What hard knocks did you have early in your career that helped you be the leader that you are today?

2015-08-25T23:26:57-04:00

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 25 at 2015 11:27 PM

2015-08-25T23:27:48-04:00

Do not use reply all!

Response by CH (CPT) Heather Davis made Aug 25 at 2015 11:38 PM

2015-08-25T23:38:35-04:00

Due to I was an E-1, WO1, and O1E, I learned the importance of being connected, corrected, and protected. BLUF, If your leaders do not have a professional relationship with you it is easy to be labeled and misunderstood.

Response by CPT Chris Loomis made Aug 26 at 2015 12:13 AM

2015-08-26T00:13:46-04:00

Uhm..... I had to learn tact.... That there is a time and place to just keep my big fat mouth shut.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 26 at 2015 1:10 AM

2015-08-26T01:10:39-04:00

I did not really like my first job and many of their supervisors but it did motivate me to find my niche which ultimately was a dream come true......

Response by Capt Seid Waddell made Aug 26 at 2015 1:19 AM

2015-08-26T01:19:04-04:00

Not hard knocks, but serving under two great leaders taught me lessons that I am still using many decades later.

Response by CAPT Kevin B. made Aug 26 at 2015 1:28 AM

2015-08-26T01:28:22-04:00

Seeing death early caused by bad orders tends to get you to focus on the true stuff that really matters and ditching the rest. Gives you better clarity in keeping your folk alive later on. One reason I didn't make Flag was I had a habit of getting in Flag's faces when they were giving me mission without force protection. BTW, it's a tough leadership hill to climb if you spend your career working for REMFs. Get out there and own some responsibility.

Response by PO1 Shahida Marmol made Aug 26 at 2015 1:45 AM

2015-08-26T01:45:31-04:00

I am still trying to figure it out. Apparently I am overly assertive leader. Some say I am strict, but it's hard when things got so laxed over time.

Response by SFC Joseph Weber made Aug 26 at 2015 2:04 AM

2015-08-26T02:04:09-04:00

SFC (Later Retired CSM) Alvin Judge and his boot straight up my ass.

Response by MSgt Niclas Svensson made Aug 26 at 2015 5:48 AM

2015-08-26T05:48:54-04:00

As someone who got into trouble and was very nearly shown the door as a young airman, but was given a chance to turn myself around, I learned a few things from my leaders at the time that I use as an example of what to do (and in a few cases, what not to do) with my Airmen now.

I learned that as a supervisor, giving someone the benefit of another chance, even when some people tell you to cut bait, can turn a "lost cause" airman into a hard charging SNCO, provided that the individual in question shows they really want it and are willing to put in the work to turn it around.

I learned that as a mentor, one of the most powerful things you can do is actually talk to that "lost cause" airman and let them know (from experience) that a mistake early on is not necessarily a death sentence.

I know my experiences as a young airman helped save the careers of at least 2 of my troops who ran into problems early on. One of my first troops as a young SSgt got into a bind and was contemplating separating...that same individual was just promoted to MSgt this year.

Might he have had the same results with another supervisor? Perhaps...but I know for a fact that talking to him about my experiences helped guide him to where he is today. I know this because he sought me out to thank me when MSgt results came out. Just as I sought out the individual that I credit with saving my career when I made MSgt.

You can keep the awards and decs...knowing that I personally had a positive impact and affected the life and career of one of my troops was the greatest gift I have ever received in my 20 year career.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 26 at 2015 6:50 AM

2015-08-26T06:50:24-04:00

As a 2LT, being tactful, I'm still learning. :-)

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 26 at 2015 3:39 PM

2015-08-26T15:39:51-04:00

Getting kicked out of Sub School

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 26 at 2015 5:23 PM

2015-08-26T17:23:10-04:00

I never received any hard knocks per say but in my case I was exposed to both extremes in leadership. Early in my career I had a MSG who did everything that his junior enlisted did in turns of work, details, and training. He would also go to bat for us as well as put us in our place. To me he was the definition of a leader. Later in my career when I was down range I had a Cpt and GySgt that were the opposite. It was all about them and what they could get to make their lives on deployment easier for them. Even at the cost of their troops. What made this worse I feel was the Cpt was a mustang officer. So having these two extremes in my career I think engrained in me what it is to be a leader.

We as leaders are not above our troops. Our job is to give them every advantage we can so they can succeed. This also includes working next to them and sharing in the hardship and the suck, also training with them. There are many advantages to higher rank but with those advantages comes
greater sacrifice and greater responsibilities to those troops.

Response by MAJ Michael Bressler made Aug 27 at 2015 12:23 PM

2015-08-27T12:23:20-04:00

Beast Barracks, 1964, USMA

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Aug 29 at 2015 8:14 PM

2015-08-29T20:14:38-04:00

I was going through a bad divorce and fell into a bad depression for several months. My unit rallied around me and took care of me until I got better. I learned about humility, compassion, and my unit felt compassion for me.

Response by CH (MAJ) Thomas Conner made Sep 2 at 2015 1:25 PM

2015-09-02T13:25:55-04:00

While attending the Chaplains' Basic Course, for some reason my SGL hated me! At first I thought it was just an act, but after several classmates began asking me what I had done to make him hate me, I began to realize he really did!

Response by Sgt Dale Briggs made Oct 18 at 2020 12:06 PM

2020-10-18T12:06:39-04:00

No hard knocks here, if you trust your SGTs, they say you do, I was never ever asked to do anything ridiculous or out of the ordinary. Honestly we all got along I never saw any issues at all not even minor ones. But good leadership starts out at the top, and that’s not just the officers in the unit, they’re so hands off they don’t count for much, it starts with the First Sgt and the Company Gunny, if they’re good the units healthy, that won’t tolerate asinine behavior from anyone, that includes plt leaders too. Even there we had no problems, my Plt Commander didn’t care for me, but I was so short by then I had Short Timers Attitude pretty badly. It was certainly my fault, my comm plt was known as Briggs and his yahoos, right from the LT, lol I was a bad influence those last few months We’d go to Bragg for 30 days to shoot every June, my EAS was 13 July.