Cody Carroll MGMT 535- Taking Someone to Lunch

     After watching the Ted Talk with Elizabeth Lesser, it brings a perfect scenario to my mind. In my current career field, Army Recruiter, the workplace is a very close community. In order to be successful, you need to work close and have great connections with many people around you. The problem we currently face is that, not all of our locations are producing like we are suppose to. With me being our top recruiter at the moment, my Company Commander continuously asks me for my opinion and tricks to help everyone else succeed. 

    I use those opportunities to speak with my Commander as openly as I can. Last week we actually went to lunch to discuss a lot of different topics regarding the mission and ways to fix the current issues. I enjoy having those opportunities to get to know my commander more because it builds trust in our working relationship, that way he knows he could rely on me more for other tasks.

    My commander knows I am a very open-minded and outspoken type of leader. When he asks me a question, he knows he will get the honest truth. I don't speak in a manner of disrespect or rude towards him but I told him many times that if you want to make changes, you need to know the exact truth that happens when he is not around. I basically tell him how it is and that way he could do whatever he pleases with that information. 

    Having an open and honest dialogue with others in my workplace actually helps accomplish our mission very easily. Sometimes, we are so busy that there is no time for error or a learning curve. So if we have recruiters that are building enlistment packets and they make mistakes on basic information, we give them a hard time and speak out how to be competent in their job. There are no hard feelings but everyone in our office learn the same way, from making mistakes and being called out about it. We found out there are many advantages by doing this because then everyone else could see the mistakes that were being made, which made everyone else double check their work to ensure 100% accuracy.

    Over my years in the Army, I found out it is best to speak up about issues that can be easily resolved. There is always a time and place for every conversation but knowing your audience and speaking the truth can go a long way.