Sep 2010 TRADOC Senior Leader's Conference

[SJPONeill]

Anecdote. Peace story, staff type: I once talked to a pretty good General Officer who was upset that he didn't know what was happening and that he thus had to operate in the reactive mode. I suggested the answer to his problem was MBWA -- Management By Walking Around, he sholud just wander about the Hindquarters and talk to the Action Officers to get a feel for things. He called four days later and said he'd tried that, didn't work. Mine was the only shop where the resident Colonel or his Deputy didn't appear and hover as soon as the General wandered in from the hallway...

Unless that syndrome disappears from the Army and subordinate are ENCOURAGED to speak their minds without fear, this and future Vice Chiefs will not get many takers in open forums on any topic likely to be even slightly controversial...

We've had some who did that; with differing degrees of tact, dismissed the hovering elements and just wondered on their own or with a single notetaker, or perhaps their Comd WO - always interesting to see the chasm between the workface what was being reported up the line...although those applying a MBWA philosophy do need to be big enough to hear things that may not be palatable without launching off into low Earth orbit...

I had a boss in the mid-90s of the infantry persuasion (he was OK otherwise!!) who started every morning by 'walking the trenches' around his part of the HQ to ensure that he had his finger on the pulse of not just the 'business' but his people....

[Hacksaw]

As a battery commander, I had a sign right in my line of sight (LBWA)... constant reminder that if i was in my office odds were that there was something more important I should be doing... BN CDR got it... S3 didn't... he wanted to know why he could always get in touch with my XO but it took up to 2-3 hours to get a return call from me... I'd ask what he wanted, I'd then answer didn't my XO answer your question... then he'd say hem and haw and say yes, but I wanted an answer from you... to which I would respond for the umteenth time... Bob is empowered to answer your questions, that is why I've chained him to his desk... specifically to run the admin of the battery and answer staff questions... he knows his left and right limits and will tell you if he has to talk to me first... I will live with whatever he commits the battery to doing... but I will not sit at my desk on the off chance that you or the commander might call...

Two different S3s, each took 6 mths to train... and I can assure you it wasn't always comfortable knowing exactly what actually was going on... but if necessary I could adjust the azimuth before the BN or BDE CDR did so for me... only two rules of communication in my unit... rule 1) Never say, "I can't believe" for there is nothing we can't believe... can't fathom, don't understand, inconeivable... maybe, but everything is believable. Rule 2) never start a sentence with a disclaimor... e.g. "I don't want to sound like a smart ass" stop stop stop because no matter what you will sound like a smart ass... figure out what you need to say as constructively as possible... "Sir this is f@cked up beyond all recognition, we need to do x, y, and z first" that is perfectly acceptable and desired communication...

This approach was met with some significant push-back internally as well... PSGs, PLT LDRs and others were won't to hover and Soldiers were hesitant at first, but within 2 mths the culture had been changed... never been or were ever happier