Wake up, you’re on the personal staff (at least according to the Army).
That means we are under the immediate control of, and have direct access to, the commander … as opposed to special staff, whose supervision the commander can delegate to the Chief of Staff (or lower!).
Here’s an unwritten, logical rule: when you’re on the personal staff, everything is personal. Your personality is part of your job.
Some examples:
- Personal Staff PAOs have personal relationships with their commander.
- Personal Staff PAOs are personally, passionately invested in the organization’s mission and culture.
- Commanders trust and like their Personal Staff PAOs, personally.
We’re in unique positions. Almost none of your same-rank friends in the headquarters staff have this personal mandate.
As one Commander told us a decade ago, there absolutely is an “inner circle” of people the Commander personally trusts and relies on. But it’s an open circle — anyone can step up and prove they should be part of it.
Until you’re ready to do that, the Chief of Staff is going to need your slides for this week’s Special Staff update meeting.
(Photo by Eric Dietrich, DVIDS) (The Surgeon is personal staff, too)
