Then, you MUST read this book by Captain L. David Marquet (USN-retired). It will be available soon. You can pre-order it now from a variety of sources. Amazon has it HERE. You can follow the Captain on twitter @totheleadernyouCaptain Marquet is a graduate of U.S. Naval Academy. led a distinguished career in the U.S. submarine force. He commanded USS Santa Fe (SSN 763), stationed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Captain Marquet completely turned around Santa Fe, where the crew went from being “worst to first.” Santa Fe earned numerous awards for being the most improved ship in the Pacific and the most combat-effective ship in the squadron. Santa Fe continued to win awards after his departure and promoted a disproportionate number of officers (including 9 officers commanding or heading to command submarines) and enlisted men to positions of increased responsibility. After riding USS Santa Fe, noted author Stephen R. Covey said it was the most empowering organization he’d ever seen and wrote about Captain Marquet’s leadership practices in his book, The 8th Habit.
His bold and highly effective leadership can be summarized as “give control, create leaders.” He is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations and lives in Florida with his wife, Jane.
Captain Marquet's time and successes onboard Santa Fe are only a glimpse in a long career (and I'm unfamiliar with the rest of it). That said, it would appear he was a superb leader yet was never recognized with promotion to Flag rank.
ReplyDeleteDoes that say something about our Navy and our promotion system? I don't necessarily have an answer, but it would seem that an officer who accomplished what Captain Marquet did onboard that ship just might have made a fine Admiral.
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ReplyDeleteInteresting. I served under CAPT Marquet on the Santa Fe. I remember being instructed to use "I intend to", as mentioned in the Amazon book description. I have told that anecdote numerous times in my last two or three duty stations. Looking forward to reading this book.
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