First sergeant guide

[ElectricPenguin]

  http://sq107.cawg.cap.gov/knight/1sgt_guide.pdf

Located on the ninth page second
Paragraph including the title (you will need to find it yourself and read it, I can't copy and paste it with iPad) it says the first shirt must be feared and respected. Most cadets I have talked to agree or say that it should be slightly modified to be more appropriate. But when I said this in front of my DCC & DCC assistant, they now feel that I have a messed up view of leadership and I am likely to get shot or punished somehow Tuesday. I need more opinions from seniors on this. This was given to me at CTEP SNCOA.


Thanks in advance.

[Майор Хаткевич]

Mr. Stanford is quite well known on the CT/CS forums, but I just think you need to understand the meaning behind the words (or describe it better).

Should cadets fear you? No they should not.

But that's the word used: "Because you are First Sergeant, your Cadets should respect and fear you. Any relationship of this type has a measure of
fear in it. Your Cadets should fear crossing you, but they should not be afraid to approach you when they need to."

I understand what he's saying, but you should focus on the second part of the quote above as well as the section right after that:
"Discourage familiarity. Your Cadets aren't your best friends; they're your Cadets. If you are overly familiar, it will
undermine your authority and your ability to command. Cadets, like anyone else, are less likely to take their friends seriously
when being given orders. This will either quickly spread to the other Cadets or cause jealousy and resentment among them."

So no, I don't think it's really the right word to use, but I would definitely say that cadets who served under me later told me they though of me as a figure of authority, and with that came some anxiety about "crossing" me, but definitely not fear.

[Spartan]

...you should focus on the second part of the quote above as well as the section right after that: "Discourage familiarity. Your Cadets aren't your best friends; they're your Cadets. If you are overly familiar, it will undermine your authority and your ability to command. Cadets, like anyone else, are less likely to take their friends seriously when being given orders.

I strongly agree with this.  One of the first things I was told as a team leader was "Know your people.  Be friendly when the situation allows, but you cannot be their friend and be an effective leader."  One of the hallmarks of a quality NCO, especially one in a position that many look to for an example is being fair and impartial.  Being overly familiar with someone makes this much more difficult.

I don't think it's really the right word to use...

I'll second that.  Fear is not something that an effective leader wants or should strive for in their followers.  It is not a tool to lead with, but to drive your people.  If your people respect you, they will understand that in filling the position of C/1st Sgt, you are the senior enlisted cadet within the squadron, and you are both a font of experience and someone who is willing to praise and recognize and who has no reservations about repremanding individuals appropriately when called for.  Respect is what gets orders accomplished; for the leader and for the follower.  The greater the respect that a leader and their followers have for eachother, the more they will accomplish.

[HGjunkie]

I looked up the definition of fear on google to see if anything out of the ordinary came up, and I saw that "awe" was a synonym.

In the context provided, I think that's the idea of the message that's being sent: The Shirt should have the awe (Combination of fear and wonder, or inspiring) and respect of not only their subordinates, but must also earn the respect of their commanding staff.

Being a (now former) First Sgt. myself, it really is a difficult position to manage properly. Not only do you have to provide an example of outstanding service to CAP, but you also have to be passionate about taking care of your followers and making sure you balance being helpful and easy to get along with (in appropriate settings) with being able to identify when work needs to get done, with no qualms about how you assign people to do tasks necessary. Keeping discipline in order is also key, which may be where they got the "fear" factor from, however if your cadets are scared of you then something's wrong.

"Fearing" your shirt isn't appropriate, because the First Sergeant should be there to mentor and guide the younger cadets/staff members. The respect part, when tied with "awe" however, is probably the best way to send the message across. If your cadets respect you as a Shirt, they shouldn't have to fear you to accomplish the goals of the squadron and their personal development.

[jimmydeanno]

"Fear" has depth to it.  In this context, you don't want your cadets to be afraid of you, but instead think of how the first sergeant would react in any given situation.

"Oh man, my shoes are messed up, Shirts not going to be happy about this."  If you have the respect of your subordinates, they want to do things correctly for you, because your opinion matters, your example matters.  The fear isn't based in abusive consequences, like "You just wait until your father gets home, you know how big his belt is!"  It's based in respect.  The fear is fear of disappointment, which can be greater than any 'real' consequence.

[MSG Mac]

If your subordinates fear you, you have failed as a leader, no matter what your grade or position is.

[krnlpanick]

If your subordinates fear disappointing you because they know they are capable of not doing so, you have failed succeeded as a leader, no matter what your grade or position is.

IMHO this is a much better way to (para)phrase what you said, sir.

[MSG Mac]

The original qoute by Electric Penguin was that the Handbook says that a First Sergeant must be feared and respected I was refering to his qoute and not what I would like it to be. Fear and Respect are two terms which are mutually exclusive. If you fear someone you cannot respect him. If you respect him, you cannot be afraid of him.