The Deliberate Negligence mgmt style

Good leaders want all their subordinates to do well. That's as true in the Army as in the private sector.

But Army leaders are constrained -- they cannot give "top block" evaluations to more than 49% of the people they senior rater. And determining who's in that top half of performers can be difficult.

How can a brigade commander sift through their people given their time constraints and the diverse types of units and challenges in their organization?

So make things easier, I've seen commanders in multiple units apply what I call the "deliberate negligence management style." If you've ever heard someone say, "I don't care who does it! I just want it done!" then you're dealing with someone who's using it.

With deliberate negligence, you don't put out the same information to everyone two levels down. Rather, you seed a few individuals at higher ranks, and let informal mentorship channels filter that information down.

Those with mentorship channels will get the information; those who don't, won't. Those with personalities similar to the commander's will prioritize requirements similarly -- a coincidence that will look like they can read their commanders' minds. In that way, they show themselves to be worth of trust.

And those who prove they can be trusted to make the boss look good will become part of the commander's inner circle -- always available and willing to help the boss with whatever comes up.

The problem with deliberate negligence is that it blurs lines of responsibility and undercuts organizational effectiveness. If only a certain proportion of staff is considered trustworthy, those who are "out of the loop" will never reach their full potential.

It also contributes to cronyism and sycophancy. If the most assured way to promotion is to imitate the boss's style of thinking, subordinates will resort to groupthink rather than risk being seen as someone who isn't a "team player." And those on the outside -- regardless of their skills or abilities -- are "deprioritized."

So while deliberate negligence has some favorable outcomes for the commander, the Army as a whole suffers.