evolution. There  must  be  a  continual  cycling  of efforts  to  remain  successful. AVOID  SUPER-RINCING Both  the  RINC  and  ZS  can  become  guilty  of super-RINCing. What does it mean? The RINC who takes on the problems of every recruiter and the ZS who takes on the problems of every RINC are equally guilty  of  super-RINCing.  It  might  be  easier  to understand  the  concept  if  we  follow  a  mythical  ZS around for 1 day. Super-RINC  Scenario Chief   Taylor   is   extremely   conscientious   and goal-oriented. He  believes  he  is  the  best  person around for solving problems and leading his troops. Chief   Taylor   starts   his   day   by   delivering   some medical prescreening forms to Station A, as the RINC had called last night to say they were out and she had a kit to prepare this morning. While there, the RINC tells  the  Chief,  “We  have  a  problem.  I  think  two shippers for next month are getting cold feet.” Chief Taylor is in a bit of a hurry, so he tells the RINC that he will get back to her later in the day. The RINC breathes a sign of relief as her problem is now in the hands of the ZS and requires no further worry on her part at this point. The  ZS  arrives  late  at  his  first scheduled station visit of the day. The RINC at this station  tells  him  they  are  having  problems  getting access to one of the schools in their territory. Chief Taylor  says  he  will  call  the  education  specialist (EDSPEC) and schedule a time for them both to meet with the principal. Before they can discuss it further, the phone rings and  it  is  yet  another  RINC  calling  for  the  ZS.  The RINC starts with, “We have a problem, Chief. You know  that  NF-qualified  applicant  I  have  scheduled  to contract  tomorrow?  Well,  he’s  balking  right  now  in my  office.  I  was  wondering  if  you  could  swing  by and  talk  to  him?”  Chief  Taylor,  always  ready  to  come to the rescue, says sure, he can make it in 30 minutes. The scheduled station visit is abandoned and the Chief is on his way to Station C. The Chief can’t quite talk the applicant into going to MEPS tomorrow, but he does agree to meet with him again next week. Come Saturday, Chief Taylor is in his office trying to catch up on all the work that had been planned earlier in the week. He wonders why nothing ever happens as he plans  it.  Meanwhile,  RINCs  A,  B,  and  C  enjoy  a family picnic in a local park. The conversation turns to   work   as   it   usually   does   and   the   following comments are heard: “Chief Taylor is a nice guy, but he takes forever to get back to you on anything. I’ve been waiting all week for him to schedule a visit at Hickory High School.”   “I know just what you mean. He hasn’t taken care of two shippers of mine that he’s supposed  to  be  talking  to  and  they  ship  next  month.” “That’s nothing, I had a NUC scheduled for this week. Then  Chief  Taylor  talked  to  him  and  now  they’re going to talk again next week before the kid will do anything.” Who Is Working For Whom? Just who is working for whom in this scenario? These RINCs have been trained to think of station problems as “our problems,” sharing them with the ZS. The  subordinates  effectively  assigned  their problems to the supervisor. By taking possession of the problems, the ZS is now working for the RINCs. The same scenario happens in many stations. These RINCs take on the problems of every recruiter. They become  overwhelmed  with  tasks  that  should  have been handled by the recruiters. Super-RINCing just cannot work for the long term. You may remember an article by William Oncken, Jr. and Donald Wass that  was  used  in  several  Navy  leadership  schools entitled  Who’s  Got  the  Monkey. Every  problem, required  action,  or  decision  was  called  a  monkey. The  article  detailed  how  easy  it  becomes  for  those monkeys to leap from one back to another. This, in effect,  is  what  Chief  Taylor  allowed,  and  even encouraged to happen. You  may  think  that  your subordinates’  problems  are  your  problems.  That  is true to a certain extent. However, the reason for their positions  is  to  take  care  of  that  potion  of  your problems.  So,  how  do  we  avoid  super-RINCing?  A few  simple  rules  will  go  a  long  way  in  returning ownership. Return Ownership During a ZS training course, each ZS was asked, “How  many  stations  do  you  have?” Each   ZS responded with a number ranging from four to eight until it came to one who responded, “I don’t have any stations.  I  have  one  zone  and  I  train  and  lead  six RINCs who each have a station.” That is the attitude that  we  want  to  reinforce.  RINCs  should  believe  that everything in their station is their responsibility; they own  it  all.  Station  ownership  is  one  of  the  most important  ingredients  to  a  RINC’s  success.  If  you have instilled this sense of ownership, they will be 8-21