TACT IN RELATION TO DISCIPLINE
By Lieut. Commander J. Ogden Hoffman, U. S. Navy
To achieve the greatest results from any organization, civil or military, there must be discipline, tactfully exercised. If the civilian employee refuses to abide by the laws ordained by his employers, he can leave his job or enlist the forces controlled by his labor union, which may or may not support his claim.
In the navy, however, an organization in which everyone, from the highest to the lowest, is serving the same master, the United States of America, there can be no question of refusing to follow the code of written and unwritten laws. These are condensed in the Articles for the Government of the Navy, amplified by the Revised Statutes and personified by the wearers of the naval uniform.
The law, in black and white, is sufficiently detailed to leave few loopholes in the armor of discipline surrounding the service. It remains only, therefore, for the living exponents of the law to so interpret it as to obtain the maximum results.
It is also well for the navy to review its conduct with civilian organizations and individuals and to modify its viewpoint accordingly. It is almost as important to be able to obtain results from someone else's organization as from one's own, and the prestige of the navy depends largely upon the favor with which it is viewed from other circles—in other words, upon its popularity at home and abroad.
A consideration of the importance of tact in its relation to discipline should include all ranks and stations and their conduct, one toward the other. It would be well-nigh impossible to catalogue the different phases of such an elusive quantity, and absurd to prescribe the amount to be used to fit any particular case. The best we can do is to follow the examples of great men, profit by the mistakes of others, and develop our own personalities along the lines that have been proved to be the most successful.
To anyone who has controlled numbers of men, or who assumes, for the first time, responsibility over others, it is instantly apparent that the proposition differs, somewhat, from anything he has ever done. No two situations are exactly alike, no two men will do things exactly the same way, but they will all produce results if skillfully approached.
Everyone has the privilege of changing his own mind, and the best approach to a new position is to come to it with a perfectly open mind. If the machine is in operation it is wise to quietly sit back and watch it run until the flaws come to light, as they surely will. If the machinery is to be started, organization plays its part and we enter into the discussion of an entirely different subject. We will suppose, therefore, that the plant is running in accordance with the ideas of our predecessor. By "plant" we mean the organization with which we are dealing, be it ship, machine shop, turret or deck division.
The previous incumbent undoubtedly had good ideas, and we should assume, for the present, that everything is running smoothly. In the meantime, we familiarize ourselves with every inch of the ground we control, beginning with the materiel, and extending the investigation to the personnel, individually and collectively.
As soon as a new officer steps aboard ship or shore the process of "sizing him up" commences, and it should be mutual, on his part. It will not be long before he has the opportunity of displaying his tact, or the lack of it, and if the first impression that he makes is unfavorable, he will have a hard time to live it down. At the outset he should enlist the services of his seconds in command, obtain their assistance and co-operation. There must not exist the slightest doubt as to who is in charge, but, at the same time, all responsible parties must feel that their voices are heard and their opinions appreciated. If this policy is the opposite to that practiced by one's predecessor the situation, at the start, is rather difficult, but will improve with time and the exercise of diplomacy. It recalls an occasion where the engineer officer, finding a certain piece of machinery in deplorable condition, and asking why it had never received attention, was told that the previous chief got very angry if anyone discovered such a condition before himself. As he had not discovered the defects in question, nothing had been said about it, although his subordinates were thoroughly familiar with the true state of affairs. Such an attitude, on their part, may be a good illustration of "loyalty," but it was rather hard on the inanimate machinery.
One of our foremost organizers used directly opposite methods and, in view of his pre-eminence, they may be considered as standard. A conference having been called to discuss subjects of which all had been forewarned, the topics were taken up, one at a time, and individual views solicited. Having heard what everyone had to say, the master mind came to a decision, which was recognized to be final. Before coming to this decision, advantage had been derived from all the individual opinions and the resultant gained something from each one. We may, therefore, adopt it as an axiom that no two people view a thing in exactly the same way and, even if we consider their opinions of absolutely no value, they will, at least, show us how " not to do it " and eliminate some course that we might have unconsciously considered.
There are many degrees of perfection in the manner in which, an order may be obeyed, but unless it is obeyed cheerfully the maximum attainment has not been reached. Much of the grumbling can be eliminated from the execution of disagreeable orders by the exercise of a little tact and by a careful study of the person who is going to carry out the order. On almost every ship there are to be found samples of that peculiar temperament that may perform its duty faultlessly and yet never cheerfully. It is hard to pick flaws in the man's obedience, sobriety, appearance or bearing, and, yet, he always gives you the impression that you have inflicted a personal injury every time you give him an order. Although such an attitude may not impair the efficiency of the work he individually performs, it will undoubtedly have a bad effect on the men who are working with him and there is grave danger of increasing the number of grumblers.
Here we have a situation that is a real problem and which may be solved by a variety of methods. We must, if we can, change the man's state of mind, make him cheerful, improve his influence over his subordinates and associates and, above all, stimulate his loyalty and desire to carry out our wishes. We must not make him think that we are helpless without his assistance, that he is the only man on the ship capable of filling his particular job, make him a worse grumbler and, in particular, we must not decide that his case is hopeless until we have exhausted every means of approach. Many a good man has been lost to the Service simply because he was not understood, and to understand him is our particular mission, in this case.
This is the situation that confronts us and it must be approached very guardedly and stealthily. Nearly all men can be made to talk and they often reveal conditions that have not been taken into consideration at all. Get them at a time when they are actually doing some work that interests them and discuss the fine points of it with them, like two experts coming to a momentous decision. Having started in this fashion, it is easy to lead the conversation through various channels, until it often ends at the solution for that particular man's "grouch." He probably has been timid about freely expressing himself before, or has suffered in stoical silence, as many of them do. He may be in very real trouble and it is certainly the officer's duty and privilege to give all the consolation the case demands. The enlisted man is often pathetically alone with his personal trouble, although surrounded by a thousand shipmates, and when he feels that someone really cares enough about him to share his burden, life immediately takes on a brighter aspect and efficiency steadily increases. To any of us who have bothered to seriously consider the cultivation of tact and the solution of the personal equation, many concrete examples present themselves.
A man joined the ship in the rating of first-class fireman. In the fire rooms he was worse than useless—all he did was to get in people's way. Although of good physique, he could not throw enough coal to keep up steam in the auxiliary boilers. As a striker in the engine room, he was languid to such a degree that all watches were unanimous in requesting his removal. Finally, he was placed in the machine shop, it being assumed that he could, at least, sort brass turnings from steel and sweep up the shop. The time came to transfer the quarterly War Quota and his name headed the list. On the very day of making out the list a job came up in the shop that puzzled everyone. Strolling up to the machine, this candidate for transfer proceeded to turn out such a perfect sample of accurate work as to make everyone aghast. He was tried on all the tools in the shop, and there was absolutely nothing he could not do. He could almost make a lathe talk. Regarding his capacity for work, he simply devoured it. Day and night were all the same, he was tireless. It appeared that he had not only served a full five-year apprenticeship in a machine shop, but had completed a night course in a technical college. When asked why, in the name of all that was sensible, he had concealed this ability, he replied, with a slow drawl, that a friend of his had enrolled as a machinist's mate and ended as a third-class fireman, whereas he preferred to go the other way. Luck was certainly on his side, but it also took considerable patience to keep from throwing him into the discard.
One chief boatswain's mate, who carried a very grumbling exterior, also had the ability to do almost anything in a nautical line, but considered small jobs entirely beneath his notice. That is, regarding things like mooring ship, carrying out an anchor or rigging a heavy purchase, he was in his element, whereas the mere evolution of setting up on life-lines or chipping and red-leading the bitts and waterways was too trivial to receive his august attention. The best way to penetrate his armor was to laugh at him. Give him the order, hear all his different reasons why the thing should not be done, then make fun of him and of his aversion to details. Then go on deck, and in a little while you would see a gang of men working like mad to carry out the order, with the chief boatswain's mate driving them like stevedores.
If there happen to be several chronic kickers, a good solution is to put them all in the same part of the ship, within working distance of each other. After hearing each other's songs for a while, the harmony begins to pall and they decide to sing a more pleasant tune. This system worked very well with a pugnacious boilermaker, a humorous coppersmith and a temperamental blacksmith. Each one thought the navy should be run on different lines and refused to help the others except by the constant issue of orders by the engineer officer. The ship was small, the work was arduous and life simply was not worth living with these three, masters of their respective trades, and each one too conceited to take assistance from the others. After placing them in a small, common Workshop, a few months brought about a remarkable change. They became like blood brothers, and would meet all comers, in fistic or other combat. Much wielding of heavy sledges made them dangerous opponents and a little common sense produced a formidable team.
It may be taken for granted that every offender against the naval law commits his breach of discipline with his eyes open and with a fair conception of the result, if his offence is discovered. Unless he enters the service with the avowed intention of starting a career of lawlessness, as soon as he dons the uniform he will have the opportunity of personally witnessing the results of indiscretion and insubordination.
The manner in which these cases are handled will make a great impression on the new man and is bound to affect his future conduct. Men who are punished invariably talk about it afterwards, often with an air of bravado, like the small boy who has been spanked and then walks around, giving the impression that neither his feelings nor anything else has been hurt.
The reduction of the number of offenders to a minimum and the assignment of punishment, when it becomes absolutely necessary, are two of the hardest things that an officer has to do, and ones requiring all of his tact. All of us abhor the discipline that is evidenced by a large daily report list and we dislike the feeling" that all sorts of offences are being committed and condoned, or entirely ignored. The latter state of affairs is much the worse of the two, as it indicates a deplorable absence of discipline, as against discipline misguided and carried to extremes. What we should accomplish is, therefore, a reduction of reports to a minimum together with the creation of an atmosphere that leads our subordinates to believe that offences will never be overlooked and that disciplinary action, of some form or other, will always be taken. We might go even farther and establish in the minds of our men the will to do right, not because the opposite conduct is sure to bring punishment, but because the right way to do a thing is always the shortest and best, in the long run. Unfortunately, this state of mind is found in only a comparatively small percentage of the men with whom we have to deal. Some men are instinctively truthful, honest, and are born with the qualities that merit a consistently perfect mark in sobriety and obedience. These men are, however, the exception and still rarer is the man who possesses them and is, at the same time, a skilled and efficient worker.
The first disciplinary dealing with any man, having probably a greater effect on his morale than any subsequent action, should be handled with the greatest care. As a general rule, except for serious offenses, any man deserves another chance before a black mark is entered on his record. The man may even have a bad record from another ship or station and yet a good, heart-to-heart talk will often be just as effective as the most rigorous action. The talk should, if possible, be conducted in private; the language should be simple and forceful, and an appeal made to the man's sportsmanship and sense of fairness. Is he going to show that he deserved a square deal or is he going to repay good money with bad, and shatter another illusion of faith placed in human nature? From the majority of cases, it is believed that he will respect the confidence placed in him. If he truly appreciates what has been done for him, his influence will be far-reaching, extending throughout his part of the ship. If the offence is repeated, there must be discipline and let it be swift and sure.
A careful and accurate record should be kept of each man's performance, entirely separate from the meager information that can be entered on his enlistment record. It does not take very long to prepare a card index containing, on each man's card, a current history of all minor offences, special requests, furlough, with the address to which he has gone, and many small notations that form a biography of that man's life on board ship. These details are often most illuminating, and will be forgotten unless recorded when they occur. Men have been kept from getting into trouble by a warning given after consulting just such notes, and, if the system serves no other purpose, it segregates the trouble breeders, agitators and derelicts invariably present among a large body of men.
Too much emphasis cannot be laid on the care with which petty officers should be selected. Once they are rated, they should have the absolute support of the officers. A good and experienced petty officer will, by his own tact and qualities of leadership, deal with slackers and their minor offences and, thereby, lessen the officer's burden. An inexperienced petty officer will have the tendency to report men for minor offences without investigating the cause preceding the effect. If a man is fit to be a petty officer, his orders must be obeyed by those under him and, whether or not he is of long service and experience, any disobedience of his orders must be considered in exactly the same light as though they had been issued by his superior officer. There is nothing so disheartening to a petty officer who conscientiously reports some infraction of discipline as to have the case dismissed, or a mild warning administered. Such action not only reduces the efficiency of the petty officer, but gives the culprit the impression that toward that particular superior he has nothing to fear, as his exercise of discipline did not receive official sanction.
Gang-spirit exists on board ship, just as it does in any city or town. The men who get into extensive trouble almost always stick together, with the exception of a few isolated cases, as do the men with conspicuously clear records. It is not desired to give the impression that there must be a division between the sheep and the goats, but that an understanding, on the part of the officer, of the divisions among his men will give him an idea of the inner workings of the crew.
Never give an order, unless care is taken to see that it is carried out. Circumstances change so rapidly that, as a rule, it is best to reduce the number of written orders to a minimum. It is very easy for orders to get out of date or to outlive their usefulness and it is naturally most confusing for a new man to consult the crew's bulletin board and final orders several years old, together with more recent editions that may be directly contradictory to the original. It is remarkable how one will find old orders, still kept in the current files, manifestly out of date, and useful only as a cause for perplexity.
In the issue of orders, the greatest tact is required to keep from depriving one's subordinates from all opportunity of exercising their initiative and, at the same time, to have the order carried out as one desires. It deprives subordinates of their sense of responsibility to have them think that the head of the department is never satisfied, unless he has a hand in every minor operation. For this reason, it is thought best to leave details entirely to them. Everything should receive careful supervision and no job is too small to deserve the inspection and appreciation of the man at the top, but he must be very careful that he does not go over the head of one of his subordinates, and sow the seeds of discord. If the work does not suit him, the officer or petty officer in charge is the man to be interviewed, but never the man who is carrying out the latter's orders. This interview should take the form of a discussion of the relative merits of various ways of doing the work and should not be in the nature of a reprimand, unless an order from superior authority has been disobeyed. If there are several ways of doing the work in question, let the subordinate carry out his own ideas. They may not exactly coincide with one's own views, but the result may be satisfactorily accomplished, just the same. The man's initiative will receive a decided check if every idea of his own is discouraged. When the job is completed he should be told how he could have saved time and labor, if such an improvement is possible, and the next time he has the same thing to do he will be wiser and more efficient.
In discussing the general subject of the tactful handling of men, too much stress cannot be laid on the importance of learning to call each one by name. This should be one of the subjects to which a newly arrived officer devotes himself, and he should not be satisfied until he knows and remembers the name of every man with whom he has to deal. It is astonishing how much more snap and alacrity will be put into the execution of an order, if a man is addressed by his own name, instead of being classed under the general category of " you." When the number of men reaches up into the hundreds, it is certainly difficult to catalogue them all, but the subject should be diligently pursued, starting at the top and working down, until they have all been mastered. The fireman leaning on his slice-bar or the seaman on his squeegee-handle (two characteristic attitudes) will forget his day dreams very quickly by hearing his name called by someone to whom he thought he was, more or less, incognito. His first attitude is usually one of surprise, followed by the impression that he must be pretty good, after all, to have been noticed. As soon as a man begins to feel that he is not merely a cog in a big machine, but a living personality, whose existence really affects the big scheme of things, he begins to try a little harder to justify the belief. The making of many a petty officer dates from that moment.
All of us have felt the thrill of pleasure that comes from being addressed by name by someone whose notice we thought we had entirely escaped. With some officers it has become the habit of a lifetime, and many captains know the name of every man in their crew. Men who have seen naval service are found holding positions of trust all over the country, and it is surprising how one meets old shipmates in most unexpected circumstances. The man is much the more likely to remember his officers' names, as we are all more observant of our superiors than of our juniors, but when the recognition is mutual we can make a real entry on the credit side of our memory ledger.
It is hard to say whether more tact is required in dealing with officers than with enlisted men, but it may be admitted that the effect, in the majority of cases, will be more quickly perceptible with the men and more lasting with the officers. Here, again, we cross the paths of psychology, human nature and the personal equation. Every man, commissioned or enlisted, is a distinct human problem and the more highly strung and nervous the temperament the more the required tact. A high-spirited horse is put in a perfect frenzy by a single touch of the spur, while the steady plodder may be only slightly accelerated by consistent and steady driving, although the effect will accumulate very gradually.
The only way to determine the particular kind of goad that will do the most good is to study all the details of the nature that confronts us. Some people will take the slightest hint, while with others the point of the argument must be as broad as their hand before they can see it and have it penetrate to the inner consciousness. Resentment instantly flares up in some natures, while others will stand any amount of chaff without harboring the least malice. Some people seem to be absolutely devoid of a sense of humor, while others will see the comic side of almost any situation and laugh away the most serious difficulty by sheer good nature.
The golden rule always works both ways. In other words, we must be tactful with our superiors and peers, just as we are with our juniors. A very wise captain once gave one of his officers the following advice: "If the captain reproves you for something you have not done, or your superior officer finds fault with something that you know is absolutely right, just stand and take it, and keep quiet unless your opinion is asked. In either case, if you were right, the other will soon find it out, and his opinion of you will rise, as he then knows that you knew he was wrong and did not tell him so." On another occasion the captain, upon going ashore, left orders for a boat to meet him at a certain landing at a certain time. The officer-of-the-deck despatched the boat, but the coxswain, who happened to be a relief and not the regular man for the boat, went to the wrong landing. The officer-of-the-deck became worried at the non-return of the captain and called away another boat. It was at night, the crew had to be turned out, the engine was cold and took long to start, and when the second boat got to the landing the captain had been kept waiting nearly an hour. The officer-of-the-deck reviewed in his mind all the possible punishments that might be his due, ranging from a severe reprimand to a court-martial. When the captain came on board all he said was, "Nice dock they have over here," and went below. The junior officer will probably never forget the occasion to his dying day, and it is quite certain that the interests of discipline were satisfied.
When we deal with people from other walks of life and of different customs from our own, we must do as they do, if we wish to realize our own aims. This applies to our dealings with civilian employees and, to a still greater measure, to our conduct with foreigners. In either case, their methods will not be ours, and the best policy is to let them go ahead in their own way, even though it grates on our nerves and strains our patience to the breaking point. The point to remember is that we wish to accomplish something, and we cannot do it without their help. To anyone who has wasted time trying to conduct business, along American lines, over a foreign telephone, no further illustration will be necessary.
To condense all that we think about, or have said, concerning "tact," resolves itself into an elaboration of the golden rule, with the mental note that, although few people are born with a hundred per cent, we can all study to reach a passing mark. Try to see a thing through the other fellow's eyes, and then combine that with the best possible way of achieving your own ends. You deserve a perfect mark when you make him do something just as you wish it, and have him think, all along, that he is doing it exactly his own way.
In naval circles a cheerful "Aye, aye, sir," is the acme of good tact, good discipline and good technique.