Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Two Years of "Leading Differently"

A Shipmate of mine has spent the last two years 'leading differently'.   By that,  I mean that he has spent much of his time as Commanding Officer 'flying solo', despite his persistent and absolutely unrelenting attempts to collaborate with his 'fellow' Commanding Officers and senior Navy officers.  

Fortunately, he enjoys some top cover from his senior leadership.  

Over the past two years, his disruptive thinking and acting has both perplexed and amazed his own Sailors, Chiefs, officers and civilians.  Where does a guy like this come from?  Where does he go from here?  In two years time, he's won the hearts and (more importantly) minds, as well the loyalty of some converts - lost some stalwarts and inspired some new guys. He's been fearless in sharing his thinking in every area and has confounded several of his seniors by 'holding them accountable.'  Good job, man.

Steve Jobs and Admiral Stavridis are proud of you. So, am I.

3 comments:

Watching from the cheap seats across the road said...

No doubt his superior service will be recognized with the same Navy decoration all his peers get. Your service is exceptional - just like everyone else's.

Jeff Para said...

If he IS recognized with the "same decoration" as his peers, cheap seats, that's ONLY because senior Navy leadership isn't quite as advanced as his thinking and performance...his service is NOTHING like everyone else's...it's several notches above and always has been!

Anonymous said...

We're fortunate to have a number of standout COs in the community. Different is not equal to better. Multiple leadership styles have proven to get the most from our Sailors while giving them extraordinary skills to grow as professionals.