Greg Nelson and me – 1988
The initial elation I felt after arriving at my first duty station serving under Captain Roder was quickly diminished after working with my first direct boss, the dental department head. His name was LCDR Gary Backer. This guy was a piece of work. From escorting me to the gym to get my fat measured (“you’ll be on the Fat Boy program for sure Munro”) to kicking me in the shins when I passed him the wrong dental instrument, Dr. Backer made each day miserable. Mercifully, he transferred a few months into my tour. His replacement was better, but aside from not being an ass each day, he never really took any interest in my career development. 15 months later, his replacement came aboard. And things took a dramatic turn for the best.
LCDR Greg Nelson was meticulous in everything he did. I was a little nervous at first, wondering if we were heading back to the dark days of Dr. Backer. But soon after I could see the difference. He seemed genuinely interested in my plans for the future. When he found out my only goal in life was to get out of the Navy, he decided to make a goal for me. He knew I was a dental lab technician before enlisting so he told me I should consider going to dental school.
“You already know more than a first year dental student,” he said.
I protested, telling him I sucked at math and science and graduated 4th from the bottom of my high school graduating class, but that didn’t deter him. He marched me over to the Navy Campus office and made me sign up for Physics 100 with University of Maryland. Surprisingly (to me anyway) I actually got a “B” in the class.
The education continued. Every day when I worked with him, he turned it into dental school. He explained what he was doing and why. He let me do more than just suck spit and pass instruments. Eventually, he trusted me enough to repair a broken filling in one of his own teeth. My confidence was high and I set some much higher goals for myself. Even though I never went on to dental school, I did get undergraduate and graduate degrees. It all started when Greg Nelson showed his generosity with his time. And demonstrated that he genuinely cared about me.
Would you like to have an impact like Generous Greg? If so, consider the following:
- What is your attitude towards your direct reports? Do you see them as just worker bees or as individuals who have dreams and aspirations?
- Did you have a boss who took an interest in your own development? How has this (or lack of this) impacted your willingness to do the same?
- Are you interested in leaving a positive legacy on this planet? If so, being this kind of a boss is a great step in that direction.
If you’re fortunate enough to have a Generous Greg in your life, you owe it to them and your team to pass on that same interest in the development of your people. Seriously consider making that commitment this week. And to get the story of the original Generous Greg right from the source, listen to my podcast interview I did with him a couple of years ago. It’s truly inspirational!