As a Field Grade Officer within a Brigade Combat Team, everyone knows who you are. There is no more anonymity. I cannot stress enough how important the relationships and reputation you build are. It’s no longer good enough to simply keep your rater happy with your performance. Sure, your rater still has the biggest say in your career trajectory and you should ensure that you aggressively execute his priorities in a manner that they are comfortable with; however, that is no longer enough. For the sake of getting the job done, as well as developing a positive reputation across your Brigade, I highly recommend you cultivate relationships in a 360-degree fashion. This must be genuine as your teammates will see right through a “spotlight ranger”. Be the best teammate you can be and strive to help your peers, subordinates, and superiors alike. It’s about being a good teammate.

First, be a good teammate to your peers. You can either be the guy who is known as looking out for what’s best for his Battalion or you can be the guy who looks out for the whole Brigade. You can be the person who throws stones at the Brigade staff, or you can be the person who quietly works out a solution with a Brigade staff officer. Both stories will spread, which one do you want it to be? Sometimes you will have to throw down with your higher headquarters (that’s okay and even healthy from time to time), it’s much better to do having already developed a positive reputation. Remember, as a KD field grade, we all live in glass houses. At any given moment there are going to be things that are not right in your formation, keep that in the back of your mind before you poke someone else in the eye. Always go out of your way to help a teammate. Level bubbles with your peers as frequently as possible. Share best practices and products freely, but without spotlighting; there’s no need to “cc” anyone who outranks you.

Spend time developing your relationship with the Brigade XO and S3. They’ve already done your job successfully, and they have a vested interest in seeing you and your BN succeed. They want to help you be successful. They know the Brigade and Division well. Don’t pretend you already know everything. They know that you are figuring it out for the first time and will gladly offer advice and TTPs to be successful and they will not hold it against you if you ask for help. In fact, they’ll consider it the act of a mature officer with potential. One of the worst things you can do as a new Major in a Brigade is fail to develop relationships with those two officers, especially your direct counterpart at the Brigade level.

Take the time to get to know the other Battalion Commanders within the Brigade. They are a wealth of information, and you’re guaranteed to get several different leadership styles and techniques for communication and organizational leadership. I’m not suggesting you set up office calls or anything like that, but be sure to introduce yourself to them when you see them at meetings, LPDs, TDY, etc. Most every Battalion Commander I’ve worked with welcomes those relationships and has been in your shoes before. Developing your informal professional network of mentors is invaluable.

I highly recommend you invest in quality relationships with the NCOs around you. First and foremost, whether you’re an XO or an S3 you must build a firm relationship with your CSM. He is the commander’s best friend and will have an intimate knowledge of the Commander’s preferences, goals, and priorities. Not to mention, he has a significant amount of knowledge and advice to share. When you need to get things done, they can be your best friend in ensuring the mission is accomplished. Where most tasks meet execution, there’s a Staff Sergeant or Sergeant First Class making sure it happens. They aren’t concerned with the S3 or XO. They are very concerned with the CSM. Only a half-step behind the CSM in relationship capital is the Operations Sergeant Major. If you’re the XO, you will be in the day to day current operations knife fight, and your battle buddy will often be the Ops SGM. Have lunch with him, take the time to sm when possible.

Finally, I recommend you keep an open line of communication with your HHC First Sergeant. They can make sure you know where there are friction points on the staff. Listen to them. They will also know where issues are, whether its morale or figuring out that your 95% FMC fleet is actually 59% FMC. HHC First Sergeants (and Commanders) will be hesitant to be transparent with you at first because they want to handle issues themselves and because they do not want to put the staff on blast to you. It’s your job to make them feel comfortable talking to you and understand that you want to know, but you’re there to support them, not to jump in and take over. You should not get involved until they need you to put the hammer down and then it should be in a way that is supportive of the HHC command team, not undermining it. This isn’t rocket science, it’s just like the Platoon Leader days and Company Commander days: take care of your NCOs and they will take care of you.

Finally, invest in legitimate relationships with your staff and subordinate company command teams. Even though I discuss them last, does not mean they’re less important; they are the backbone of everything you will accomplish or fail to accomplish as an S3 or XO. Take time to counsel every staff officer you rate; not just to give them your expectations but to learn who they are what they want to do with their career and personal life, and how you can help. It will go a long way for you to develop relationships with the company commanders. Humble yourself to go to their headquarters and spend a few minutes chatting with them; learning who they are and where they want to go in the Army. If you do not cultivate relationships with company commanders, you will find a lot more friction in getting things done. They work for the Battalion Commander, not you. Reality check: if your staff and company commanders do not seek you out for advice and mentorship, you’re not doing your job.

Part III will be released tomorrow covering tips for S3s and XOs!

MAJ Joe Owens is an Engineer Officer who recently completed 36 months of KD time in 1/101st Airborne Division culminating as the BCT XO both in garrison and deployed. An Engineer Officer, Joe has experience in Airborne and Air Assault Brigade Combat teams as well as EAB Engineer Battalions and SOF formations. Joe has operational experience in OIF, OEF, and OIR. He holds an MS in Engineering & Technology Management from Oklahoma State University and a Master of Military Operational Art & Science from the Air Command & Staff College. Joe is currently serving as the Deputy Commander of the Charleston District, US Army Corps of Engineers.