Monday, November 18, 2013

HAMMERS AND HUGGERS

The following comes from an outstanding book I'm reading titled "Damn Few" by Rorke Denver, the former head of Basic and Advanced SEAL Training.  The book, which I haven't quite finished yet is a great read into how the SEALS train.  If was fascinating to know that  not only did they develop roles within the SEALS but in the instructors as well:
 
The students have a term for the most fearsome instructors, instructors who demand the most, yell the loudest, and seem the most impossible to please.  They are the "hammers" -- loud, hard, and unyielding.  They are the opposite of the "huggers," instructors who are warmer, friendlier, and kinder.  The truth is that BUDS/S (Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL) need both.  The BUD/S huggers, who'd be considered hammers anywhere else, motivate with support, encouragement, and understanding.  The hammers motivate by demanding more and more and more.