With Growth Comes Weeds

Over the years both as a soldier and a Warrant Officer, I have had to start over again and again. Whether that was due to reassignment, change of mission, or change of command problem is the same, new people, new, place , new mission.

As a soldier I did my best to read, study and follow orders to become a productive as possible. I relied on the knowledge of my NCOs and Officers. I provided feedback when needed, usually to try and understand the whys. The problems I had then revolved around getting everything done on time and to the standard my leaders required. The longer I was at it the more proficient I became until the process and work were routine and manageable with little to no input or engagement from leaders.

When I became an NCO and later a Warrant Officer the problems changed. I had to train my soldiers and allow them to make small mistakes to prevent large ones from happening. With every level of proficiency, I have to carefully time the addition of more education, training, and duties with their individual tempo and potential. All the while preventing the growth of bad habits, low morale, hyper specialization and toxic egos. I also had to manage the bosses expectations, so we were always producing more than he expected, before he expected at a heightened level of professionalism. The other difference between being a soldier and a leader that is this process of improvement and management never stops due to the dozens of ever-changing variables and soldier issues. You see, as a soldier, after I was good at my job even after I moved, the basics were always the same and I quickly shifted to the new role pretty quick. As a leader I always had new soldiers coming in that needed something. And as soldiers get good at one thing I would move them to something else whenever practical to help them continue to develop. You see, a soldiers’ output is production, but a leaders output should be developed and productive solders and teams. That second job is always moving and changing. You must always be on the lookout for the things that will reduce the efficiency of or worst damage your team and its members. When you find it you must weed it out as quickly as you can to help the soldier become and maintain their productive nature.

In a similar vein as a regenerative farmer, even a small one like myself, we try to develop the soil so that it can feed the Boss (who ever that is) in as many ways as possible. This takes time and requires lots of weed pulling. The results however are hard to ignore, healthier plants a more diverse biomass, soil longevity and lots of pumpkin and tomato volunteers that have to be moved.

So, a weeding we will go a weeding awe will go, which will make the harvest so much sweeter. Keep moving and enjoy the journey. Deven