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Orders

A long-time retired colleague passed away recently. I hadn't kept in touch but I have good memories of working with him on some projects. One thing that's been on my mind recently was a component of some professional development workshops he led for department chairs decades ago.

The workshops exposed us to different organizations such as Disney, the military, etc. to abstract out some principles that would be applicable in our context. I didn't start wearing a uniform because of it nor did I start wearing Mickey Mouse ears. The discussion was on a more subtle level.

The component that stayed in my mind was a list of readings of US Army and Marine training documents about leadership, and in particular what it means to give a good order.

People give orders all the time although some folk shy away from that terminology. I am told what is expected of me as a faculty member in terms of office hours. I assign problem sets to my students. In our context the penalties for disobeying an order are diffuse and subtle but they exist; sometimes it has been my responsibility to enforce them.

What I retained about giving orders:

  • The order must be clear enough for the person receiving it. That is the responsibility of the person giving the order.
  • The person receiving the order must be able to evaluate for themselves whether or not they have successfully followed the order. If this is not possible the person giving the order has failed.
  • The order must specify what is to be done but allow for the person following the order to exercise judgment in how to follow the order. Without this freedom there is no professional development on the part of the subordinate. If the subordinate follows the order and the supervisor is not satisfied then that is the fault of the supervisor in constructing the order.
  • Certainly in combat but oft times in everyday life our environment is in flux; sometimes this prevents an order from being satisfactorily carried out as written but a desirable alternative is present. The supervisor must convey enough of their intent to allow for a substitution as needed.
What I loved about this component of the professional development workshop was the fact that giving orders was a skill that could be developed. I try to be mindful of this in my giving of orders and when I detect that I am being given an ill-formed order; the latter requires a private conversation with my supervisor to clarify.

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