Every organization, every company, every group of people have their traditions and customs. At work we have bagels every Friday morning. When I was in college, thousands of us got together outside every December and listened to the President of The College read us How the Grinch Stole Christmas.What makes the Coast Guard, Coast Guard Auxiliary, and indeed all of the United States Uniformed Services unique, we explained to our students last week, is how deeply rooted in centuries of tradition we are. Thinking back to our discussion of the Coast Guard's Core Values, we discussed how we honor and respect not only the public, ourselves and those we serve with, but also the traditions and customs that span generations, and how we derive a measure of our devotion from the connections and sense of purpose that those customs engender. So began the "Basic Introduction to the Coast Guard" (BIC) lesson on "Customs, Courtesies, and Traditions."
The enduring lesson from this discussion, the one that can be taken out into any organization, is this: understand, embrace, and honor those customs that make your organization unique, and then cultivate their appreciation in the hearts and minds of others. Make them an integral part of your organization's social fabric, set an example, and ensure that everyone from the shop floor to the corner office, from orientation training to the exit interview, understand embrace, and honor those customs as well.
Particular customs, terminology, ways of doing things make us unique (in any organization). I am surprised at how words like "hallway" have completely disappeared from my vocabulary over the years. Often minor, part of a strong group is having small cultural momentos that each of the members share.
Coast Guard Auxiliarists often are more relaxed or informal in the way they work or communicate. When you live and work a life outside of the Coast Guard, you naturally bring many aspects of that life to the place you serve. Auxiliarists are unique among people in uniform in the way that, when amongst themselves, tend to prefer a first name over a title, and certainly a handshake over a salute. Ultimately, though, we are with our active duty and reserve counterparts, all part of the same service. Knowing how, and understand when to observe and practice time-honored traditions and courtesies is an important part of our service.
In honoring our traditions, we show respect for the public, those we serve with, those that have gone before us, and those that will follow our example. I touched on this point earlier, but it is worth reiterating. From time to time we encounter someone that doesn't meet a high standard. Everyone has their reasons, but greeting a Captain or observing colors is about far more than going through motions. These are daily, even instantaneous reminders of what I have heard called a "proud history, worthy mission."
Be friendly. On a lighter note, I always urge my students in this class to just be friendly. There is a time and a place for everything, but every time and every place is proper for respectful friendliness. Whether in the "hallway" at work or the "passageway" aboard ship, offer that "warm and friendly greeting" to the colleagues or shipmates you work with. It's a lesson that works anywhere, in any organization.
As always, the Basic Introduction to the Coast Guard (BIC) material is available online at http://link.cgauxnet.us/bic. Read this previous post for more background on the course or to learn how we got it underway. Feel free to use the material yourself, and of course please leave comments as to how we might improve BIC for future students. Thanks for reading, and thank you for your service!
