Posted on Feb 9, 2019
How do you address subordinates who are unavailable to succeed at work because of personal family situations?
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I hope everyone is doing well. I wanted to check in for some advice. I spent my LT time on staff. I became a good project manager but i did not do a lot or personnel management.
Well, now that is coming home to roost. I have a new W02 who is not very committed to excellence. I spoke with him Friday about our increasing tempo because of upcoming training events. then today he messages me stating that "his wife is out of town until the 22nd and he has to pick up his kids at 1630, so he may not be able to stay late". I did not reply for fear of saying the wrong thing. I will call him tomorrow, but I wanted some counsel before I do that.
What accommodations ,if any, do I have to make for the care of his dependents? I am curious if others have run into personnel who are not committed to success and any TTPs that have worked well.
Well, now that is coming home to roost. I have a new W02 who is not very committed to excellence. I spoke with him Friday about our increasing tempo because of upcoming training events. then today he messages me stating that "his wife is out of town until the 22nd and he has to pick up his kids at 1630, so he may not be able to stay late". I did not reply for fear of saying the wrong thing. I will call him tomorrow, but I wanted some counsel before I do that.
What accommodations ,if any, do I have to make for the care of his dependents? I am curious if others have run into personnel who are not committed to success and any TTPs that have worked well.
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Posted 6 y ago
Responses: 12
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This is the mission versus people issue. Always tough to find the balance. Talk with him, explain the requirements and ask if he needs help meeting them. But be honest, does he need to stay every day or just on certain ones? I never had much patience for making people stay past normal duty hours unless I had real work for them to do. Because I did that, when I really needed them to stay and work, most volunteered.
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SrA Aaron Zeiger
I'm no longer in the military but I have people that work for me now that I'm older. People issues are the same in both worlds. You definitely need to balance mission requirements with morale. Every good leader has that trait as you've shown your troops.
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While telling a W02 was out of my pay grade, isn't it the Soliders responsible to ensure he/she has a good family care plan in place? Should the W02 not have to take the proper arrangements for care of the children? What if he was deployed? Isn't like we could leave the combat zone.
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Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS
Absolutely true that there should be a plan.. but plans go off the rails all the time. My wife and I ended up on the range at the same time one year. Daycare doesn't open at 0300...
That said, one of my fellow Sgt's wives was kind enough to watch my son for a week.
I get your comments regarding deployment and combat zones, but in this case they aren't in one. It's great to think in worst case scenarios.. but this is a case where we can make allowances, and it really doesn't cost us anything. Whereas on deployments, the FAMILY is making allowances for our Service... and it costs them a lot more.
That said, one of my fellow Sgt's wives was kind enough to watch my son for a week.
I get your comments regarding deployment and combat zones, but in this case they aren't in one. It's great to think in worst case scenarios.. but this is a case where we can make allowances, and it really doesn't cost us anything. Whereas on deployments, the FAMILY is making allowances for our Service... and it costs them a lot more.
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If his wife being gone is going to be a recurring theme then he would need a family care plan put in place; along the same mindset of single parent. Is this WO2 critical to the mission? Is the mission degraded because he can't stay late? I imagine he can't come in early, maybe he can work through lunch or take work home with him. I often observe everything becoming mission critical as a way to justify long, late hours. Family is important and accommodations should be made so long as it doesn't effect the mission for yourself or others. I say that with caution as I've had NCOs and soldiers use that as an excuse to get out of all sorts of stuff, my daughter this, my son that, my wife... fill in the blank, therefore I have to leave at the most inopportune time. When you say "not very committed to excellence" I hear 'not what I would do'.
I guess what I'm getting at is always look at it whole person concept, if this has been a trend or mission is degraded then 'I'm sorry chief you need to make other arrangements for you kids'. If this is a one time thing and they fulfill their mission requirements, then 'hey handle your business, I just need to know X, Y, Z will get done'.
There's not always a book answer and I generally treat my subordinates based on how they've performed up to the point they need accommodations. However, mission does come first and sometimes those accommodations aren't pleasant.
I guess what I'm getting at is always look at it whole person concept, if this has been a trend or mission is degraded then 'I'm sorry chief you need to make other arrangements for you kids'. If this is a one time thing and they fulfill their mission requirements, then 'hey handle your business, I just need to know X, Y, Z will get done'.
There's not always a book answer and I generally treat my subordinates based on how they've performed up to the point they need accommodations. However, mission does come first and sometimes those accommodations aren't pleasant.
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