Onboarding and Espirit de Corps

Elite teams have one thing in common.  In the military, it’s called Espirit de Corps.  For most civilians, the simple translation is the sense of camaraderie, loyalty, and pride that exists among the members of a group.  But the true meaning goes beyond that. I know this because of what my friend Jared shared with me about being a member of the United States Marine Corps.

​

    As Jared tells it, “When I got out of high school, I had no idea what to do with my life.  I’d never been a great student and had little interest in going to college.  But I was a good athlete so I decided to join the Marines. When I arrived in boot camp I was cocky.  I knew all about drill sergeants and cowering recruits and I was ready for whatever they were going to throw at me.  After my first day I was totally unsure of myself.  That’s when I learned the real meaning of Espirit de Corps.”

​

    According to Jared, Marine boot camp wasn’t about the rah rah camaraderie we see depicted in the movies. Instead, it was about learning what it means to be a member of an elite team. For the Marines, teams are defined by shared goals.  Each member not only understands the group’s objectives but also their role in achieving those objectives.  The Marines also recognize that teams members are not simply a robot that responds to orders. Instead, a Marine is trained to think “outside the box” so that he can act independently and with purpose when the need arises.

​

    Jared had decided to share his feelings about the Marines because of his recent experience starting a new job.  One of the reasons Jared hadn’t done well in high school was because he simply wasn’t interested.  Upon joining the Marines, he was given a block of tests.  To his surprise, the tests revealed that he had an aptitude for math. By the time he left the Marines, Jared was a Cyber Security Analyst responsible for analyzing and responding to cyber threats. His expertise made it easy for him to get a job when he reentered the civilian world.

​

    The first day of his new job, Jared was excited and came in early.  Two hours later, his boss still hadn’t arrived.  When he did, he apologized that they hadn’t found an office for Jared and suggested he wait in the cafeteria where he could fill out some onboarding forms.  It was another two days before Jared got his own computer, then another day before his immediate superior had time to sit down with him and explain his duties.  One week in and Jared was already convinced that he’d made a mistake.

​

    Listening to Jared, I began to reformulate my own ideas, not only about teams but the entire onboarding process.  I knew from past experience that far too many organizations don’t have a formal onboarding process in place. Even when they do, most fail to understand that onboarding doesn’t end after the first few days. New teams members need to be followed up with on a regular basis to ensure that they’re not only adjusting well but that they also have the resources they need to be successful.  When they don’t, they feel lost, frustrated and confused.

​

The Purpose of Boot Camp

​

    In the Marines, boot camp lasts for 13 weeks.  For the Navy Seals, the time spent in boot camp doubles to 26 weeks.  To an outside observer, that seems confusing.  After all, Seal candidates are already top performers drawn from various branches of the military.  Shouldn’t they require less time in boot camp?

​

    No, because no matter how competent you are in your previous role, no matter what organization or military unit you came from, no matter how many years of experience or expertise you have, you don’t know your new organization. You don’t know its culture or strategy or vision. You don’t know the people or the teams or the dynamics of how they work.    

    That’s why bootcamp needs to last longer than a few days.  Research shows that three months is optimal.  The problem is that most organizations don’t have the luxury of waiting three months for new hires to come up to speed.  In my bootcamp I try to distill it all down into two weeks.  This doesn’t mean that after two weeks, your training and orientation are over.  That extends out over the full 90 days.  But within that two week time period, my goal is to bring our new hires to a level of competency where they are productive members of the team as they continue to learn.

​

    When I told my friend Jared about this, he smiled and nodded his agreement. “What you’re talking about Chrisitan is what the military calls “strategic context.”  Nobody wants to go into battle with someone who isn’t ready. Instead, you only want to fight alongside of people who share a common intent and purpose and are prepared to do the job.   

​

      As the leader of our product people, I’m the one responsible for the preparedness of everybody on my team. So it’s my responsibility to equip you with everything you need to succeed.

​

    That’s why product boot camp is fully structured with defined goals for each day.   The first week is about the strategy, vision and culture. Then in the second week, we introduced the new hires to the people they’ll be working with.  Not just the members of their specific teams but also individuals from sales and marketing and the other disciplines. We do this because nobody works alone.  Product management is a holistic process.  So the more people you meet and interact with during the second week, the better equipped you are to hit the ground running.

​

    In addition to learning about the company, we also want our new people to understand stakeholder engagement.  We do this by matching each new hire with a very loud and vocal stakeholder who we make personally responsible for coaching and training them.  We also practice “job shadowing” where people trade roles for a day or two.  For example, a salesperson might become a product manager for a day while the product manager discovers what it’s like to be on the front lines selling.   Getting everyone in the organization involved is important because it we do it right, we accelerate the effectiveness and productivity of each new hire exponentially.

​

    At the end of the day, it all comes down to trust.  Trusting the company, the process and the people you work with.  In the Navy Seals, each team member is required to demonstrate their trust by taking what’s known as a “vision pledge.”  The pledge is a confirmation that by the end of their training they not only understand their unit’s strategic vision but share the same values and intent as the other members of their team.  This is their pledge:

​

    "In times of war or uncertainty, there is a special breed of warrior ready to answer our Nation's call; a common man with uncommon desire to succeed. Forged by adversity, he stands alongside America's finest special operations forces to serve his country, the American people, and protect their way of life. I am that man."

​

    At the end of product boot camp, we want our people to feel the same way.