Best Advice to Give an Incoming LT

1. &nbsp;Trust but verify! &nbsp;<div><br></div><div>2. &nbsp;You are not "in charge" - your NCOs are in charge; you are responsible. &nbsp;There is a huge difference. &nbsp;When something goes wrong, the question will be "who is responsible for this?" not who did it. &nbsp;And if you start to explain who did it, you are making an excuse and blaming Soldiers. &nbsp;You will go down in flames. &nbsp;Never let your NCOs push you aside saying that they will handle everything, because ultimately you are responsible, not them - and they know it.</div><div><br></div><div>3. &nbsp;Fix it. &nbsp;See #2. &nbsp;If something goes wrong, fix it. &nbsp;Figure out who did it and how to prevent it from happening again later. &nbsp;First, fix it. &nbsp;If you can't, get help. &nbsp;Bad news never gets better with time. &nbsp;Never sit on bad news. &nbsp;Situations get beyond anyone's ability to help you faster than you can imagine. &nbsp;People will figure out that you knew, but didn't speak up even faster, and you will be the one in hot water...see #2.</div><div><br></div><div>4. &nbsp;Avoid giving away your authority by trying to borrow someone else's. &nbsp;What is the difference between saying, "Do this" and "CPT So-and-so says do this"? &nbsp;A lot. &nbsp;You have the authority to give the order so give it. &nbsp;Putting another person's name with it indicates a lack of confidence and/or a lack of agreement with the order. &nbsp;If your NCO asks why, you should know the answer well enough without having to invoke someone else's name ("Because they are due to HRC by the 7th," not "Because the XO wants it that way"). &nbsp;BTW, "why" is not an unfair question. &nbsp;Understanding why helps everyone make the mission a success.</div><div><br></div><div>5. &nbsp;Stay in your lane. &nbsp;There is an O lane, a WO lane, an NCO lane, and a Joe lane. &nbsp;Part of the O lane is making sure people stay in theirs. &nbsp;This does NOT mean leave it to your NCOs...see #2. &nbsp;The O lane is kind of sucky most of the time. &nbsp;Lots of paperwork, reports, PowerPoint slides, etc., but this is how your tell your section/unit's story, how you get resources for your Soldiers, and how you make sure your issues stay on the bigger radar. &nbsp;If you are running around directing your Soldiers (in the NCO lane) or rolling up your sleeves to work along side your Soldiers (the Joe lane), who is doing your job?...NO ONE. &nbsp;There is no one but you to do your job, so you better be doing it.</div><div><br></div><div>6. &nbsp;Never try to cover up the fact that you do not know what you are doing. &nbsp;You are an LT. &nbsp;People know you do not know what you are doing. &nbsp;Pretending that you do isn't fooling anyone. &nbsp;It is more impressive to ask the right questions than it is to screw things up by trying to go it alone.</div><div><br></div><div>7. &nbsp;Make sure you are asking the right questions. &nbsp;Don't expect someone else to hand you all the answers. &nbsp;Take the time to do some research on your own. &nbsp;Google is your friend. &nbsp;Better not come in saying, "I don't know how to do this," but rather, "sir/ma'am, it looks like I could take approach A, B, or C and I want to clarify what you are looking for."</div><div><br></div><div>8. &nbsp;Make sure you are asking the right people. &nbsp;See #5. &nbsp;If it is an O lane task, do not ask your NCO (and if it is something your NCO should be doing, best not ask an O). &nbsp;WOs are the exception, if one is willing to help, take that and learn all you can. &nbsp;If the CDRs intent is unclear, back brief him/her to make sure you've got it. &nbsp;Don't ask someone else who didn't hear the request and/or doesn't know your CDR.</div><div><br></div><div>9. &nbsp;Keep lines of communication open at all times. &nbsp;Famous last words, "too easy, ma'am," or "I got this, sir" or any derivation of the same. &nbsp;If Soldiers are saying it to you, see #1. &nbsp;Delegation is your number one job, but make sure they feel like they can come back to you, and if they don't, you go and close the loop. &nbsp;If you are saying it, how will you feel when you hit a roadblock? &nbsp;Stick with, "I'll get right on this," then move out sharply (you've got a lot of Googling to do and no time to waste).</div><div><br></div><div>10. &nbsp;Be able to laugh at yourself, but do not tolerate being belittled. &nbsp;My first time ever in a motor pool I was there to do inventory and mistook an industrial freezer for a pressure washer. &nbsp;I laughed right along with the guys, but beware of practical jokes or people who play "stump the chump" games with you. &nbsp;You do that stuff to each other as cadets, right? &nbsp;Because you are comfortable with each other and you are at the same level. &nbsp;The senior leadership might do that to you, too. &nbsp;They out rank you. &nbsp;When your NCOs are doing this to you or worse, your Soldiers, look at the first two examples and see where that puts you in their eyes. &nbsp;It's a red flag. &nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>11. &nbsp;You will need friends badly - so make the right ones, and now is the best time. &nbsp;Don't be a jerk to you fellow cadets and LTs because you will need them for support down the road. &nbsp;Being an officer is very lonely. &nbsp;Having good peer friends will help you to avoid #12.</div><div><br></div><div>12. &nbsp;Your Soldiers are not your friends. &nbsp;Do not confide your personal problems in them and never, ever confide your disagreements or issues with you unit leadership with them. &nbsp;They need to be able to confide in you. &nbsp;You are there to support them, not the other way around. &nbsp;Never tell a Soldier something that you are hoping they will keep confident - because they won't, and it's not a fair position to put them in. I don't think "friending" non-peers on Facebook or other social sites where your personal life is discussed is a good idea for as long as you are in the same chain of command. &nbsp;Or ever, if you are a social media over-sharer. &nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>...and that's what I learned about being an LT. &nbsp;I wish I could say I did all of this perfectly or learned it without a few solid ass chewings...but as they say, "today's ass chewing is tomorrow's funny story" so keep your chin up. &nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Now, what I learned about being a female officer is a separate topic.</div>

<p>In lieu of all the great advice you've been given thus far...I'll leave you with 3 rules that you should remember always as a newly minted 2LT.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Rule #1: Always look cool. </p><p>Rule #2: Never get lost. </p><p>Rule #3: If you do get lost, revert back to rule #1</p>

<div>I have to say that this is one of the best articles that I have read. It pretty much covers it.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>I would also say that you need to compliment your platoon sergeant. Keep in mind there are NCOs that are against officers. Some NCOs I have ran into pretty much want to keep you out of the picture. I would not let that happen. They are many great NCOs &nbsp;out there but as someone said in the post trust but verify.</div><div class="pta-link-card"><div class="pta-link-card-picture"><img src="http://m1res.pgpic.com/t/286"></div><div class="pta-link-card-content"><div class="pta-link-card-title"><a target="_blank" href="http://www.military1.com/army/article/647-dont-be-a-douche-15-rules-to-effectively-lead-a-platoon">'Don't be a douche': 15 rules to effectively lead a platoon</a></div><div class="pta-link-card-description">Military News: 'Don't be a douche': 15 rules to effectively lead a platoon</div></div><div style="clear:both"></div><div class="pta-box-hide"><i class="icon-remove"></i></div></div>