I’ve been advised by people much more Twitterate than I that I should have Threaded my Command reflections so here they are as a series. This is stuff I’ve been learning on a journey not a tale of mastery so feel free to question, comment or critique. Hope they’re useful:

Day 1 post Command, I said I’d do some thoughts so here’s No1:
Enjoy it! You’ve probably worked really hard to get here, a 2 yr appt, therefore 1 wk approx. 1% of your time. Find opportunities to actually enjoy being in Command, spending time with you people is a good start.

No2: You are appointed to SERVE as CO, they aren’t appointed to you. You’ve got c 200 people’s lives that you directly impact from career to housing to prison. Work hard to be worthy, become a single-issue lunatic when req, advocate always for N1 wins, you can’t do too much here.

3. Leading ‘this generation’. I came in expecting to lead conventionally, it doesn’t work, explaining why rather than directing what gets results. ‘This generation’ give better, inventive, value add solutions over simply following orders, but they need buy in, that’s your job!

No4: Inclusivity IS operational advantage. Harness individuality and breadth of opinion, ensure you cultivate reasonable challenge and distain of Status Quo. If you don’t like the bandwidth this produces that’s your issue, not theirs, inclusivity means ideas AND individuals!

Realised the CAPITALISATION of Status Quo may suggest a distain of Rick Parfitt and the gang, obviously not so! The point is to demonstrate you don’t just accept ‘it’s always been that way’ and you strive personally to seek improvement, small successes here become infectious.

5. Take time for phys. It clears the mind, helps sleep its something for you each day. Whether you get up early or leave to go do it, prioritising it makes you more productive. It’s also about leading a fighting force which should be being fighting fit. Being ‘older’ is no excuse

6. Trust is earned not owed. People trust ‘real’ people, show your team you are human, have a beer with them, fess up when you make an error, tell them when you don’t know, keep your credibility. Think about who you trust, prob someone you know, not someone appointed to a role.

7. Stability and Predictability are cherished, especially by families. Give as much information as you can about the future programme, if you can’t write down the full Nominal Role for each deployment at least try to split into 3 groups, definitely going, definitely not, maybe.

8. Communicate with the families directly. Sailors don’t always back brief , set up a closed FB page (don’t take no for an answer, I failed here until recently), listen to feedback strive to act on it. If the families are happy your team will be more effective. Links to No7 too

9. Get sleep. I gave up caffeine, all caffeine, period, but I was rubbish at sleeping before I started. I also made time for phys, it helps. Read ‘Why we Sleep’ by Matt Walker @sleepdiplomat if you need evidence of why you’ll be an appalling leader if you are overly fatigued.

10. Delegate until it’s uncomfortable! It’s up to you to grow your relief and the Exec Team esp are the continuity when you go. If you can’t get your team to where they can execute well without you, its YOUR failing. Get them inside your head, think Mission Command and step back.

11. Be a CREDIBLE Hulk! Don’t make me mad, I’ll come at you with fact and reasoned argument! When asked for too much for your team to deliver; give non-emotional, fact based impact statements and credible options to command, including the N1 impact but keep the emotions internal.

12. Context is King. Never judge a situation until you’ve got the details nor judge another unit from outside. You know the complexity of your unit’s challenges, others have similar. Assuming everyone is doing their best is a great starting point for a cohesive fighting force.

13. ‘We can’t’ immediately throws up Senior Officer’s drip filters which are strong and fast acting! They don’t not care but your issues are just part of their legion of current issues. Be positive but explain impact factually and show what you can achieve, you’ll get more done.

14. You can be flexible, you can be efficient, you can’t excel at both. Understand which is the priority, justify why you are compromising on the other to yourself, then to others. Military situations often need flexibility, budgets crave efficiency, every solution is mitigation.

15. Pride is a free good in your pay-packet. If you engender real pride it lifts everyone’s spirits, the whole team will be richer. Equally misery begets misery, seek out the underminers and challenge them, credibly and with evidence, it becomes self-policing and the poison stops

16. Leave early, leave loudly. If you have said you don’t do presenteeism (and I heartily recommend this approach) be an advocate for it; let your team see you depart and don’t sneek out. Even if it means going home to hit the laptop, a change of location is often productive.

17. Be David Brailsford. Seek out marginal gains and champion them to the point of lunacy. When the team see your investment and see results, however small, they will be empowered to seek them themselves. It becomes a culture and mounts up to real change.

18. You’re in the richest learning environment you’ll probably have. Look to those around you and above you for inspiration. I didn’t do much reading (though a 5hr commute got through some podcasts!) I also didn’t do enough reflection at the time, hence it all coming out now!!

I was very lucky early in my Command to observe a more Senior leader dealing with much of the same pressures/challenges that I was but on a larger scale. They were the epitome of poise and prudence and it had a huge impact on how I commanded. Not naming though.. @bumsnorkler

19. When it comes to discipline, trust your judgement (see 12 too!) if you think you’ve got good people who made an error, treat it as such but be clear and consistent in your message and your penalties. Generally sailors are brilliant but booze makes fools of us all!

20. Be a risk manager not a liability manager. Don’t necessarily STOP doing something with a liability risk if it increases ACTUAL risk later. Be real about what risks YOU own, ie All Of Them! It’s your team and you’ll live the impact of any incident, not the duty/risk holder.

21. Forget LGBT and BAME! What??? If you really want to be inclusive and harness your team’s individual brilliance, be interested in CLJB (Col, Laura, Jess, Bomber) ie individuals. Collecting people into weird boxes that make little sense is for stats only, not for leaders!

22. Reward and Recognition. I really didn’t do enough of this, put all the effort in to get your people recognised for their work. Awards, Garden Party invites, the lot, what I did achieve was really valued by the team. Plus ensure they get the credit always for any and all work.

23. Thank you all for reading my musings; as I started, these reflect my learning journey during Command. I don’t commend these as instructions applicable to all but stuff that I found helpful, I hope they are to some of you. 24 will be final summary.

24. You’re there to Command and Lead. You’ll spend 95% your time managing (prob N1) but setting the direction and HOW you approach challenges is Leading, being the umbrella/talisman for the team/setting behaviours is Leading and Commanding. Enjoy, it’s the best job by far! Out!

25. NEVER forget your own family during your ‘ultimate’ job. 1, It keeps you grounded in the same issues as your team. 2, If it goes wrong you are going to be distracted and useless in Command. 3, There is life post command, make sure it’s there to go back to! 4, You love them!