I work at the Range Operations for Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany. We have about 32 uniformed Soldiers working with over 200 civilian employees along with partners from the Germany Army. Some Civilians are German nationals, some are retired U.S. military, and some are contractors with no active duty service. Working with all these civilians requires more influence than authority.

The first step to establishing influence is to understand the civilians you are working with. What is their job, what do they bring to the organization, what are their past experiences before their current job etc? In the military you can recognize a lot of someone’s personal history by looking at their uniform or knowing the duty position they fill. An Infantry Sergeant First Class in a Platoon Sergeant position with airborne wings, a ranger tab, and an 82nd Airborne deployment patch is a clear picture at first glance. A civilian wearing a button down shirt is a blank slate that could be a retired special forces Colonel or a former Post Office worker, you can’t know by looking. Taking the time to learn the background of a civilian worker gives you a better understanding of what they bring to the organization while at the same time showing that you care about and respect their experience.

Civilians are usually part of an organization longer than uniformed Soldiers. They’ve seen a lot of us come and go. Too often civilians are dismissed as being in a secondary status within the organization and not really part of the team. This is a huge mistake. Once you learn about how a civilian can/does contribute to your team it is important to include them in all meetings, functions, and decision making that applies to their field. If they are part of a staff, then they deserve to be treated with the respect that any other member of the staff receives. If they are in a motor pool then they aren’t just some hired mechanic to do work for you, they are a subject matter expert who should be treated accordingly. When civilians see that they are respected and valued like the other uniformed personnel in the organization then they are much more willing to work with you on your mission.

You also need to learn the limitations of civilians and work with those limitations. Civilians have many different restrictions that green suiters don’t have; they may only work set hours, take vacation differently, don’t go to the field, don’t PT, won’t come in on a weekend, and almost no one will stay late into the night to get something done just because “the commander wants it.” This doesn’t make them lazy, they just operate on a different set of rules. Don’t try and fight these rules, you need to learn how to adjust your expectations and schedule around them. If a civilian leaves at 1600, don’t bring them something at 1545 and say it is an emergency. It is not their fault that you need something done right this very minute, but were busy all day. If they start work at 0800, then you might need to come in a little before your standard work call in order to get in the front of their cue.

Soldiers often make the big mistake of talking down to civilians as if they don’t know how the Army works. Most of the time this isn’t a conscious act, we just assume that only someone wearing the uniform could know how the system works. We are wrong. Civilians often know better than any uniformed Soldier how things work and how to get stuff done. Most of the time they’ve been affiliated with the Army longer than you and they will be around longer than you, at least at that duty station.

The longevity in a particular job or duty station gives civilians a sense of perspective that is very different from most Soldiers. Usually civilians know a lot of history which can be a real asset to your team. It is unlikely you’ll have any Soldiers in your organization that has been there for more than 5 years. Most officers and senior NCOs PCS at 3-4 years. Asking a civilian how things used to be, why/how things have changed, and if people tried to address issues in the past is a great way to tap institutional knowledge before creating a plan that the previous set of unit leaders tried and failed just a couple of years before you arrived. Civilians also tend to know who’s who around your organization or post. Again, tap into this resource and you’ll find a lot of connections to people who know other people who can get things done.

The time in position and perspective on history often creates a major friction point as well. The Army doesn’t run on three year PCS cycles. Civilians tend to be more patient with making progress compared to active duty Soldiers. Again, this is not laziness. As a junior leader your time in position is short, 2 years at most. This drives us to want to change things today, not next week. This urgency is created by our own limited time, not necessarily the priority of the task. I wanted to build a new trench on a live fire range complex and by the time I got the project rolling I realized it wouldn’t be done until after I PCSed. This was a disappointment for me personally, but didn’t faze any of the civilians working with budgeting, environmental, design engineers, etc. They were all looking 3-5 years down the road while I was looking 1-2 at most. Understanding that work will get done, but you might not get to see it to completion (or put it on your support form) is important. Civilians are running a marathon while active Soldiers are running sprints.

Keys to success? Be authentic, patient, respectful, and take time to listen before interjecting your ideas into a civilian’s area of expertise. These aren’t special lessons or ideas and they apply just as equally to all personnel within your organizational team and that is really the point. Civilians may not do the same job, wear the same clothes, or even speak all of the same acronyms as you do, but at the end of the day they are supporting the same overall mission as you, so treat them accordingly.