Posted on Dec 9, 2015
The Problem With Becoming An Irreplaceable Marine Officer
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Irreplaceable Officers / NCOs / Soldiers
A good friend of mine wrote a great article (see attached) about becoming an irreplaceable officer in the Marine Corps, however I don't think this just applies to Officers or the Marine Corps. I think we see this at every level, in every organization.
We all have that go to guy/gal that we always give the hard jobs to because we know they will get it done. But to what extent??? It seems we punish those that do well by giving them more work and not wanting to let them go. I think we need to start looking at both what is best for the organization and the individual, otherwise we are going to start losing these folks and will be worse off than we would be by allowing them to progress / move on to new assignments.
What are your thoughts?
A good friend of mine wrote a great article (see attached) about becoming an irreplaceable officer in the Marine Corps, however I don't think this just applies to Officers or the Marine Corps. I think we see this at every level, in every organization.
We all have that go to guy/gal that we always give the hard jobs to because we know they will get it done. But to what extent??? It seems we punish those that do well by giving them more work and not wanting to let them go. I think we need to start looking at both what is best for the organization and the individual, otherwise we are going to start losing these folks and will be worse off than we would be by allowing them to progress / move on to new assignments.
What are your thoughts?
The Problem With Becoming An Irreplaceable Marine Officer
Posted from taskandpurpose.com
Leadership
Officers
Marines
Posted 9 y ago
Responses: 14
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Its not always due to being the irreplaceable individual in an organization, but what I call the path of least resistance. Many so-called leaders don't want to have to convince a person to do what the job calls for and rather than explaining the importance of the task and why one is selected to do the job, with possible failure or fallout, they go to the person that will just do the job with no compunctions. I would always do the job, but as a good military person, I would explain the issues, say "Aye, Aye, Sir" do an about fact and complete the job. There is no such thing as a irreplaceable individual. In fact, particularly, the military, we are like tools. If it breaks, you order another one and make it do the job.
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CMSgt Mike Esser
If we are doing our jobs, junior personnel step up and do our jobs when we are not able.....pass the torch of leadership, train every troop to do the guy above and below them job.
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MCPO Roger Collins
No disagreement with that. Succession planning is critical to success in the military or in civilian organizations. More difficult in the military due to transfers.
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I feel if leaders think they are "irreplaceable" they have not developed their subordinates. Every leader should prepare his Soldiers to be ready for the next man up. I fell into the my platoon will fail without me trap and quickly realized the bigger picture. It's about making the organization better. I will not be here forever but I can leave a lasting impression that continues to carry on.
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MCPO Roger Collins
It's called succession planning and why every organization, civilian and military, has low to higher levels of responsibility. From there on, good leaders develop their people for moving up. You are on the mark, SFC.
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LTC (Join to see) We all recall Soldiers who would not serve in a staff position when nominated!
(One name immediately comes to mind! He wanted to be a 1SG forever!).
More power to them, and I always regretted their departure!
(One name immediately comes to mind! He wanted to be a 1SG forever!).
More power to them, and I always regretted their departure!
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