Prior to starting college I served in the United States Army for around 5 years, where I gained most of my professional experience. As I’m sure one can imagine, military culture is slightly different than the typical professional environment, which results in professional expectations that are unique to the military. For example, military leaders are expected to act as supervisors and delegators of tasks. Military leaders are not expected to be involved in the work themselves, and in some cases, working alongside a lower enlisted soldier may even be considered inappropriate. My story involves a military leader, Sergeant K (SGT K), who not only refused to work alongside his soldiers, but failed to supervise the soldiers as they worked. …show more content…
First, as a leader, it is important that your workers see you as a person who will support their efforts and work as a member of the team, as opposed to viewing you as a person who will put their needs before the needs of the team as a whole. I think this is important because if your workers believe that you are supporting their efforts and view you as a part of the team in the same situation as themselves, they will have more respect for you and be willing to work harder and longer for you. Second, perception is reality. I saw SGT in his office reading for a split second, and I perceived this as laziness. I applied this label to SGT K for the remainder of his time with the company. In retrospect, SGT K could very well have been working the entire time he was in his office, except for the moment I walked by his office. I have no way of knowing what he did or accomplished while he was out of my field of vision. He very well may have accomplished a great deal of work. But, I saw him reading, perceived his actions as laziness, and let this perception cloud my opinion of him. So, as a leader it is obviously important to be supportive, but it is equally, if not more important, to convince your workers that you are supporting