Good leaders don’t carry the load themselves

To the Editor:

I read your “Lessons in Leadership” column in the February issue of MSW. As an Air Force veteran — or any veteran for that matter — I will tell you, officers don’t get the job done, noncommissioned officers (NCOs) do. These people are the frontline leaders in any unit, be it a combat team or a maintenance unit.

For all that is said about the military academies and their graduates, they owe it all to those wearing stripes. And oddly enough, most in the officer corps think it is their grand ideas and actions that get things done. It would never happen, and mistakes are often undone and put right by those with stripes.

Every good officer will credit his/her NCOs for his/her success, and those NCOs will in turn credit the troops who work with them. Too many officers never seem to get around to mentioning the outstanding performance of those who serve under them.

Jim Ward

Forward Marketing, LLC

Austin, Texas