Try to solve the problem yourself, and you’ll be proud!! This is my kid’s favorite show, and I often sing this song to my co-workers.
As a young professional, my esteemed co-blogger was one of my first supervisors.
One day, I brought a routine press release draft into his office for his review. He looked at me and said, “Do I need to read this?” Left unsaid: “Is there something wrong with this release that you’re not able to identify and fix yourself? Do you require this level of close supervision?”
My response: “Nope, I’ve got it.”
Another time, I came into his office with a problem. Can’t remember what it was, but likely something bureaucratic or tedious. His response, “Dave. I never want to hear about this problem again.” Left unsaid: “Your job is to catch things like this and drive solutions before it hits my desk.”
These are important lessons for any leader or staff officer, but I consider them the core of being a civilian deputy director. Make issues disappear, solve the problem yourself, and create space for more work.
(Fun aside – I got so used to writing and releasing press releases without my supervisor’s review, that I failed to re-adjust my processes when a new officer took over the office. Uncomfortable conversation, “What do you mean you sent out a press release that I haven’t reviewed?” Know your operating environment, and don’t do any work on auto-pilot.)
