Best ways to get on the good side of superiors

[withroaj]

In order to balance out your relationship with your peers AND superiors you will need to consider the three major roles you play in the Navy (a few short years ago I'd have probably laughed at myself for what I'm about to put up):  you're a technician, an employee and a sailor.

As a technician it is your responsibility to know your piece of the nuclear puzzle to the best of your ability (and to know where to look up the stuff you don't know).  You'll also be expected to have a fairly detailed understanding of the other rates' equipment and procedures.  Upon qualifying your first watch you'll need to actually apply the things you've learned in the pipeline and qualification process.  If you don't take it upon yourself to learn as much as you can about your role in the game, you'll make life harder on everybody around you.  You'll inevitably learn what a 'Critique' is; just hope you're not the poor soul that causes it.  Strive to be the best at what you do, not by the amount of credit you take for it but by the knowledge that you perform your part 100% every time.

As an employee you need to take care of plain old grown-ups business.  Show up on time (early never hurts).  Execute tasks as cheerfully (tough when you've been awake for 30+ hours) and efficiently as possible.  Take criticism thoughtfully and apply it without arguing every step of the way.

As a sailor... you'll learn all of this in boot camp, and a lot of it will make you want to bang your face into a wall from time to time.  I had some trouble with this aspect for my first four or so years in the Navy and it caught up with me.  I was told directly by an authority figure that I greatly respect that I was an outstanding technician and a reliable employee, but I didn't live up to the basic expectations of a sailor.  Until that point I'd have never guessed that that would impact me at all.  I thought that my performance as a technician and an employee made up for my lack of willingness to play the military game.  Wrong answer.

I guess the moral of the story is that you shouldn't worry about establishing a rapport with your chain of command.  If you take care of your professional obligations without trying to stand out you'll be surprised how much you stand out in the long run.  Some people will play the social politics game and appear to rise above the crowd, but their status can weaken when the social climate changes.  As a reliable technician, employee, and sailor you will find yourself (more or less) immune to the schemes of those around you that will attempt to game the system.  You will manage to have the respect of your peers and superiors at the same time (something not often held by brown nosers or rebels).

[JsonD13]

  Show up on time (early never hurts). 

I don't know about you, but showing up early always hurts just a little bit.  Something about knowing that you are sacrificing just that much more time when you couldve done something better for those two minutes. ;-)

[kahdgarxi]

I just wanted to pop in and say thank you to just about everybody in this thread for the excellent advice, and for taking your time to allow others to benefit from your experience.

[Jechtm]

Dammit, to think I was gonna brown nose my way up to SUPER ADMIRAL.

Well at least you guys know how to bring a guy down to earth.




jk. Thanks for the advice, I really wasn't planning on standing out, I know I'd be too busy making sure I look good .

[heywaitfourme]

The way I've stood out down here is by being squared away. My uniform is clean and sharp looking, my boots always have a shin to them (NOT JUST THE !^@^&@& TOES, THE WHOLE DANG BOOT), ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS show up before needed, and I do what I'm told to do, without complaint.  Academically, put in MORE than you are required, and always lend forth a helping hand to ANY AND ALLL, even if it's the stinky kid, or the one know one likes. (for example...I personally PT'ed three kids in my class just to ensure they would pass their PFA's. My chief liked that I did that so much, that the Master Chief found out about it, as well as every other Petty Officers and Chief.) Little things mean more than 4.0 GPA.

Be a team player and SHINE YOUR DARN BOOTS...AND NOT JUST THE TOES.

[JsonD13]

It doesnt matter much until you get to p-type (if youre looking to be a SPU) or to the fleet anyways.  That is where the evaluation score (and your advancement, hence pay) really matters.  Anything before that is just a good thing to do because you are a nice person.

BTW just because a master chief knows something that you did doesnt make you a super star.

Jason

[goobs22xx]

It doesnt matter much until you get to p-type (if youre looking to be a SPU) or to the fleet anyways. 

Most people aren't just going to be able to "turn it on" when they hit prototype/fleet. Its much better for him to have an attitude where he strives to excel in everything that he does than to strive to excel in what he feels is important.

BTW just because a master chief knows something that you did doesnt make you a super star.

But yea, this is pretty much spot on.

[sovbob]

Katy and me, me and Katy, but never Katy and I.

Never?  Are you sure?  How about... "Katy and I went over to mutant's place and schooled him on English grammar."

Incidentally, it's considered incorrect to list yourself before others (i.e. me and Katy)

If you are using two pronouns in a compound subject, there doesn’t seem to be a rule about the order, except that “I” needs to be last. You’d have to say, “She and I went shopping,” not “I and she went shopping.”

[thenuttyneutron]

Never?  Are you sure?  How about... "Katy and I went over to mutant's place and schooled him on English grammar."

Incidentally, it's considered incorrect to list yourself before others (i.e. me and Katy)

The navy trained Katy and me.  Katy and I were trained by the Navy.

I learned the cave man method of grammar on this one.  Take out "Katy" and see which one sounds correct between I/me.  Now insert Katy back into the sentence and it will be correct.

[JustinHEMI05]

You know, all of this grammar bashing and smiting is getting old. Lighten up folks.

[sovbob]

You know, all of this grammar bashing and smiting is getting old. Lighten up folks.

You're right, it is pedantic and nitpicky.

As a community (and I know I'm being presumptious, speaking for us all) we are far more interested in the operation and maintenance of nuclear reactor systems than pointing out the shortcomings of others' grammar.

But at the same time, being able to speak (and write) properly is reflective of who you are.  You may be the most capable, experienced, and qualified operator in the world.  But if you don't communicate well, people will see you as, at best ignorant, at worst stupid.

But I agree, JustinHEMI.  Let's steer this thread back on-topic.

[HydroDave63]

5 degree left rudder to bring us back onto topic heading...

jk. Thanks for the advice, I really wasn't planning on standing out, I know I'd be too busy making sure I look good .

It's probably just my curmudgeonly reading of this.... but the era of reflective Ray-Bans and 'I'm too cool for rules' Top Gun stuff is history. The entire Navy Nuclear Propulsion program is under a lot of scrutiny now, patience for screw-ups will be rare.

DDMurray said it best back on 7 October  http://www.nukeworker.com/forum/index.php/topic,21806.msg113319.html#msg113319

Good luck and make your loved ones proud!

[co60slr]

...being able to speak (and write) properly is reflective of who you are.  You may be the most capable, experienced, and qualified operator in the world.  But if you don't communicate well, people will see you as, at best ignorant, at worst stupid.

The more proficiency you have with effectively communicating technical issues, the farther you will go in your career.  Any career, but more important to a technical career. If you compile a 100 page technical report (which many young nukes in commercial or the Navy do NOT do...yet), and it's full of spelling errors, your technical content and all related conclusions are brought into question.  When you give your boss something to sign, do NOT ever assume he'll find your mistakes or treat it like a "first draft".  "Complete Staff Work"...this could be a long and detailed separate thread alone.

In contrast, I've read reports with perfect grammar and spelling that have worthless technical content.  The secret (shh...don't tell anyone) is to have BOTH good, sound technical conclusions AND perfect grammar/spelling.  Then, be prepared to publicly present your conclusions before a large audience.  If you can do all that, you'll be well on your way to senior officer/manager level.   If you're still in Boot Camp though...don't lose too much sleep over these skills.  Simply concentrate on the "rules of a military sentry" for now and just do what you're told.  Good mentors in the future will steer you where you need to go.  Meanwhile, spare us the SMS text etiquette...that level of informal communication doesn't fit into a nuclear community forum.

Very few people have the same "attention to spelling/grammar detail" in cell phone SMS messages, chat room messages, Facebook updates, personal emails, work emails, personal letters, formal letters, Navy FitReps, or Congressional letters.  Browsing business articles speak of the evils of informal emails being released beyond their intended recipients.   (Authors beware!)  So, what can you conclude about someone's spelling/grammer on NukeWorker.com?  Well, if they're posting like they do in a chat room or SMS message, then they're not taking our community very seriously (and they get a well-deserved commensurate response).

I don't conclude they're "stupid", but maybe a bit lazy and definitely overly informal.  While there are no rules here on grammar, the experienced/senior forum members can simply choose to ignore the ignorant.  Personally, I'm content to see two seemingly junior boot camp "NUBs" publicly counseling each other with bad advice in the forum without recognizing the lack of senior member feedback to their issue.  Some people just need to learn the hard way.  I've learned in 20+ years that if someone senior to you ignores your question/statement, it probably was NOT an accident.   

[JustinHEMI05]

Wow, so much for the get back on track idea.

I agree 100% with Co60 and Bob that effective communication and writing skills are important for a career. What I have issue with is what this forum has degenerated into, and that is bashing/smiting for every minor stray off grammerical (that is not a word, BTW, maybe I need smote) perfection. And yes, it is bashing, it isn't just a friendly gesture anymore. Instead, the corrector often puts down the offender in a way which is not helpful and is nothing but demeaning. Where I come from, trying to advance yourself by belittling others just makes you look like the ass, especially when you are wrong.

I am all for fixing these young ones that come here and speak to us in "text," or other forms of gibberish. But hammering and smiting a guy because he says "Katy and I" or "Me and Katy" is just silly. And no one is being stupid or lazy or ignoring the ignorant if they let these minor mistakes go by. The point is, this forum has taken grammar/spelling correction to the extreme, and I think it reflects badly on the users of this forum.

I am sure this post is full of errors, yet the NRC is about to grant me an SRO license... go figure.

/soapbox

[heywaitfourme]

Most people aren't just going to be able to "turn it on" when they hit prototype/fleet. Its much better for him to have an attitude where he strives to excel in everything that he does than to strive to excel in what he feels is important.

But yea, this is pretty much spot on.

I never meant to come across as thinking I'm a superstar or that having a Master Chief know something I did was golden, I was simply stating that doing LITTLE things will get you noticed, that it doesn't take a 4.0. I do apologize if I came off wrong with that statement.

[JustinHEMI05]

I never meant to come across as thinking I'm a superstar or that having a Master Chief know something I did was golden, I was simply stating that doing LITTLE things will get you noticed, that it doesn't take a 4.0. I do apologize if I came off wrong with that statement.

You didn't. Some people are just too full of themselves to see past their own noses.

[thenuttyneutron]

Wow, so much for the get back on track idea.

I agree 100% with Co60 and Bob that effective communication and writing skills are important for a career. What I have issue with is what this forum has degenerated into, and that is bashing/smiting for every minor stray off grammerical (that is not a word, BTW, maybe I need smote) perfection. And yes, it is bashing, it isn't just a friendly gesture anymore. Instead, the corrector often puts down the offender in a way which is not helpful and is nothing but demeaning. Where I come from, trying to advance yourself by belittling others just makes you look like the ass, especially when you are wrong.

I am all for fixing these young ones that come here and speak to us in "text," or other forms of gibberish. But hammering and smiting a guy because he says "Katy and I" or "Me and Katy" is just silly. And no one is being stupid or lazy or ignoring the ignorant if they let these minor mistakes go by. The point is, this forum has taken grammar/spelling correction to the extreme, and I think it reflects badly on the users of this forum.

I am sure this post is full of errors, yet the NRC is about to grant me an SRO license... go figure.

/soapbox

http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operator-licensing/op-licensing-files/region1.pdf 

You are starting the test on Monday (one of the 9 SROI)?

[JustinHEMI05]

http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operator-licensing/op-licensing-files/region1.pdf 

You are starting the test on Monday (one of the 9 SROI)?

Correct.

[thenuttyneutron]

Remember what I told you.  I just took my license exam this last July.  Good luck to you.

[JustinHEMI05]

I do, and thank you!

[Jechtm]

I didn't realize I started a grammar war. Sorry I never paid much attention to my teachers in grade school, unless it had to do with numbers...

But to be quite honest... I don't know the correct way to say anything. SO please correct me when I'm wrong, just don't get all fussy about it.

Thanks,

Mike

[HydroDave63]

I didn't realize I started a grammar war. Sorry I never paid much attention to my teachers in grade school, unless it had to do with numbers...

But to be quite honest... I don't know the correct way to say anything. SO please correct me when I'm wrong, just don't get all fussy about it.

Thanks,

Mike

It's more of an algebra function, where :

                     (grammar errors) x (poster's stated coolness factor) x (reader's age)
Angst  =        ---------------------------------------------------------------------
                               ( poster's time served )


your mileage may vary...

[deltarho]

It's more of an algebra function, where :

                     (grammar errors) x (poster's stated coolness factor) x (reader's age)
Angst  =        ---------------------------------------------------------------------
                               ( poster's time served )


your mileage may vary...

I had to copy and save this for later use...I did fix the colon spacing in my copy, however. Doh!

[HydroDave63]

probably with one of those teeny tiny twidget screwdrivers! 

[Jechtm]

You guys sure know how make someone feel welcomed.