As the lieutenant was escorted to her new stateroom, the command duty officer informed her that the combat systems officer would be there shortly. She placed her luggage on the deck and noticed a made rack with a new command ball cap with “WEPS” embroidered on the back, a name tag, some administrative supplies, and this letter:
In over 20 years of naval service, I have never been more challenged than during my department head tours. These tours required grit, humility, and faith in my Sailors, my peers, and the chain of command. As I close out my tour and turn the department over to you, I leave you this letter to help smooth your transition. I hope these words of advice that I have gained through my experience help guide you and enable you to lead your Department, help the other Department Heads, and contribute to the overall well-being of the ship and her crew!
Teamwork
First things first, do NOT worry about your fitness report. The captain is aware of timing concerns, year group considerations, etc., and most likely is already working to help you and the other department heads have a successful tour. Your priority should be teamwork and collaboration across the departments to achieve the ship’s mission. Your primary focus should be on ensuring the ship and crew succeed as opposed to a narrow view on you or your department’s successes.
I cannot stress enough that you communicate your concerns, coordinate across departments and ensure you understand your role, and know the requirements of and support certifications outside your department. Remember, your ship is going through an inspection or certification, not the “chief engineer’s department.” Look to see where you and your department can help. A good department head takes an “All-for-One, One-for-All” 3-Musketeers approach to his or her tour. The ship succeeds or fails together. Department heads who embrace this mentality can engender a positive effect on the command beyond their department.
If department heads do not work as a team, the ship pays the price, the crew will be forced to be reactive and shift priorities, which creates anxiety and a negative work environment. They DESERVE your best!
Leadership
There is no cookie-cutter approach to leadership. “Situational leadership” is required based on your abilities, the audience, and the event. Some Sailors and officers require a lighter touch with less oversight, while others benefit from less autonomy and more structure and engagement. What works for one department head may not work for another.
You are always being observed and inspected whether you are aware of it or not. Do you walk by trash sitting on the deck and not pick it up? Are you cutting corners? Are you passing blame or fault of an unpopular decision up the chain of command? Department heads must enforce high standards to ensure the mission is accomplished, the crew is properly trained and ready for underway operations, and the ship’s maintenance/material readiness is effectively maintained. Work your hardest to be the example.
Ask For Help
Do not try to convince everyone you are an expert. This is a façade, and your Sailors and your commanding officer (CO) and executive officer (XO) know better. Ask questions and be very careful before making unsubstantiated assumptions, especially related to operational matters. Seek out the information you need.
I was serving as the weapons officer during a multiship coalition live-fire event with air services providing targets. Our ship was the last to shoot and while we steamed in formation, I was in the Combat Information Center (CIC) reviewing the scripted procedures the CO had signed and noticed something did not quite feel right. The time for us to shoot was approaching and my concerns were growing. I picked up the phone and called the XO (he was a prior WEPS) and told him I needed help. He immediately came to CIC and was able to quickly determine the scripted procedures were gun-decked. He recognized it was a merger of two previously approved procedures; both had been approved by the CO, but not in this form. At the end of the day we had a safe and successful evolution, but it required me to swallow my pride and do the right thing: asking for help.
Expectation Management
As you leave Surface Warfare Officer School you may have a grand vision on how to implement your “departmental philosophy” and be anxious to prove your worth and showcase your abilities. I caution you to take time to settle in and understand the culture of your department and the overall health of your personnel, equipment, and programs under your charge. Don’t rush to make changes to show you are the new sheriff in town. Understand the process and then assess whether or not a change is merited. If appropriate, consult with your chief petty officers and department LCPO for their insights and thoughts. On the other side of the coin, if something is patently and clearly unsatisfactory and requires correction, then make immediate changes to rectify the discrepancy.
You will undoubtedly find several discrepancies, and if you have not, then you most likely are overlooking something or did not receive “ground truth” during the turnover process. I strongly advise you to pick your battles and remind yourself that change is slow and can be uncomfortable for your department. Look for trends, think critically to determine what matters, and attack your largest concerns first.
Communication/Commander’s Intent
Keep the captain and XO informed of your casualties, personnel issues, concerns, and challenges. It is imperative that you communicate your intentions and priorities. Do not wait for the perfect solution or answer if it creates a lag; this can apply to your capacity as the tactical action officer (TAO), department head, or command duty officer (CDO).
When communicating with the captain be attentive for feedback and if there is any ambiguity DO NOT hesitate to give a repeat back to the CO or ask for clarification. The captain would prefer to spend a few extra minutes explaining his or her intent then for you to execute something other than what was directed.
Relationship With The Departmental Leading Chief Petty Officer/Command Master Chief (Dlcpo/Cmc)
Each CMC and DLCPO are different. The CMC can be a good sounding board when making decisions or having issues with your Chiefs or Sailors. The CMC most likely will have sound. As part of the triad, the CMC also may be privy to the background on a decision, have insight on the captain’s thought process/concerns/etc.
Your DLCPO and you will have to work out the expectations and the role they will play. Consider using your DLCPO as a funnel to collect and review reports from your divisions. Inevitably, you and your DLCPO will have some disagreements, but ALWAYS show a united front in public and keep your disagreements private, and do your best to explain the “why” to your DLCPO, you will likely get more buy-in which will result in better support and a better outcome
Work/Life Balance
It is easy to be consumed with the daily grind and look back months, or even years, later and realize you neglected your health, your family’s needs and so forth. Make sure to take time to charge your battery. You can easily burn yourself out which in the end does not do any good for anyone.
Do your best to be aware of your own redlines and take the appropriate action to being your best self. For example, if you are a fitness enthusiast and realize you have not exercised for a significant period of time, that may be an indicator you are overwhelmed, your priorities are shifting, or you are not dealing well with the stress. Knowing your redlines and calibrating yourself as required will help you serve at your best.
Delegation
At every level of leadership, you must determine which duties are only appropriate for you and seek to delegate those other duties, which are more appropriate for your division officers or CPOs. This does not mean you can hand those duties over en masse without oversight and guidance. However, in the long run, delegating appropriate duties to the appropriate level will improve your leadership and time management. When you are in the oversight and review role, you more effectively can catch errors and shape the work so that it rises to the level the XO and CO need. This is one of the most critical skills that department heads struggle with early on. Only you can determine what tasks to delegate; this will be largely based on the task, the capability of the chief/officer you are delegating to, associated deadlines, etc. Any department head can be a division officer. You are not proving your value by serving as a “Divo on steroids”; you are taking up your bandwidth and not training or holding those under your charge accountable.
Use foresight to anticipate upcoming required products, pad deadlines (within reason), and articulate your expectations. Example: “Fire Control Officer (FCO) draft the Black E submission. Work with the other Division Officers and Chiefs for input. Apply the 30/30/30 rule (show me your product at 30%, 60% and 90%…this process serves as an in progress review that helps ensure FCO is not misusing time/wasting resources and is on track/meeting your intent). Provide me the final draft no later than 15NOV.”
Admin
You have limited bandwidth as a department head, the XO and CO have even less. Use foresight to get ahead of administrative deadlines (i.e. general military training, periodic evaluations, end of tour awards, etc.).
The product you turn in is a reflection of you. Take time to properly QA any product that goes to the XO or CO. Consider first reviewing format and common errors and then review for content. If there are references, route them in tandem and have the applicable section(s) highlighted. If it is a leave chit, ask what outside your department is going on, i.e. is the Sailor in a repair locker and looking to take leave during an engineering inspection? If so, has the damage control chief or chief engineer approved it?
Mentoring Your Division Officers
Your division officers need consistent mentoring and training. If you do not hold them accountable they will not learn, develop, or grow into their full potential. Their training and exposure to your thought process are paramount to their development—they may one day return to be your department head when you are the XO or CO. Push them on their professional development and let them know it is one of your priorities. From this point on for the rest of your operational career, you are training your relief. This requires patience, empathy, and consistency.
While I am certain I could have done a better job, I worked hard to let my officers know the “why” behind my decisions. Similar to this letter, I retained lessons learned from my experiences as a division officer. We all have scars of when Leadership has failed us in the past, but do we learn from those mistakes and make certain not to repeat them? Unfortunately, the nature of our organization creates an environment where each job gets harder over time. The Navy creates new requirements, inspections, certifications, etc. but rarely removes previous requirements. This, coupled with poor training, increased OPTEMPO, etc. results in more challenges. I met with division officers (to include some outside my department) on a regular basis to discuss their concerns and self-assessments, and together we would look for ways to address those concerns and shore up their professional and personal gaps. It was important for me to know their personal goals and what motivated them; understanding their inspiration was a critical component to helping them be the best version of themselves as possible.
Inspections And Certifications
Steady strain, early, and consistent communication with the inspection team, reaching out to the last unit to have gone through the inspection for lessons learned, and being a tough critic will help your department succeed.
Example, you have an upcoming certification: Who in the department was onboard during the last inspection? Does this require support from outside the department? What were the discrepancies from the last certification? Do they still remain? Is there a checklist? Is it the most recent version? When was the last time it was completed? Is there a plan of action and milestones? Is it being used as a tool or a report? Are there any ambiguous requirements, line items, etc? Have we asked the inspection team their interpretation? Did we capture and save the conversation electronically?
If you stay ready, you do not have to get ready. As leaders, we cannot afford to waste our Sailor’s most precious commodity—time—by ramping up to a high degree of readiness and then letting it plummet after an inspection so that we repeat the cycle again. We must achieve a high level of readiness and seek ways to maintain it so as not to give our people “whiplash” by cycling them through these unnecessary ramp up exercises. Everything in the Navy (and in life) is time management—pay now or pay later with interest. Steady strain is paying now without the interest.
Turnover
Accept that you will not turn over a perfect department which is OK—perfect departments do not exist. After turnover is complete, never cite the previous department head as the source of the problem—OWN IT!
Your time as a department head will fly by, however you should to try to leave your department in a better state than you received it. Your relief should want to build on that improvement and do the same—leave it in a better state than he or she received it from you.
When it is your turn to hand over the reigns to a relief, remember first impressions go a long way, so take the time needed to be a great sponsor and set your relief up for success. A warm reception and proper preparation will help the prospective department head feel welcome and assimilate to the team easier and earlier. Go above and beyond the typical nametag and linen; have steady dialogue before their arrival, get to know the makeup of their family and if there are any unique challenges, have stationary and admin supplies ready, email accounts made in advance, and so forth. This particular task is very detail oriented but has a high return of investment for your department and the ship.
Conclusion
This will be a demanding tour with plenty of challenges and hard work along the way; however, this is work worth doing and is professionally satisfying. Have confidence knowing you have the tools for a successful tour. Your department possesses an abundance of talent and experience and in turn your Sailors and Officers are your most valuable resource and should be treated as such. Truly appreciate and respect them (and their time!) and they will undoubtedly do great things for you and the command!
