I'm writing a story on the side in which one of the main characters is the Executive Officer onboard a carrier-like ship. Her character arc is meant to show what can happen when you have a sort of a politically-backed yes man (or yes mare in this case) in charge of a major battle group taking orders from a corrupt government.

I've got my own understanding on what makes a bad officer, my time in the Navy has shown me quite a few (not to take away from all the good ones, however) but I wanted to get more inputs from others. What, to you makes a bad leader. Or in your own personal experience, what have you witnessed that you didn't like?

Also, what does the XO even do all day onboard a carrier?

What does an XO do? Everything the CO doesn't want to do (I was fresh from OCS, not even branch qualified, and I was thrust into the role of XO when I arrived at my first unit...It went about as well as you'd expect...).

As for something I think makes a bad officer, first thing I can think of is arrogance. I've met too many 2LTs that think that gold bar means they're some sort of hotshot or actually know things. Bull, you know jackshit. I would know, I am one. Second is, while not the worst thing in the world, is always trying to put a positive spin on everything (personal example: after coming off State Active Duty, having to repack everything and head off to NTC, and being told to "think of all the good training you will get here" while standing in full battle-rattle in 120 degree temp). My experience is that people respect and trust you more when you call a spade, a spade. Third, being indecisive or flip-flopping on decisions. No one likes having to do something, undo it, then redo it because "reasons". That's all I can think of off the top of my head.

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I'm onboard a carrier right now, fortunately we have a good XO. What makes a bad officer? Self-seeking/self-serving. Trying to please others in order to make oneself look good in the eyes of others. In a word, vainglory. There are those officers who come up with 'new ideas' (good idea fairies) or do things that make others miserable just because they think it will look good on their next fitrep. They're climbers, only looking to pad their portfolio rather than serve. To lead truly is to serve. A bad officer will serve themselves at the expense of others.
As far as what the XO does everyday? Pretty much all the admin/paperwork and watches that the CO would rather not do lol.

A bad leader is someone who expects more from their subordinates than they themselves are willing or able to provide. Respect is a massive factor for this, and i have met many a leader who had little to no respect for their soldiers, based on the fact that "I did my time," and "I am an NCO/Officer, and you will respect me." This is a fallacy, as soldiers will only respect those who are respectable. Respect is earned, and every single person on the unit has earned a basic level of respect, purely by the fact that they made it through IET, and are human beings. Any increase or decrease in your respect for them should be based solely on their personality/professionalism at work, and their actions and accomplishments.

Another food quality to find in a leader is their ability to ensure that their subordinates are always well informed. As a leader, you need to make sure that as soon as you find out, your soldiers find out. Granted, there will be things you can't tell them, but don't just sit on things until there isn't any more time to deal with it. Let your people be proactive and keep them informed on the tasks that need to get done. Don't forget to make it very clear to them what is required, but trust them enough to get the job done properly.

I have a metric fuckton of leadership advice based solely on the dumb shit I went through as a lower enlisted prior to going gold.