Most of us have already experienced a boss from hell. If you haven’t, you eventually will. I’ve had lots of bad bosses and I meet quite a few in my line of work. This month, we’ll devote posts describing bad bosses AND give a remedy for NOT following in their footsteps.
Bad Boss #1: Tommy Team-Buster
From December 1983 to February 1984, I attended Navy boot camp in San Diego, CA. I was assigned to Recruit Company #204 and our company commanders were ENC David and MUCS Crabtree. Chief David was an engineman and Senior Chief Crabtree was a musician. Chief David was a short Filipino guy with an even shorter temper. He used every expletive known to man and some I’d never even heard before. Senior Chief Crabtree was a bit older and quite a bit more reserved. Even though he was senior in rank, he let Chief David do much of the dirty work with us. We liked Senior Chief Crabtree, as much as you can like a company commander I guess. Chief David? To this day I cringe when I think about him.
About halfway through boot camp, Chief David was gone for a few days and Senior Chief Crabtree took over. Now our recruit company was pretty messed up. We were a bunch of unhappy misfits just looking towards graduation. Our close order drill and marching wasn’t very good. But in the two days Senior Chief Crabtree had us, he completely change
d everything. As a musician, he had a better sense of drill and his demeanor caused us to get better in a hurry. We felt encouraged and most of us had a major attitude adjustment. We became a functional team for the first time. Senior Chief Crabtree accomplished in two days what Chief David couldn’t in the first 5 weeks.
But then Chief David returned. With a vengeance. I will never forget the day nor the rapid change to the team’s health.
“I know you M*****F*****s love Senior Chief Crabtree but I know a lot more than him. I’ve been a company commander much longer. I don’t need you listening to him. You listen to me.”
And from that moment until graduation, Company #204 reverted back to its dysfunctional ways. Chief David was a Team Buster. And the first of many bad bosses I had in the Navy.
As a leader, you may not realize how much influence you have. And how much your ego can make that a big problem. Keep in mind how much this affects your team.
If you want to avoid becoming like Tommy Team-Buster, consider the following:
- It’s not about you. Your team is a reflection of you, but don’t let it become your personal possession.
- Arrogance is the first step to humiliating failure. You will eventually fail at something. Will your team cheer your fall or do what they can to prevent it?
- If you’ve been entrusted with leadership, remember that people will follow someone they respect. You have to win their hearts and minds before you earn their trust.
Chief David and Senior Chief Crabtree are long gone but their behavior and actions over that 10-week period live on. That’s a scary thought. How will people remember you decades from now?