When was the last time you saw a military peer get fired from a position? Doesn’t happen too often, right? In the civilian world, the last several years has been characterized by high unemployment and a difficult job market even for new college graduates. In contrast, the military is intentionally difficult to enter, but also hard to be removed from. Why is that?
Several reasons are important:
- The military invests a lot of time/resources in developing specialized skills
- The nature of service is honorable and we give the service member much credit for volunteering to serve
- Service members are not easily replaceable
- The military asks a lot of its service members, so it gives a lot of leeway for marginal behavior
- Service members typically move every 2-5 years, so supervisors can “wait out” bad performance and pass it down the line
As a leader, you have mediocre performers on your team, the ones who fulfill their duty and not much more. They keep the organization running by learning just enough to progress in the military’s “up or out” system. They’re not destructive, they’re just there.
But how do you identify the bad apples, the ones who will have a corrosive, or even dangerous effect on your unit or another unit down the road? What subordinate traits are unacceptable and worth of dismissal?
Consider these three traits:
- Lack of integrity. Integrity is a clear line in the sand, especially as rank increases. Integrity is so common among our community that we often assume it away as a default trait for all service members and fail to assess or teach it enough. Leaders must aggressively investigate any hint of integrity violations, as they are not problems that will fix themselves.
- Inability to work with others. The military mission rests completely on teamwork. Whether deployed or in garrison, a subordinate who cannot interact with others is a threat to the unit’s cohesion. Every service member must be able to engage, converse, and share responsibility with those around him. Failing to do so erodes the most important characteristic of capable teams…trust.
- Resistance to grow. A subordinate with no willingness to develop is without question, useless. They need to grow as technical experts of their skill, and they need to grow as leaders. Leaders should publicize personal development as a “No-Fail” task and take active steps to evaluate subordinates on their relative growth.
Questions for Leaders:
- What other “no fail” traits does your organization espouse? Leave a comment below.
- How have you cultivated and reinforced the most desirable traits in your team?
- Do you think the military would be better-off if commanders could remove service members more easily?
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