Reflection
An internpersonal communication problem I faced in the past was during my time in National Service as an instructor at Pulau Tekong. To be honest, there were communication problems recurring on a daily basis. One incident did stand out because it involved the highest chain of command within the company.
The incident involved our Officer Commanding (OC) LTA Bob, Company Sergeant Major (CSM) SSG Bill primarily, and the rest of the command. It was on the final day of our Live Firing exercise and all the recruits just returned from the range after 3 days of back-to-back outfield activity.
The standard procedure was for the recruits to deep clean their arms before returning it to the armoury for safekeeping at night. On that occasion, our OC decided that it was important that the recruits made sure that the rifles were 100% clean before it was returned. However, our CSM believed that it was more important that they have their mandatory 7 hours of rest. The fact that the following day was their book out day made the situation a little more challenging as the ferry timing are usually fixed.
It needs to be said that my OC was strictly by-the-book and does not take shortcuts at all. While he knew that their sleep was important, the cleanliness of their arms supersedes any other factors. Therefore he insisted that they carry on with the rifle cleaning. On the other hand, my CSM was hard-headed and preferred to work smart than working hard.
This led to a clash of heads between the two of them. The victims of the consequences were the recruits in the end. They received 3 different sets of instructions from the ground commanders because they heard different instructions from the respective regulars.
I, myself, was conflicted because I did not know whose instructions was to be prioritised. I did not want to end up offending either one of the regulars if I were to choose. The dilemma was that the ones suffering were the recruits because they were the ones who needed to clean the arms and also get their rest.
The root cause of the problem was that our OC was relatively new to the company and wanted to change how things were previously done. He wanted to set the record straight that he doesn't accept shortcuts and wants everything done the proper way. However, our CSM was very experienced in his role and knew how to find loopholes on the things that needed to be done. The two of them were basically having it out with each other to see who will come out on top.
It was a shame that they couldn't keep it behind closed doors because the NSFs like myself had to witness two grown men arguing about which way was right and who is wrong.
If you were in my shoes, how would you have solved this? Who would you have listened?
The incident involved our Officer Commanding (OC) LTA Bob, Company Sergeant Major (CSM) SSG Bill primarily, and the rest of the command. It was on the final day of our Live Firing exercise and all the recruits just returned from the range after 3 days of back-to-back outfield activity.
The standard procedure was for the recruits to deep clean their arms before returning it to the armoury for safekeeping at night. On that occasion, our OC decided that it was important that the recruits made sure that the rifles were 100% clean before it was returned. However, our CSM believed that it was more important that they have their mandatory 7 hours of rest. The fact that the following day was their book out day made the situation a little more challenging as the ferry timing are usually fixed.
It needs to be said that my OC was strictly by-the-book and does not take shortcuts at all. While he knew that their sleep was important, the cleanliness of their arms supersedes any other factors. Therefore he insisted that they carry on with the rifle cleaning. On the other hand, my CSM was hard-headed and preferred to work smart than working hard.
This led to a clash of heads between the two of them. The victims of the consequences were the recruits in the end. They received 3 different sets of instructions from the ground commanders because they heard different instructions from the respective regulars.
I, myself, was conflicted because I did not know whose instructions was to be prioritised. I did not want to end up offending either one of the regulars if I were to choose. The dilemma was that the ones suffering were the recruits because they were the ones who needed to clean the arms and also get their rest.
The root cause of the problem was that our OC was relatively new to the company and wanted to change how things were previously done. He wanted to set the record straight that he doesn't accept shortcuts and wants everything done the proper way. However, our CSM was very experienced in his role and knew how to find loopholes on the things that needed to be done. The two of them were basically having it out with each other to see who will come out on top.
It was a shame that they couldn't keep it behind closed doors because the NSFs like myself had to witness two grown men arguing about which way was right and who is wrong.
If you were in my shoes, how would you have solved this? Who would you have listened?
Dear Shafique,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the sharing your workplace interpersonal conflict! I totally empathise with you as i have been placed in such a situation before. The situation that you are in is indeed tricky as a wrong move would end up offending either your OC or CSM.
As I am not familiar with the hierarchy in army, perhaps you could raise the issue to someone of higher authority so as to standardise what should be placed as first priority when such issue were to occur again. In addition, regarding the conflict between your OC and CSM, perhaps you could tactfully bring up this issue as well so that the higher authority could have a conversation with them to resolve the conflict and tension between them.
I hope that my recommendation would be able to help you when you encounter such situation in the future!
With Regards,
Yun Yue
Hi Shafique,
ReplyDeleteBefore we begin, we would like to extend our sincere appreciation for your service to the nation. Because of you, we sleep soundly in our beds every night. It was unfortunate that you had to experience this during your time in National Service.
As an instructor under their command, you were a recipient of the conflict that occured between your commanders. As such, you do not have much direct control over the situation and are limited in your approach to resolve the conflict.
What you could have done is to advise your commanders to come towards a collaborative resolution. Get them both to explore the underlying concerns and be interested in finding mutual benefit for the recruits instead of trying to win the argument.
Forging ahead,
Kohmin, Chris and Samuel
This is a fine description of an interesting and obviously intense conflict scenario. You've also received some good feedback. Thanks, Shafique, for your effort.
ReplyDelete