Training To A Standard, Not Time, Goes Both Ways.

Training To A Standard, Not Time, Goes Both Ways

            How often have “leaders” mentioned this statement while their subordinates are training? How often have Soldiers been out, crushing the designated training objectives ahead of schedule, only to be told, “We train to standard, not time in this unit.” What incentive is there for the Soldiers to put forth maximum effort toward the training when they know they will be there for extended periods of time even after meeting or surpassing what the dictated and explained standards were?

Here is the answer…none.

            This is one of the many things the Army does not do right. We talk all the time about taking care of Soldiers, protecting their time, and supporting their mental health, but this is one of the things that often negatively affects those things. Many leaders see an objective as time-based. I mean, it makes sense that leaders would want to get the maximum amount of training out of minimum time at a training site, but that is not what is filtered down to the workers.

            We tend to place time standards onto the performance standards. This is counterproductive. Soldiers need to have predictability when it comes to conducting training. If the standard is simply a time-focused one like shooting at a range, make it undeniably understood by everyone that we will be out shooting until this exact time. But, if the standard is that everyone needs to shoot this many times, qualify an expert, or conduct a familiarization fire, stop when that is met…yes, even if you are expecting a VIP.

If the standard is to finish this briefing slide deck before heading home for the day, if that deck is completed by noon, go home. If the “go-home” criteria were to sweep and mop the building, take out the trash, and clean the dry-erase boards, go home after that. Once the initial guidance is satisfactorily met, there is no need to continue adding new performance steps, training guidance, or “go-home” criteria. Moving the goalposts constantly creates disgruntled and unmotivated soldiers more than it increases lethality.

            Think about this for a second…If your boss told you that you could leave after a specific task was done, but once you finish that task, your boss says you need to do another task before being able to leave. How much trust would you have in your leadership? How much motivation would you have to get out of bed the next day and come in? How much would you care about the quality of your work if someone always made you feel you did not do enough? How about celebrating that your people can get things done efficiently rather than punishing them for getting things done quickly? Even if you do not see it that way, I can guarantee you that they see it that way. Soldiers will be more willing to follow you if you care about them and actually protect their time by actions, not words.

If you are the one training to a standard, then train to that standard, nothing more, nothing less. You are a leader, lead.