Being A Good General

Recently this past June, I became a General again for the second time in my KSI career. This was a moment I’ve sought after for a while when I rejoined KSI. I literally told my General in my interview that I wanted her spot. This is a position many officers revere being in and commands respect from all members alike. When your time does come, here are some tips I’ve learned in my short time in this leadership position that I think you should take to heart.

Ask For Help

Do not be afraid to ask for help. Lord knows, I’ve had a huge problem with this. Way too often I tried to take the load of my entire squad on my shoulders. Taking on all the problems of a squad is too much of a responsibility for one person to bare. Your Co-Founder and your own officers are there for a reason.

Delegate

This goes right alongside asking for help. Give your officers some responsibility. Let them learn the in’s and outss of the squad. One day, some of them will be your replacements. Make sure they are learning everything they can from you. Keeping them busy will only help you out with the million tasks that you are having to keep up with.

Don’t Burnout

When you are seeing yourself or someone else notices you getting overwhelmed, take some time off. I cannot stress this one enough. Don’t let yourself fall into a hole, because it will effect your squad. Take some time to self-reflect and come back when you are ready. Your squad needs you at your best. Be the leader that knows when it’s time to take a break. I’m sure everyone will respect you a lot more doing that than running the squad into the dirt.

Mentor

Teach your replacements. Eventually you’ll be hitting a squad split. Your Captain’s will be moving up to their rightfully earned General position, those Lieutenants will become Captains, and your SSGT’s will be moving up as well. When that time comes, your officer staff needs to be ready to take on the responsibilities of their next position. Make sure to answer any questions they may have and set time aside to get to know them on a personal level. Try to get in a workshop in at least once a week; building knowledge across the board will only help your squad succeed.

Promote Well

Promote the people who absolutely deserve it. Don’t just hand them out because of tenure in a squad or because they’re your best friend. Promote those who put in the work. Talk to your Co-Founder about all the ideas you have for your squad and where you see your officer staff going. If someone isn’t doing what they need to, it might be time to tell them to step down for now. Having someone work for the promotion they want will make it more worthwhile than giving it prematurely. Make sure they meet all the requirements of the next rank before even considering giving it to them.

Focus On The Positives

Sometimes we go through some valleys before we get to peaks. Don’t let it get you down. If your squad isn’t doing too great on recruits this week, maybe focus on the fact that you had some old faces show up to your game nights. Maybe you had some great attendance at a workshop and all the members had a blast. Mention that at your squad meeting instead of blasting your officers across the board for not getting one thing done.

Take Personal Time

Make a day for yourself. Every week we are having to deal with new situations and problems that occur within our squads. This can get severely overwhelming. Take a day to yourself. Make sure to communicate this with everyone. Your officers are capable of handling any situations that need immediate attention, but can relay any information that will need you the next day. Don’t get burned out. Take some time to yourself and push forward the next day.