The other day, a guy walked out of my office without shaking my outstretched hand because he didn’t get what he wanted.
That didn’t make me think he’s a good dude.
And I’m unlikely to sign up to work on the next thing with him.
He wasn’t a PAO, but I am, and the whole exchange reminded me of our precarious position on a military staff.
There are some staff leaders everyone has to work with. The G3, the CHOPS, the intel, budget, and logistics folks. Our friend, the SJA.
There are others, like PAOs, that people may choose to work with. Or not. We like to think people value Public Affairs and will find us in a crisis, but mid-crisis is too late for a communication pro to rebuild a broken reputation.
If I’m not a good dude, my ops, intel, and legal colleagues can easily rationalize spending their time on urgent ops, intel, and legal tasks. Time is their only limited resource, and they don’t need to spend it on me if I can’t make it a rewarding experience.
Same goes for my higher and lower headquarters PAOs: they’ve got their own commanders to take care of. If I test their patience or make their lives harder, they’ll stop answering my calls. And I won’t blame them. After all, those are the calls I haven’t wanted to answer.
Double this for the journalists in your circle.
If you’re not a good dude, your organization will miss important public affairs opportunities. This will be your fault, for not being a good dude.
So, be a good dude. Employ grace and tact. Get to know people and find ways to relate to them. Be patient. Respect the information bus, but don’t unnecessarily bulldoze through others. Do the things you say you’ll do. Be clear. Don’t speak for others or sign them up for work without asking. Teach others about your work and explain why you do it, to build goodwill for next time. Never, ever lie.
Shake peoples’ outstretched hands.
Just be a good dude.
Note: Readers may rightfully give me grief for repeatedly using a masculine term, “dude.” I hope y’all can appreciate the casual tone here, and accept its non-binary application to any person. I needed to use colloquial language because being seen as a “good dude” is a such a colloquial, unofficial, subjective feeling. I couldn’t think of a casual, feminine (or unisex) equivalent to “dude.” Maybe I’m just not a great writer. But I hope I’m a good dude.
(Photo by Capt. Rachael Jeffcoat, DVIDS)
