Posted on Jun 14, 2014
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When advanced to the rank of a petty officer the indoctrination course is but a week. In my opinion you can't forge a leader out of someone and expect them to step out and be there to lead others with a weeks worth of training. In our fast paced military I don't feel that we are teaching our fresh petty officers to man their rank properly. Any other opinions on this?
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Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 4
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Yep...I have an idea...find yourself a good senior Petty Officer or Chief who is willing to mentor you. They will teach you more about leadership, personnel management and technical acumen than you will ever learn in any type of school...formal or otherwise.
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SCPO (Join to see)
It needs to be a combination of both. There needs to be a longer training period for induction, but more so, the instructors need to Want to be there, not last minute "volunteers" to teach. It all begins with a quality Instructor giving the basis for Naval Leadership at the PO level. Then find yourself a Chief and get the real world application to the theoretical leadership from the textbook.
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PO1 (Join to see)
Senior Chief
I would agree - in a perfect world.
But it's not a perfect world. As an example - when stationed in Misawa, I was TAD so often I literally was not able to take the test for 2nd class the first 2 times I was eligible. I was unable to attend the required mandatory PO indoc courses for both 3rd and 2nd class. Yet I was better trained, had better leadership abilities and was a better technician than any of my peers solely because I had a PO1 and Chief that took me under their wings and made sure I learned all the lessons necessary. I took the 3rd class and 2nd class PO indoc in successive weeks - one right after the other. Did I learn a damned thing in those classes - I learned that I was head and shoulders ahead of even some of my seniors.
Instructor-lead learning can be excellent. But relying upon, and insisting that particular method is the only way to go is a fallacy believed and supported only by the mediocre. Leadership is NOT taught in class - it is learned one step at a time, over a period of months to years, sometimes decades.
Many people I know with college degrees and positions of authority believe they are leaders simply because of their position - but that does NOT make them a leader. It makes them a manger, but not a leader. Some make the mistake of thinking because they are assigned to lead that they are leaders - not even close to being true.
A great officer I was fortunate to work with - Admiral McFarland, who was, I believe, the last Admiral for the Naval Security Group - once told me: "People are lead - things are managed". Whether he was the first to make that declaration - doubtful, but it made a huge impression on me.
I would agree - in a perfect world.
But it's not a perfect world. As an example - when stationed in Misawa, I was TAD so often I literally was not able to take the test for 2nd class the first 2 times I was eligible. I was unable to attend the required mandatory PO indoc courses for both 3rd and 2nd class. Yet I was better trained, had better leadership abilities and was a better technician than any of my peers solely because I had a PO1 and Chief that took me under their wings and made sure I learned all the lessons necessary. I took the 3rd class and 2nd class PO indoc in successive weeks - one right after the other. Did I learn a damned thing in those classes - I learned that I was head and shoulders ahead of even some of my seniors.
Instructor-lead learning can be excellent. But relying upon, and insisting that particular method is the only way to go is a fallacy believed and supported only by the mediocre. Leadership is NOT taught in class - it is learned one step at a time, over a period of months to years, sometimes decades.
Many people I know with college degrees and positions of authority believe they are leaders simply because of their position - but that does NOT make them a leader. It makes them a manger, but not a leader. Some make the mistake of thinking because they are assigned to lead that they are leaders - not even close to being true.
A great officer I was fortunate to work with - Admiral McFarland, who was, I believe, the last Admiral for the Naval Security Group - once told me: "People are lead - things are managed". Whether he was the first to make that declaration - doubtful, but it made a huge impression on me.
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You don't learn to be a leader in a classroom. Sure you can learn leadership techniques but you don't become a better leader by going to class. Leadership is learned from experience i.e. learning from other leaders, being placed in leadership roles etc. As a PO you should encourage your junior sailors to step up and lead and allow them to do so will increase their leadership ability. If you don't know how to lead when you are placed in that position it's because your leadership has failed you. If seniors don't teach juniors how are things suppose to run after that senior is gone.
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I've wondered why we haven't gone to a longer course myself, or even established academies such as the other branches. It's always been here, watch these power points as I read them to you.
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