members I took care of when I first started my last job in the military. Jeff, the service member, was in our medical continuation program. It allowed injured/ill guard/reserve service members the ability to remain on orders while they received medical care.
Jeff was a very articulate and organized Staff Sergeant (keep his rank in mind, it is relevant to the story). He read and understood the guidance, but was having trouble getting his leadership to understand what he needed from them. When he spoke, he was factual, clear and direct in what needed to be done and the timeline it needed to be completed. However, his communication with his leadership only seemed to irritate them. It confused both of us. At one point, I suggested he let me handle communication with them, with the hopes I could come from a standpoint of educating his leadership on the program.
A few months later, Jeff and I were in conversation about work, when he told me about his work background. Jeff, had been active duty for 11 years; Data Center Managers for an automobile company for 10 years supervising Electrical Engineers, Information Technology support staff, and union electricians; and currently a GS 14 (civilian equivalent to a Lt Col — Colonel) Senior Information Technology Project Manager for the Department of Homeland Security. Jeff had years of leadership experience!
However, his experience exceeded someone at the rank of Staff Sergeant. Jeff had many options, but wanted to specifically join his current unit because of their cyber mission. They did not have any officer slots available, so he happily accepted a SSgt slot, to become a Cyber Communicator. His new unit saw his value as mentor to the airmen.
Now the playing field made sense.
From my perspective we were dealing with a situation where the subordinate, Jeff, most likely had more breadth and leadership skills then his own commander and it appeared to have intimidated his boss. Instead of embracing Jeff’s proactive approach and learning from him, the commander’s ego may have gotten the best of him, shut down, and reacted by trying to quiet him. (Imagine the whole “children should be seen, but not heard” routine, but in the workplace.)
We both knew there was no way we were going to get anywhere with Jeff being proactive, so I handled communication with the commander and moved forward from there.
Subordinate Leaders
The Guard and Reserve encounter situations that are often unique, as compared to the active duty world. A large majority of the active duty world are mentored in the military environment and have all the bias and indoctrination to go with it. They do not know anything else. This is not good or bad; it is just a reality. There is a small percentage that come in as a second career. The biggest influx we saw was after 9/11.
However, with the Guard and Reserves, the average age for officers and enlisted is 41 and 33 respectively, as compared to active duty’s average age of 35 and 28 . With age comes a wide variety of experience and an established skill set from prior service, civil service and civilian work. For many, such as Jeff, their skills include management and leadership experience.
I want to note here the scenario given above was a person that was respectful of rank and position. When he met resistance he didn’t try to challenge, push, or belittle his boss. He just figured out another way to keep moving forward.
I have zero doubt there are scenarios where the subordinate is challenging and not respectful. Challenging or not, leaders have to find the middle ground.
Remember, leaders, no matter the experience level, cannot accomplish everything themselves. Many have tried and failed. The best leaders not only look for people that are smarter than them, but they know how to leverage those smarts for the greater good of the organization. A picnic isn’t a success unless everyone is bringing something good to the table.
So, what do you do when you realize your subordinate may have more leadership experience than you? Here are a few tips.
DO
Embrace them
Leverage their knowledge
Be willing to learn from them
Set boundaries
Delegate tasks/assignments
Listen to what they have to say
Revaluate the team and identify new strengths and weaknesses
DO NOT
Be intimidated
Dismiss them
Micromanage
Get frustrated if you don’t understand their methods
Avoid them
Abdicate decision making, it is your job. You are the leader, do your job.
Be afraid to compliment them.
Bottom line, it is okay if your subordinate has more leadership skills than you. Value them, be open to their knowledge, and learn from their experience. A good subordinate leader will impart their knowledge to you and respect the decision you make. Do your part to take in all relevant data to make the best informed decision for the mission and the team.
(Shout out goes to MSgt Jeffrey Dice for collaboration on this article. Thank you Jeff!)
