This post comes from eMMissary Susan Gannon, a Reserve Lieutenant Colonel in the Civil Affairs community and former Battalion Commander who recently finished a National Security Fellowship at the Fletcher School of International Law and Diplomacy. In her civilian job Sue works as a congressional and strategic communications analyst for KBR, Inc. In this piece she dives into how we should really be engaging our people about leaving the service.
“What’s your plan?”
Probably the most common question asked of any leader in the military.
“Mission is changed, what’s your plan, LT?”
“Resupply is delayed 24 hours – what’s your plan, Sergeant?”
“You want to get out of the Army? What’s your plan, Captain? You have to have a plan if you want enter the civilian world.”
This last one, in particular, stings me in a certain way. I’ll be the first to admit that it was my first question to any soldier electing to end their time in the service. While out for a run with one of my best lieutenants, she told me she planned on getting out as soon as her commitment was over. For the next two miles I grilled her on what she planned to do after and convince her to stay.
She said she was thinking about going to nursing school.
I told her, “The Army has a program for that!”
Then she said was also thinking going into human resources, as she really liked her position as the S-1.
My response: “You can branch transfer!”
She also told me she was thinking about having a family.
“No problem!” I said, “you can do that too!”
As we got to the end of the run, I remember her telling me she would look into those options. I got back in my car, smugly proud of myself for providing such excellent ‘mentorship’ and saving the Army from losing another rock star officer.*
It wasn’t until 2012 when I was facing my own decision to leave the active duty force that I realized how poorly misguided my efforts were. A week after I dropped my paperwork to get out, I was selected for an early promotion to Major.
“You can’t get out. Look how great you’re doing – you’re getting promoted early! What’s your plan?”
My supervisor was obviously baffled. Here I was, despite having beaten the odds and a world of opportunity at my fingertips, leaving it all behind. In anticipation of the “what’s your plan” question, I told him my plan was to become a high school English teacher and I was already enrolled in classes. This baffled him even more – teachers, he informed me, make terrible money. He even pointed out that his neighbor was a teacher and she drove a really beat up car. In his last attempt to convince me to stay he told me, “I just hate seeing good officers get out. Then all that’s left are the sh*tbags like me.”
And, yes, he really did say this – like me with my lieutenant, he was desperately trying to keep me in the Army.
I remember being really frustrated that he never once asked me why or how I had come to the decision to leave. The truth is I was burned out, unmotivated, and in a challenging place personally. Recently divorced, I had buried myself in my work to the point of exhaustion, which was great for promotion but not for my sanity. I needed a change and the Army was the change I felt I needed to make. Up until this point, I also had never asked a soldier in this position who or how.
Recently, I was discussing this topic over a beer with another officer. Part of our communal frustration is that we have seem to lost the art of mentorship in the ranks. Often it isn’t until the soldier has decided he or she is going to leave the military that we have the conversation with them. And honestly, that’s just too late. We need to ask these questions more often and earlier. We also need to think about what we are asking. Often when a soldier comes to us, our first question is “well what is your plan?” And if they can’t offer a plan, then often we dismiss their intention to get out as rather petulant frustration with the Army and that it will eventually pass. They will take a knee, drink some water, and move on with the Army life.
But asking that soldier for their plan without taking the time to understand the analysis that led them to this course of action is short-sighted and a disservice. As leaders, we should be an active part of this discussion for our subordinates. We need make it a point to understand where a soldier is in their personal and professional lives. Now when I sit down with my leaders, I ask them to draw out the lines of effort in their lives over time, looking at least five years out. Since I am a Reserve officer there is at least three lines of effort being tracked at all times – personal events, civilian career, and Army career. For some, to include myself, it is extremely helpful to use a spreadsheet to lay it all out.
The personal event timeline includes things like marriage and kids, education, or other personal goals. The civilian career timeline includes all things related to their job such as promotion windows, training, or other goals. The Army timeline looks at institutional events such as promotions and schools as well as assignments and mobilizations. Mapping it out provides the soldier with a clearer picture of what their goals are and how to mitigate competing priorities over time. As a supervisor, it gives me a picture of how my leader envisions their future. This helps me identify friction points such as placing them in a high demand positions while they are in the middle of completing their MBA. Instead, I can help them see the trade-offs and identify the opportunities that best support their overall goals. It is the best way I have found to get after the idea of “finding balance.”
And sometimes through this exercise it becomes readily apparent that it is time for them to end their time in service. We need to stop assuming that if a soldier doesn’t have a detailed vision of post-Army life, then the only logical solution is for them to stay in.
If we make talking about leaving more acceptable, I think we have a higher likelihood of keeping the right people in the ranks. Why? Because we are acknowledging that the Army isn’t the only option these soldiers have and working with them as they examine the other options will enable them to make a more informed decision, one that is best for them and the US Army.
All of us have an ‘End Time in Service” at some point. For some its four or ten years, and others it’s twenty or thirty. It’s never too early to talk to our people about when that time might be so when they do make the transition out, they leave knowing they got the best from their time in the service and are prepared to face the future.
*Despite my ‘mentorship’, this lieutenant DID get out of the Army, got her MBA, and is crushing it in the corporate world and is a mother to two beautiful little girls. I actually call her now for advice.