“You do not lead by hitting people over the head - that’s assault, not leadership.”
Dwight D. Eisenhower
An XO has a vital job on a ship in making the ship fun for everyone. The XO can help to create and maintain a fun, positive atmosphere, as well as ensuring that the DH’s and junior officers have plenty of work to be busy.
The best ships in STF have an active XO that pushes the crew to higher effort and enthusiasm. This is done by example and encouragement.
It is possible to break down the job of a good Executive Officer into two main areas, In Character (IC) work and Out of Character (OOC) work.
It is the job of a good Executive Officer (XO) to ensure that your ship is run efficiently and your officers have plenty of work to do. You will be required to give your staff tasks. These may be sim related tasks or tasks delegated to you by the CO. You should feel free to issue orders within the limitations of the main sim, but never at the expense of the main sim. You should never issue orders that will detract from the progress of the main sim. For example, if the main sim requires the input of the science department, don’t order them all off ship to a party. However, if the security department has little to do, you may wish to speak to the Chief of Security and suggest in character he runs some security drills.
Your job is to give professional advice, alternatives and feedback to the CO, when given the opportunity to do so. This does not mean speaking out of turn in front of other officers or behaving in an inappropriate manner. You are at the top of the chain of command and your officers look to you for an example. You should give the CO your opinion, but once that decision is made you should support it. Feel free to request a word in private if the situation requires it. Never argue with your CO in public. Remember you must support the chain of command as it is the principle all military vessels operate upon. Once the CO makes their decision, you must support them.
Your job is also to interpret the advice and reports given to you by your Department Heads. Remember, each DH is considered to be an expert in their own field. If you had a medical emergency you would want a Doctor’s opinion as they are an expert. Feel free to ask and invite your DH’s to give you advice, but it is your job to pass that information onto the Captain, outside of a briefing room environment. Just as you should never countermand your CO, you should always support your DH too, but the decision of what information to bring forward to a CO is yours.
Your job is to accept the orders from your superior, the CO, and to pass them onto your Department Heads for action. This may require holding a briefing with individual DH’s or multiple persons briefing with several Department Heads or their teams. Keep your crew busy and keep them informed, just as you would if this was real life.
Enforcing discipline. It is an overlooked part of an XO’s in character work. If a crew member has misbehaved it is traditionally the XO’s responsibility to both resolve and act upon the situation. Remember that there are different types of potential incident. With regards to minor misdemeanors, such as an officer being repeatedly late for duty, improperly dressed or arguing with a superior officer, then the XO can issue appropriate punishment such as assigning extra duty shifts or cleaning duties. Punishments should always fit the crime. Serious misdemeanors, such as being drunk on duty, should be investigated and reported to the CO with recommendations for punitive punishment. A crime, such as theft or assault is a serious offence and should be officially referred to the Chief of Security for investigation. The CO should be kept notified at all times and a decision made about punitive punishment or, if deemed necessary, preparation for court martial. It is in your interest to help crew members develop correctly. Bad behaviour should not be encouraged or permitted. However, the punishment should always fit the crime. Although the XO has powers to enforce discipline and punish misdemeanors, they cannot authorize demoting someone or to having them brigged. That will require permission from the CO.
Set an example. You have to set an in character example for the crew and show them what is acceptable behaviour and conduct. If you act in an unprofessional way then your junior officers may do the same things too. You are setting the discipline and tone for the ship. You are an experienced officer, a role model for the junior officers.
Lead by example. This means give orders and make posts to keep active. Feel free to make use of the ship’s facilities. Go take your physical, have a counseling evaluation. Demonstrate to people how to keep active.
Take an interest in the welfare of the ship and the crew. Meet with DH’s on a routine basis to discuss readiness and efficiency, but also the welfare of their staff. Take an interest in the activities. Hold competitions and events to build interest. Remember, on the Enterprise they had drama societies, musical events, sporting events and even competitions for the children. Start something interesting for your crew! The Ship’s Counsellor, if there is one, is the expert on the welfare of the crew, but you are the one responsible. So work with the counselor too!
One of the most pleasant aspects of In Character XO work is the fact that you have the right to recommend people for promotion to your CO. Of course he has the right to refuse too!!! If you do make promotion recommendations, make sure you do it in the right context. Ensure you discuss this with your CO OOC first to obtain their permission to post about it. There is nothing worse than someone reading and getting their hopes up, but nothing coming of it, or worse the CO saying “No way!” Once you have permission from the CO, discuss it In Character with the Captain in private as you would any other performance evaluation. This is an excellent between sims filler and can help maintain the moral of the crew.
After the end of a mission, feel free to review the performance of departments in character. Have discussions with the DH’s and feel free to agree in character actions or improvements. This is another good way of dealing with the time between sims and keeping active. It is also something that you would do and encourage in the military. Learn from your mistakes!
As XO you almost certainly will be more involved in the recruiting process for the ship. The CO may even delegate recruitment to you. Recruitment is covered in more details later on. However, it becomes even more important for you to create a positive atmosphere as XO and, just as in character; it is your responsibility to set an example for your junior officers/DHs out of character. So make them feel at home, send them a welcome email, get to know them and make sure they have plenty of work to do. Don’t argue with people on the ship and always conduct discussions via email.
OOC Comments on a ship can be either positive reinforcement or destructive. Too many and a ship can lose its’ way, too few and a ship can seem cold. The simple rule is to keep your comments limited to those of a positive nature. Praise people for good posts. Praise people for initiative. Discourage negative threads and comments. Always monitor the amount of OOC and if you think a player is posting too many OOC comments at the expense of IC comments, then you should drop them a polite email about it.
Although it is always good practice to praise a crewmember in public and on the ship, never criticize a crewmember in public. In certain situations being firm about a situation is required, but always send any criticism about a player via email, copied to your CO. There is nothing more destructive than criticism on a ship. People react in haste and in anger to negative comments. This can effect the enjoyment of any player on a ship, even those not involved.
Support your CO. In character and out of character, you should never disagree with your CO in public. In character you speak in private, OOC you should talk to your CO in IM or via Email. This preserves the chain of command and reduces the chances of a disagreement.
On the best ships it is not only the GM that will provide work for people. A sim might last four months or more, or the GM might go on LOA. It is your responsibility to help provide both additional work for the non involved departments and to help progress the sim. The temptation to get creative, get involved or tied up in fun side sims is great, but as XO you must have one eye on advancing the main sim. A side sim should never be complicated or involve a great deal of work. For example, a crewman falling over and breaking an arm will keep medical occupied. Contact the GM see where you can help with the main sim if required.
There are various basic administration tasks, but these are outlined in more detail later.
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