If You're Not Talking, You're Not Leading
Establishing Command Presence
An axiom of leadership training is that you should be able to tell who the leader is just by entering the room— the leader is the one everyone is looking to, the one who is talking, the one giving out orders.
This doesn’t mean barking commands or talking just to talk. You don’t want to be rude to your fellow members, and you don’t want to constantly talk without giving meaningful information. People will tune you out, and your team will not work effectively.
You always want it to be clear that your team is getting their information and orders from you or your SL.
So, My Team is Moving Without Me...
Your SL might call movement over the net and your team begins moving without your call— that’s fine. Repeat the order to demonstrate that you are active and that you’re carrying out the order, then think of what you’re going to do when you get to the next position:
How are you going to carry out your task?
What movement will your team take?
When are you moving?
Where will they end up?
Why are they doing it?
Quickly come up with answers, and communicate that to your team. Make sure you issue a clear, concise order, even if just repeating SL. Anything is better than nothing, and it gets everyone focused forward on the next task.
"A1, ASL, step off West, we're heading to Waypoint 2."
"A1, stepping off West."
...
"A1, we're following the defilade to the South. Green left, Red right. I want our focus to the South-West to protect our flank."
What you want is to make sure your team isn’t only getting orders from the SL. Yes you’re all on the same net, but you still have direct command of your team, and should order them as needed.
Find ways to think ahead, and then relay them. If you always know your next steps, you will always be in a position to give guidance and lead.
Last updated