OFFICER LIKE QUALITIES (OLQs)

 OFFICER LIKE QUALITIES (OLQs)

by Vignesh Muthukumar

Leadership qualities required in Indian Armed Forces officers

Leadership quality is the essence of an officer in Indian Army, Navy and Air Force. A successful leader

only can guide his group or men when they need proper guidance to save the country’s pride. A

leader should possess special qualities which make him stand high among all others. Following are

essential Officer Like Qualities (OLQs) which SSB interview board looks in candidates appearing in

SSB interviews.

Initiative quality

A leader will always initiate a work and motivate all others to take part in the work. If a leader

will not initiate a work and will ask others to do the work, then others may think that the leader is

misleading them. So a candidate should showcase his initiative quality during the SSB interview in Picture Perception & Description Test and Group Discussions.

Resourcefulness 

A leader should be resourceful. An officer working in Army, Navy or Air Force will come under

such circumstances where he needs to accomplish task assigned to him with the limited resources

available with him. Thus SSB board will look whether a candidate have resourcefulness quality in

himself or not.

Self Confidence 

Self confidence is a must quality for an officer. An officer should be confident enough to give orders

to his subordinates and also he should have good confidence by which he can do any task allotted to

him. Thus self confidence quality is the key Officer Like Quality in order to be recommended by the

SSB board.

Decision making quality

An officer should have decision making quality in order to prevent major accidents and damage.

One must be good decision maker in order to become a successful officer in Indian Army, Navy and

Air Force. If you are appearing in SSB interviews, you will come across various situations where you

need to make quick and best decisions.

Persuasiveness quality

Persuasiveness is one of the most important OLQs. An officer should be able to persuade his

subordinates for doing desired work. If an officer fails to persuade his juniors, then he will fail to

accomplish the task assigned to him. Thus, SSB officials will look whether a candidate has persuasive

quality in him or not.

Liveliness quality

A leader should be lively enough to attract the group. If a leader is dull and gloomy, then people may

not trust him. So an officer should have the quality of liveliness in order to impress his juniors. Thus

if you want to clear SSB interviews, then you should be lively enough to impress the psychology and

GTO officers of SSB board.

Human Understanding quality

Understanding other humans is most important officer like quality through which one can excel

in his leadership. Not only a defence officer should have ability of understanding humans but also

every person should have this quality to become successful in their lives. SSB interviewing board

officials will definitely look out for candidate’s human understanding quality through various tests.

Delegation of responsibility

Delegation of responsibility is vital officer like quality. A successful leader should delegate his

duties and responsibilities to his subordinates during his leadership. A person cannot do all tasks

by himself. Thus, in order to be successful one must delegate his work to others up to some extent.

Candidates undergoing SSB interviews must show their ability to delegate responsibility during

various tests.

Integrity and loyalty

An Army, Navy or Air Force officer must have integrity and loyalty qualities. An officer should be

loyal to his country in order to protect his country and countrymen. Though one cannot judge

whether a person is loyal to his country or not, trained officers of SSB interview board will definitely

judge whether a candidate is loyal or not through various psychology tests.

Unselfishness

A leader should not be selfish. If an officer becomes selfish, then whole country may fell in risk of

being attacked or intruded. If a person works unselfishly, then he will be much more fruitful than the

selfish ones. In order to be recommended, candidate should show his OLQ of unselfishness during

five day SSB interview.

Basic / fundamental intelligence

Basic or fundamental intelligence is must for each and every person in order to lead a normal life.

Higher degree of intelligence is required for successful leaders. Thus fundamental intelligence is

one of the most important officers like qualities. In SSB interview, all candidates need to show their

intelligence through intelligence tests conducted during five day SSB interview.

Practical intelligence

One must have good amount of practical intelligence in order to be successful. If a person has only

theoretical knowledge and don’t know how to use it in his day to day life, then that person is less

likely to succeed. During SSBs, candidates need to show their practical intelligence in almost all tests.

Knowledge

Knowledge is very vital when it comes to leadership. If you want to lead a group of people, you must

have good amount of knowledge. When it comes to armed forces officer’s life, the officer must have

sound knowledge about various things in order to take best decisions in time to avoid massive loss.

Thus, candidates need to show their knowledge in the interview in order to become an officer.

Physical fitness

Life in Indian Army / Navy / Air Force is very challenging and requires good mental as well as physical

health. Officers serving in armed forces should be fit enough to survive in any situation during

their service. Though physical fitness does not matter much during SSB interviews, if a candidate is

physically strong, it will be an added advantage.

Some more olq's

• Effective Intelligence.
• Reasoning Ability.
• Power of Expression.
• Self Confidence.
• Determination.
• Organizing Ability.
• Initiative.
• Courage.
• Cooperation.
• Sense of Responsibility.
• Stamina.
• Group Influencing Ability.
• Liveliness.
• Social Adaptability.
• Speed of Decision