04 July - entry 1

Today provided a great opportunity to just sit down and relax. I didn't go into work, didn't do any homework, and i didn't read any class materials. I just managed to sort of tune out for a day. Monday my new commander arrives. Now officially she won't be here till the 22nd, but she'll be on base monday and thus there will be, starting monday, a chance of running into her and making a first impression.

Now I'm confident in my job, and when it comes to things that are in my area of responsibility, i know i have them covered, which is a huge improvement to the last first impression i had with my current/soon to be previous squadron commander. So already I'm walking into this situation with a good knowledge of whats expected of me and where I'm at in the grand scheme of things, which helps, alot.

I've been told that I'm a little rough when it comes to my first impressions. I tend to be overly formal and somewhat cold. I personnally find that to be polite, i mean when talking to someone of higher rank/position, i leave it up to them to set the level of formality. I find it disrespectful when someone of lower rank/position talks to me in a familiar manner right off the bat, now when they do approach me in a formal manner i almost always lower it to something much more comfortable, but still being in the place of higher rank/position means that its up to you to set the level of formality. You've earned that right.

However, there is ways to be polite but friendly at the same time, and I think that's really the area in which i have a hard time. I tend to project what i respect in others. What i respect in others is the ability to know your subject, explain it as briefly as possible while still ensuring comprehension, and to give you the quick answers you need. So, because thats what I like to see in others, thats what i try to project when first meeting someone. I'm polite, i get straight to the point, explaining only what is neccessary along the way, and i give the answers to the questions I'm asked/know i will be asked, as soon as possible. While I respect that, its definitely a cold and mechanical way of going about things. I'll ask that guy for info all day long, but as far as really liking or trusting him, I wouldn't dream of that until the kid lightens up a bit.

I think that competence, humility with a dash of self effacing humor, and being thorough while keeping it brief is probably the best approach here. It says I know what I'm doing, I'm not a braggart, and I can take a joke. So how to get there, really i just need to get my half a dozen projects knocked out before monday. It means a little work over the weekend, but it will also put me into a much more relaxed position on monday to be able to focus on what I'm projecting to others.