OFFICER LIKE QUALITIES or OLQ
GENTLEMEN AND SNOBS
TWO TYPES OF OFFICERS
Musings
By
VIKRAM KARVE
When I was in the Navy I observed that there were two types of officers:
1. THE GOOD OFFICER
There were the confident type who carried themselves with poise and dignity, were well-bred, polished, cultured and courteous, honest, transparent, fair and upright in their conduct and quite humble, modest and down-to-earth in their behaviour.
These officers did not need the crutches of rank. They had a distinctive identity of their own.
In fact, by their exemplary demeanor these good officers enhanced the dignity of the rank they held and they always put service before self.
They truly epitomized the term: “An Officer and a Gentleman”.
2. THE CAREERIST STATUS CONSCIOUS SNOB
Then there were the insecure type who were excessively rank conscious haughty show-offs who believed in the dictum: “Boot your juniors and Boot-lick your seniors”.
They were unabashed careerists who put self before service because for them their rank and status were everything.
Snobbish and pretentious behaviour is a sign of low self-esteem.
For these insecure types rank, promotion and their naval career was the be-all and end-all of life.
These officers had no unique individual identity of their own. Their rank was their only identity.
They knew, in their hearts, that without the crutches of rank they were zeroes
So they went to any extent to get promoted at any cost.
It is this insecure and ambitious type of careerist officers who often get involved in unethical acts and scams, thereby causing immense damage to the reputation of the service resulting in tarnishing of the good image of the defence services.
So, Dear Reader, the next time you meet an officer, of the army, navy or air force, or even of the civil services, observe his behaviour and see which type of officer he is.
One clue - when an officer introduces himself is the emphasis on his rank or on his name?
You will find that good confident officers may not even mention their rank while introducing themselves, while insecure snobbish officers are obsessed with rank, even after retirement.
Totally agree Vikram. This was also my experience when in the army. Those power hungry officers (and NCO's) always had bit of a chip on their shoulder and used their rank as their authority leverage. Not unlike managers in the corporate world really... those that like their surname to be used and prefixed by title when addressing them.
ReplyDelete@ Paddy - Yes, pulling rank alienates, whereas humility bonds
ReplyDeleteMy Dad has served in the army (1970-94) and both my brothers are Lt Cols in the army at the moment while I am into IT. I noticed that for all 3 of us (and as was with my Dad), sincerity and professionalism towards work has led us to taking principled stands, and has had its unpalatable consequences. Sometimes, I feel would any of us have achieved more by being less principled. But thankfully, I am glad we made all the right decisions when it mattered. Subsequent to all adverse occasions, our approach has not changed at least, and we doing fairly fine, while earning the respect of colleagues. In this world of human imperfections, That to me, is the biggest achievement.
ReplyDeleteMy Dad has served in the army (1970-94) and both my brothers are Lt Cols in the army at the moment while I am into IT. I noticed that for all 3 of us (and as was with my Dad), sincerity and professionalism towards work has led us to taking principled stands, and has had its unpalatable consequences. Sometimes, I feel would any of us have achieved more by being less principled. But thankfully, I am glad we made all the right decisions when it mattered. Subsequent to all adverse occasions, our approach has not changed at least, and we doing fairly fine, while earning the respect of colleagues. In this world of human imperfections, That to me, is the biggest achievement.
ReplyDeleteMy Dad has served in the army (1970-94) and both my brothers are Lt Cols in the army at the moment while I am into IT. I noticed that for all 3 of us (and as was with my Dad), sincerity and professionalism towards work has led us to taking principled stands, and has had its unpalatable consequences. Sometimes, I feel would any of us have achieved more by being less principled. But thankfully, I am glad we made all the right decisions when it mattered. Subsequent to all adverse occasions, our approach has not changed at least, and we doing fairly fine, while earning the respect of colleagues. In this world of human imperfections, That to me, is the biggest achievement.
ReplyDeleteMy Dad has served in the army (1970-94) and both my brothers are Lt Cols in the army at the moment while I am into IT. I noticed that for all 3 of us (and as was with my Dad), sincerity and professionalism towards work has led us to taking principled stands, and has had its unpalatable consequences. Sometimes, I feel would any of us have achieved more by being less principled. But thankfully, I am glad we made all the right decisions when it mattered. Subsequent to all adverse occasions, our approach has not changed at least, and we doing fairly fine, while earning the respect of colleagues. In this world of human imperfections, That to me, is the biggest achievement.
ReplyDeleteMy Dad has served in the army (1970-94) and both my brothers are Lt Cols in the army at the moment while I am into IT. I noticed that for all 3 of us (and as was with my Dad), sincerity and professionalism towards work has led us to taking principled stands, and has had its unpalatable consequences. Sometimes, I feel would any of us have achieved more by being less principled. But thankfully, I am glad we made all the right decisions when it mattered. Subsequent to all adverse occasions, our approach has not changed at least, and we doing fairly fine, while earning the respect of colleagues. In this world of human imperfections, That to me, is the biggest achievement.
ReplyDeleteHi AM,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that in the long run being principled and leading a moral and ethical life pays rich dividends of self satisfaction
Please excuse the multiple posts, but the website showed issues (kept throwing an error message instead of a confirmation), so I believed the post did not go through).
ReplyDeletergds
Alok