One of the things I get most frustrated about in military life is that decisions are often made based not on the merits of any available choices, but on who has the highest rank among the group of those whom the decision will affect. This means that in some units day to day life is controlled and often micromanaged by the whims of whoever has hung out the longest without getting in trouble, or by the person who has massaged the promotion system most effectively.
If there is a single factor that would discourage me from reenlisting it is that the people in charge often forget or willfully neglect to solicit the input of the people who are actually going to bear the consequences of decisions being made. I don’t mind busting my ass to get a job done, but it has to make sense from my perspective. Don’t leave your NCOs hanging. I want to do my job, do it well and go home. As a leader, you inspire confidence in your troops when you explain who, what, where, when and why. To be honest, when people tell me I don’t need to know these things, it is usually because they are trying to gloss over bad decision making on their part.
NCOs (non-commissioned officers) are the spine of the military. Officers, ask them what they think before you make final decisions. Your entire unit will benefit in the end, and you will look better than you ever would have trying to do everything by yourself. Your NCOs are here to help you accomplish missions.
A clear plan of attack, shared with the entire unit, is almost always the best way to proceed. People who feel a sense of ownership, no matter what their level in an organization, are much more likely to be motivated and enthusiastic than those who don’t have any sense of what it is they are supposed to be accomplishing.