I vividly recall walking into my Squadron Commander’s office shortly after I took command of my first Troop. He asked me how things were going. I replied, “Sir, I feel like I’m treading water with a 20-pound brick right now. As a platoon leader and assistant operations officer, if something was wrong, I could always take things into my own hands and fix it myself. Now, it is impossible for me to fix everything myself. I have to get my headquarters section or PLs to fix everything for me.” He replied, “Welcome to command. It’s great, isn’t it!”
As a platoon leader, you have an incredible amount of control over many of the problems your unit faces. Spending a little more time at the office or applying some personal pressure could solve most problems (even if it isn’t the most effective means). You can track the details of each of your soldiers on your own. You can correct any last-minute issues with your range by yourself (or with a little help from your company executive officer – XO). When you get tagged with being the arms room officer, you can make sure all regulations and requirements are met with just a little help from the armorer.
As a PL, most of your problems are within your personal span of control. You may have the occasional need for a little outside assistance, but – in your sphere – you can leap tall buildings in a single bound. This is no longer the case at the next level. In company command, you don’t have the time to handle many of the issues your company will face. You must leverage the leaders in your organization through the effective employment of systems.
You can’t track the details of all your soldiers. Instead, you rely on your administrative NCO to work closely with your 1SG, keeping tabs on everyone. You don’t have the time to micro-manage the details of a range. You have to trust that platoon leadership to get the job done and will have the XO spot-check it. Your ability to go through every detail of the arms room inspection is suddenly caught up in your other responsibilities. So, you will trust your arms room officer and armorer. Sure, you inspect, you stay involved, and you train subordinates to accomplish the task.
None of this is to say you “put a subordinate between you and the problem.” You are still intimately involved and ultimately responsible. But, you aren’t in sole ownership and control. And those who you are trusting, aside from your NCOs, are largely untrained, new lieutenants. This makes your responsibility to train them to standard and equip them with systems all the more crucial.
Even with all this help, you’ll still spend too much time on administrative issues. (By administrative issues I mean those routine things that commanders must do or ensure are completed, e.g., AAA-162, NMC Report, Parts Flow, DA Form 5988s, the UCFR, Land and Ammo Reports, etc.) Commanders need to develop systems to allow their unit to do routine things routinely and do them well.
Every extra or unnecessary moment your leaders spend on the routine is time that can’t be spent making your teams and squads better. Without effective systems, manned and maintained by people, your leaders will spend more time behind a computer in the platoon cage than they will on your true objective: effectively training your formation.
This all leads to the question: “How do you develop systems?” Each unit will have its own nuances that slightly change things but there are a few key things you can do to develop effective systems:
Observe
Spend your time as a lieutenant (or captain if you’ve already missed your chance as a lieutenant) learning how the different systems work. Know how a DA5988 flows through the organization. Learn how Range Operations schedules training. Understand how your battalion handles junior NCO promotion boards. Know how the XO coordinates for land and ammo with the S3 shop. Take the time to learn these (and many more) processes. It will provide insight into how to make your system more efficient.
Think
Stop and think about what an effective flow through the system looks like. Think about how you could save your soldiers’, your leaders’, and your own–time and resources. These might not all align in each system. You must prioritize. Think about what makes the most sense for your organization.
Develop
Once you’ve determined what your systems should look like, sketch them out and develop them. Make your plan realistic and feasible. Focus it on your organization. For example, you can’t just change the flow of DA5988s in the motorpool. Your Battalion XO and Maintenance Chief might have some words for you if you do. However, you might be able to influence your higher headquarters’ processes if you can communicate the benefits of the change. Don’t be afraid to go to bat for your idea if you’re convinced it is better.
Implement
First, get the buy-in of those individuals who will implement your system. For example, don’t develop a personnel system without your 1SG’s support. That is primarily his or her system to run. Give key stakeholders a say. Leverage them in system development and implementation. Help your team see why this change is necessary and better for them and/or the unit.
Enforce
The second law of thermodynamics implies that all systems will trend towards entropy. Unless you input energy, systems will move toward disorder and chaos. As a commander, you must ensure that you put in the required energy to keep your systems working. Deploying to a CTC or an operational deployment will test and validate many of your systems. However, it may cause chaos in others.
Upon returning to home station, reinvigorate your systems to ensure they don’t descend into chaos. Even without deployments, other issues will push your systems towards failure; the enemy gets a vote. Invest some energy up front to get your systems running strong, then periodically exert some energy to keep your systems effective and efficient. This systems check is like rotating the tires and changing the oil in a car. Take care of the system and the system will take care of you.
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The further you advance in your career, the more important systems become. If you want to be successful at higher levels, you have to master systems management. But remember, at the using or abusing end of any systems is a person. Be mindful of the lever-puller too.
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