When the message came in, I knew it was trouble.  We had been able to maintain our numbers for a good while but this was going to be a big one.  We had managed to secure spaces for some of our people to go to an expensive Navy school but they didn’t show up.  13 years later, it’s really not that big of a deal (and I don’t remember why) but, at that time, in my first Command tour (and wanting to do a great job) I was upset.  This cost the Navy time and money and, even worse, made my boss look bad.  The phone rang.  I picked it up and it was my boss (who worked about 400 miles away).  I said, “Hello, Sir….should I close my door?”  He answered yes and proceeded to chew me out accordingly.  After, I called my second in command in my office to try and diagnose where things went wrong.  We had gone over everything from the beginning.  He had nodded his head in agreement on how things were supposed to go.  He had told me he had it all under control.  So, why was I getting a call from my boss?

In going back over everything, he looked at me as if we had never talked about this procedure before.  When I asked him, he said, “I thought it was like this” – which was completely contrary to what we had gone over.  Dumbfounded, I told him we would revisit it later.

Julius (my second in command) was a good guy.  He was a smart guy.  He had a great heart and loved taking care of people.  As an Engineer, he rocked!  What he wasn’t was an administrator.  In a want to save face, he nodded his head in agreement as we went over procedures but it was as if I was speaking a completely different language. Now, I am not excusing him dropping the ball on this or not asking questions to ensure comprehension.  Nor, am I excusing my lack of properly guiding him through the evolution.  What I am stating is that sometimes we, as leaders, have people in the wrong job or we give them the wrong tasks.

This is about fit.  I learned a valuable lesson that day about putting the right person in the right job and giving people the right tasks.  When we can give people jobs that fit their gifts, they’ll be happier and be more productive.  I’m not against pushing people past their comfort zones so they can achieve more than they thought.  That’s what we do, as leaders.  However, I am a proponent of knowing our people, their limitations, and helping them find their joy at work.

From that day forward, I gave Julius the jobs that fit him.  If it wasn’t an exact fit, I helped him along the way.  He was happier and I didn’t get any more calls from my boss (of a negative nature).

The take away from this is to know your people.  Know their strengths, weaknesses and then put them where they fit best.  If it’s not an exact fit, help them along the way.  You’ll gain the loyalty and respect of a person that’s happy with where they are and what they do.

As the saying goes…”Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig.”  However, just because a pig can’t sing doesn’t mean it can’t make tasty bacon!