Welcome Aboard, Ensign
As a young ensign, reporting to my first duty station, there was a lot to deal with. When looking at it from a leadership position, this is the one thing you must understand: You are going to be put in charge of people who know more than you, most have been in the Navy longer than you, and there are some, though subordinate to you, who have been in the Navy longer than you've been alive. It's intimidating! How do you survive it? Here are a few tips on how to lead those who know more about what's going on than you. These are ideas to keep in mind in the civilian world too. 1. Chain-of-command. A lot of people who go the enlisted route don't want to be in charge. Also, they know and respect the chain-of-command. This applies in the civilian world as well. I had a job as a project manager primarily because the programmer who was the previous PM didn't want to do it. They wanted to stick to programming, not deal with the paperwork and the day-to-day items of making sur...