I recently received a complaint from a senior officer, who is the leader of a neighboring organization. This organization, is similar to ours, but it and mine are not related, in terms of command, control, or authority, for several echelons up. Our only real mandates to operate in cooperation are: 1) professional respect and courtesy, and 2) a true caring and fondness of Soldiers, regardless of organization or chain.
As mentioned, this officer recently sent me an email, complaining that my organization’s aviation activities that were conducted in a shared and common space were unsafe. His complaint was strongly worded, unilateral, and demanding, in a way that was overbearing and that the authority of the position he occupies could not enforce.
When dealing with conflict, I employ a five phase graduated strategy, in an attempt at de-escalation: avoid, prevent, spoil, engage (and win), and reconcile. Earlier phases in this strategy are preferable, and you should only transition to the later strategies if you are forced to. I believe that you should always strive to contain conflict to its lowest level. In this vein, I personally went over to this officer’s area, to hopefully work thorough these issues and prevent conflict before it emerged.
Upon finding this officer, I attempted to speak with him about his complaint. Before I could even begin to construct and present my perspective (which I intended to do before I suggested we look for mutually acceptable solutions), he interrupted me and began to talk down at me, saying something to the tune of, “blah blah blah blah, MAJOR (extra inflection, volume, and emphasis), blah blah blah blah...” When senior officers address you by your rank in this manner, it is intended to: 1) overtly remind you that they are a senior officer (as if I somehow forgot); 2) suggest that their perspective on the issue at hand is the right perspective, by virture of their senior rank; and 3) that no discussion or intellectual interaction on the matter will be entertained or tolerated. We call this tactic to short-circuit healthy interaction 'pulling rank'.
Instead of talking through the issue and potentially finding an agreeable solution, this senior officer intended and attempted to intimidate and bully me into accepting his perspective, without discussion or debate, by pulling rank. It was at this point that I politely thanked him for his time and excused myself.
If You Have to Go to Rank, You Have Already Lost
If you have to go to rank, you have already lost. I cannot remember a time when I have seen someone pull rank, and it came out anything other than negative. The senior officer pulling rank may win that particular engagement (in the case above, he did not; I later sent him an email saying that our activities were legal, safe, and necessary, and that his complaint was thin and feeble), but by pulling rank, the senior officer has offended and belittled those with whom he displayed this behavior.
This offense and belittlement cuts deep, and has many dimensions. First, one who pulls rank is overtly pointing out the differences in class, rank, pay, and status between themselves and the subordinate team members; this is well-enough known without those in the privileged class pointing it out to subordinates. Second, through this action, a senior officer who pulls rank is telling those subordinates that he does not care to hear or consider their opinion; effective leaders know that not listening to others’ opinions and input is a recipe for disgruntlement and resentment. Third, and perhaps most important, this behavior demonstrates weak leadership; senior officers who attempt to pull rank frequently do so because they are insecure in their position on the issue at hand, or as a leader in general.
Perhaps this third point is the most relevant to my situation described above. This senior officer could have taken the time to listen to and consider my perspective, talked the issue through, and led us to a mutually acceptable solution. In so doing, he could have increased the good will between our organizations, and provided me a little bit of mentorship (mentorship of juniors, in my opinion, is one of a senior officer’s most important duties).
Instead, though, the senior officer cut me off, tried to pull rank, and ended up fostering negative feelings and resentment. Now, with my boo-boo lip and butt-hurtedness, my feelings are hurt; I will be damned if I adjust or compromise, in an attempt to placate his complaint. On the contrary, we will continue our legal and safe operations as we have been conducting them, and will likely be less amicable and receptive to future interactions or engagements.
Again, if you have to go to rank, you have already lost. And this officer went straight for it, without trying any other leadership tools first. What a shame.
What to Do, Instead of Pulling Rank
If you are a senior officer being confronted by a junior officer, I suggest you consider not pulling rank. Instead, listen to that junior. Acknowledge his or her positions and perspectives. Work to find as agreeable a solution as possible. Then, thank them for coming to you and expressing your concerns. Ask them about the rest of their work, if they have any other issues, or if they are struggling in any other area. Again, senior officers should seek opportunities to mentor juniors; it makes our organization and society stronger.
By doing this, instead of pulling rank, you keep resentments down to a minimum, and you turn a potentially contentious situation into a mentorship and development opportunity. More importantly, though, you show that junior officer how to treat junior officers in a respectful and inclusive way when they become a senior.
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