Teamwork

The military is typically seen as a place where working as a team is central to everything, and there is something to that. However, it's a very different type of teamwork than the civilian population is familiar with.

A military team is a team in the sense that everyone has a role, and everyone must fulfill their role for the job to be done. However, it's also something of a dictatorship. The team leader is in control. Everything takes place at their instruction. There are situations where another team member may have to step up, take initiative, and make a decision in the absence of the leader; however, that team member is often in the dark as to whether they will get an award for their actions, or two weeks extra duty and the resentment of everyone else. There often doesn't seem to be any middle ground on these teams.

The manner in which the job (or, in our terms, the Mission) is carried out tends to be laid out to the point of micromanagement. You not only have to do your job in a way that gets the desired results: you have to get the desired results in the EXACT way that your leadership wants you to get them. Their way might not be the easiest, fastest, most accurate, or best way to do it, but it is the way you are going to do it. Why? Because they said so.

One area in which we really do tend to excel is in our ability to rely on our team members. Every member of the team has to have an intimate understanding of, not just their job, but all the other jobs as well. Before we even start on a mission, everyone knows who does what, and who will take over each job in the event that the person assigned that job can't do it. The reason for this is obvious: Our teams are often dealing with life and death situations. In order to get things done, our contingency plans have to have backups, which will also have backups and contingency plans of their own. The flip side of this is that, if someone fails to fulfill their obligations, the consequences are severe in the extreme. And not just in actual combat situations. One of our favorite lines is "Train like you fight." While being 10 minutes late coming in from lunch, neglecting to clean your room, or losing your ID card might be pretty meaningless errors in most situations, we often deal with them rather harshly, so to another favorite saying: "Excellence is a habit".

When I started my military career, I was the person being dictated to. I did as I was told. I didn't offer my opinion, and I certainly didn't recommend a "better" way to do things. As I moved up in the ranks, I was finally able to bring up ideas for improvements, but I also gradually started to be that "give no quarter" leader. These days, I pretty much tell people what to do and how to do it, and expect them to hop when I say "Frog". It's something of a bad habit, honestly. My kids certainly like pointing out that "I'm not one of your soldiers!!"

I'm looking forward to a more collaborative style of teamwork. Perhaps unfortunately, I'm in the position of team leader, as usual. I'm sincerely hoping that, this time around, my team mates will let me know if I'm getting a little too...controlling. If I get to the point of directing and dictating, rather than asking, listening, and collaborating, someone should probably give me the internet version of a sock to the shoulder and a "Mellow out, Sarge!"