By RACHAEL ROBERTSON
Last week’s emphatic video statement from Chief of Army Lieutenant General David Morrison, AO, was as striking in its intensity as it was in its clarity.
There was no ambiguity. No grey areas. He was incandescent with anger and it showed.
This was a man who said ‘enough is enough’ and very clearly and rationally laid out his expectations about what is acceptable and unacceptable behaviour. This is leadership. General Morrison drew a line in the sand. It’s not about his team working together in perfect harmony. It’s about treating each other with respect, like professional adults.
For far too long leaders in the Defence force, among other organisations, have turned a blind eye to poor behaviour, hauling out the usual platitudes of “it’s one bad apple”, “it’s an isolated incident” or my personal favourite, “it’s just boys being boys”. Here’s the thing – they are not boys. They are men. They are grown-ups.
I understand that they work in a highly stressful environment, for months at a time, away from loved ones. I get that.
I did too. I led a team of 18 people for a year in Antarctica. Around the clock, all day, every day, through months of darkness, for an entire year. Not once in that time did I ever have to speak to any of my men about “boys being boys”.
We treated each other with respect, regardless of age, gender, marital status, occupation, sexual persuasion or any of the myriad factors that people can use to demean and denigrate others. Not once.
It was no accident either. It was a simple understanding that as professional men and women, living in an extraordinarily stressful environment, away from our friends and families, our life was tough enough. It didn’t need to be made any tougher by our colleagues giving us grief, especially the covert, despicable ‘just joking’ type. Harmony was out and respect was in.
The goal of “harmony” is dangerous in a workplace. It pushes destructive behaviour underground, stifles robust debate and people are too scared to raise issues or concerns just in case they rock the almighty harmony boat. It’s dangerous.
I never expected my very diverse team of 18 people to all love each other. Or even to like each other for that matter. But I did expect them to show respect.
If you’re part of a team that values harmony and getting along with each other above all else, challenge yourself and others. Are there workplace issues you’re afraid to raise? What if you replaced harmony with respect? What would change? Would you and your team be better off?
Rachael Robertson is an Antarctic expedition leader, speaker and author. As a mother of 5 children she is an expert in the area of extreme leadership and extreme teams. Find her website here.
Top Comments
I was married to an ADFA graduate for 9 years. I worked within one of the Emergency Services. What I noticed was the great difference in measure of maturity-to-age between ADFA graduates and Police, Fire Officers, Ambos.
ADFA tend to prefer their recruits with little life experience, just out of school and quite young. This way they can mould them to think 'as a pack' and from my experience, free thought was often discouraged. They are taught to obey 'unquestioningly' and belonging is seen as survival. If you don't belong, then you can't be trusted. And if you can't be trusted in civilian life, then you've little hope of being trusted in a war-zone.
Interestingly, the Police, Firies and Ambos preferred recruits with life experience - previous employment, travel, community volunteering etc. A 'worldliness' assists in dealing with the broad cross-section of society.
ADFA graduates don't have to pay for their educational qualifications (ADFA is Uni of NSW from what I remember) but have to commit to several years service. I noticed that with ADFA recruits and graduates, the mental and emotional development tended to be 'stunted' at graduate age - they behaved the same way at 30 that they did when 21.
Unlike the Emergency Services which deals with all sectors of the community, for the most part, unless deployed to natural disasters such as the Qld Floods or Vic bushfires, ADFA/Duntroon graduates have limitted dealings with the greater community, including social circles. They are encouraged to 'bond' and live in fear of not being part of the pack. They are taught to follow orders and not question, and have a difficulty in lateral, situational variables or peripheral thinking not related to their jobs. This is no fault of theirs, it comes from indocrination.
I am not down-playing the danger of the jobs of the ADF and I am grateful we have such people who defend our nation and way of life. BUT I experienced for many, many years the group-think mentality - even to the point where, after attending a social event which was not involving the Defence Force, my husband was not spoken to for three days at work because we "went out with non-ADF friends". This was petty childish behaviour from a bunch of insular 30 year olds.
Police, Ambos and Firies also have their industry-cultures, but it's more broad and expanded as have and expanded range of duties and risk. Unlike the Defence Force member who may go on deployment for three months in a ten year career, the Police, Fire and Ambos put their lives at risk EVERY DAY they leave the house to attend to their duties. Going on 'exercise' once or twice a year is a lot diffent to actually doing the job you're trained to do for maybe three months in ten years.
Amongst ADFA, the young men (I am talking about the men rather than female graduates because I witnessed this behaviour from the men) are often indoctrinated that they are the 'best of the best' and therefore believe as if they have a God given right to behave anyway they wish and can't be touched.
During our posting up north, there were people who had lived in the area for 7 years but knew nobody except the immediate members of their military platoon.
And being in charge of machinery worth millions of dollars gives some a mighty power-trip.
It's an insularity which is necessary in battle, but plays to their detriment when they are not on deployment.
My ex, when he left the ADF, had extreme difficulty in relating to those who worked in other life-endangering positions. To a police officer friend of mine who was once stabbed in the line of duty, he actually said "but WE (ADF) are the heroes!". His fellow graduates were of the same mind-set.
Until this megalomania ceases, the problem won't go away.
I'm saddened today by the continual need of Mamamia to hammer our young men as a whole, when most are "good guys"
A young man died in Afghanistan on Saturday, yet there is no mention of the sacrifice that he and 39 others have made in the belief that they are protecting Australians from the evils of terrorism. Not to mention the young men who have been maimed or are suffering PTSD upon return from the theatre.
So keep bashing our soldiers. This "scandal involves about 120 people if I'm to understand it properly. There are 30,000 other soldiers out there who will put their lives on the line. Stop judging everyone in uniform and lumping them all together.
Greater love hath no man that he lay down his life for his country.