This Sunday, members of the Dickinson College Blue Mountain ROTC Battalion will accept their diplomas, pin brand new second lieutenant rank insignia on their uniforms, and take their first professional steps as commissioned Army officers. Four years ago, I crossed the same stage as they will this weekend and started my own journey.
Much of the curriculum in ROTC, at Officer Candidate School, and at West Point prepares cadets for a specific job when they commission: platoon leadership. This is a defining opportunity for junior Army officers. However, despite this emphasis and the incredible wealth of training that accompanies it, most Army officers spend less than a year of their initial service commitment directly leading soldiers as platoon leaders. After that, the rest of their lieutenant time may be spent on staff, building PowerPoints and streamlining systems, or as an executive officer.
I have been fortunate to lead three platoons over the course of three years. I’ve made plenty of mistakes during that time, but I’ve also learned a few things along the way. I hope these lessons might prove useful to others starting their platoon leadership journey.
1. Reject complacency and embrace lessons in hardship. If you are not failing, you are not putting yourself in a position to grow personally and professionally. Complacency should never exist in a leader’s mindset. “Successful individuals, groups, and organizations fail much more than they succeed,” notes Olivier Serrat. “However, their larger success derives from the fact that they fail well.” Failing well means using your mistakes to improve and reevaluate your path toward a goal. The Army gives junior officers ample opportunity to challenge themselves in a wide variety of ways, like attending Ranger School, briefing a large group at a joint training exercise, or sitting down to counsel a soldier for the first time. These are all hard things to do and they take time to perfect. Perfection will come from embracing lessons in hardship and utilizing mistakes as opportunities to learn.
2. Attitude, effort, and resilience are free. It’s simple: have a positive attitude (it will be contagious), put in all-out effort (lead from the front), and be resilient (embrace failure).
3. Noncommissioned officers are key to your success as a platoon leader. Enter your first platoon willing to learn and receive advice from your NCOs. In a recent article, Command Sgt. Maj. Raymond S. Harris wrote, “As guardians of discipline, mentors and role models, and stewards of the Army values, NCOs play a pivotal role in shaping the Army’s culture and ethos.” Take those words to heart. Long before an officer takes over a platoon, its NCOs were leading teams and squads, some of them in combat. The Army has prepared you for this job, but you have yet to be tested leading soldiers. With all this said, after you spend time learning from them, do not be afraid to develop your NCOs. Yes, they are often older and have more experience than you. However, you bring doctrinal knowledge, motivation, and drive necessary for your platoons to succeed. The Army pairs officers and NCOs as leadership teams for a reason.
4. Be a moral and ethical compass. Your team is already a well-oiled machine and can likely succeed without you. However, you need to be a moral and ethical compass for the platoon. You will likely know you are doing well at this when they tease you for being the mom of the platoon. Use your high ethical standards rooted in the Army values to act decisively and inspire your soldiers to do more. Your inspiration and drive will push them past what they previously thought was possible.
5. Adopt out-of-office leadership. Counseling and leader development can be accomplished through a DA Form 4856 in an office setting. However, learning about your team members through informal conversation is equally important. Every day you will have this opportunity during physical training sessions, when conducting weapon maintenance, and while walking through the hallway. For dozens of new soldiers, you are the first officer they meet. You must embrace out-of-office leadership to understand your team. This will build trust within the team, allow you to effectively delegate because you know your soldiers’ strengths and weaknesses, and ensure you do not lose sight of your responsibility to your soldiers.
6. Put the needs of your soldiers first by embracing these four similar concepts: (1) servant leadership, (2) sweeping the shed, (3) leaders eating last, and (4) selfless service.
7. You can impact higher echelons. As you come to understand your role in the company, see how you can start to support echelons above you. Volunteer to lead a company family readiness group event or utilize your free time gathering resources to run an educational benefits class for your battalion. These are easy wins for your team and the larger organization.
If you have the privilege to lead soldiers, whether for a few months or a few years, know one thing: It will go by too quickly. Most new platoon leaders are in their early twenties and are given the responsibility to lead a few dozen men and women from across America. Your civilian counterparts will be lucky if they get to manage a few people in their first years as working professionals. The American public is trusting you with their sons and daughters in garrison, training, and combat. Embrace your role as a leader and the exciting challenges that lie ahead.
George Ladner served as both a Stryker and reconnaissance platoon leader in 1-17 Infantry Battalion, 2-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, where he led joint training exercises near the Korean DMZ as part of KRF-12. He most recently served as a platoon leader in The Old Guard (1-3 Infantry Battalion) where he led the US Capitol joint service cordon during President Jimmy Carter’s state funeral.
The views expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the United States Military Academy, Department of the Army, or Department of Defense.
Image credit: Staff Sgt. Oscar Gollaz, US Army