maintained throughout that member’s Navy
career. The RP3s and RP2s who see themselves
as having adopted the second managerial style
listed above may contend, “Yes, I’ll admit that
I’m LOW TASK/HIGH PERSONNEL manager
now; but when I make chief, I’ll change to the
HIGH TASK/HIGH PERSONNEL style.” This
is a commendable line of reasoning, but in reality
it seldom occurs. A manager usually continues to
operate in the same managerial style that he or
she adopted initially.
FLEXIBILITY OF THE MANAGER
Flexibility in management may be viewed by
some as inconsistency, but personnel managers
should prepare themselves to serve in quite
different situations by taking advantage of the
good points of all the above managerial styles.
For example, if the HIGH TASK/LOW PER-
SONNEL manager is given an assignment that
calls for an inordinate amount of interaction
between manager and subordinates, the manager
should consider a reevaluation of the LOW
PERSONNEL style of personnel management.
Or, if the HIGH TASK/HIGH PERSONNEL
manager is confronted with a situation in which
assigned personnel are not performing properly,
a further tightening of disciplinary controls may
be required to correct the situation. In any case,
flexibility is the key.
LEADERSHIP AND GUIDANCE
OF PERSONNEL
Navy organizational structure (in essence, the
chain of command) sets the stage for leadership
and guidance of personnel within the Department
of the Navy. The chain of command, when used
properly, is the most effective leadership tool in
today’s Navy. Lower echelon personnel should
seek and receive guidance from, and make reports
to, those in higher positions of authority in the
chain of command. And higher echelon personnel
should guide and communicate with personnel at
lower echelons by using the chain of command
in reverse order.
DISCIPLINE, GOOD MORAL
CONDUCT, AND SELF-CONTROL
Discipline, good moral conduct, and self-
control must be maintained by all members of the
military in order to accomplish the command
mission and goals. At basic training, recruits are
taught basic elements of military discipline and
learn basically what is expected of them in regard
to military behavior. The leading chief and leading
petty officer are to expand this learning experience
through close supervision of subordinates. The
subordinates who respect authority and whose
military behavior is beyond reproach can usually
advance quickly in the Navy.
ENLISTED PERFORMANCE
EVALUATION SYSTEM
The enlisted performance evaluation report is
the most significant personnel management tool
in the enlisted service record. This tool is used
primarily by the Commander Naval Military
Personnel Command in making advancement and
assignment decisions. It is also used to determine
eligibility for the Good Conduct Medal, reenlist-
ment, character of service at time of discharge,
continuation on active duty, and appointment to
warrant or commissioned status. The performance
appraisal process cannot be overemphasized and
demands command attention.
Input to the Evaluation Report
by the RPC or RP1
Senior petty officers should be tasked by the
command chaplain to provide input to the evalua-
tion report of assigned personnel. Because LCPOs
and LPOs are the first-line personnel managers,
they come in contact more frequently with
subordinates than does the chaplain, division
officer, department head, or commanding officer
and can, therefore, provide a more detailed report
of daily performance.
Documentation
Leading RPs should maintain either a file
folder or notebook in which performance
highlights can be documented as they occur. Thus,
the RPC or RP1 will not be forced to rely on
memory at evaluation reporting time. The subor-
dinate must be informed that such a record exists
and is being maintained. The leading RP must also
permit the subordinate to see the documentation
if the subordinate so desires.
AWARDS AND COMMENDATIONS
Incidents of outstanding or exceptional per-
formance and award recommendations should
5-8
