Some good advice for Commanding Officers counseling their Junior Officers

"I continue to be amazed by the number of junior officers who do not receive counseling on their career and performance. That is one of your most important responsibilities. Explain the fitness report and its im­portance in an officer's assignment and promotion. Give them some insight into various assignments, the importance of a "service reputation" and taking advantage of opportunities. Make sure no officer is surprised by their fitness report. They should know where they stand, all the time. And, I expect total honesty in how we evaluate our people - we simply must be more effective in this area."

Jim McFarland
Rear Admiral 
Commander, Naval Security Group Command

CRYPTOLOGIC OFFICER NEWSGRAM 1-87

The  nice thing about this is that the problem was solved in 1987 and we no longer have to worry about these issues.  I have been told that all officer counseling: (1) is done on time, (2) provides insight into various assignments, (3) explains "service reputation, (4) is totally honest and (5) includes no surprises.

Ages old problem

Remember that officers are people, just as the men and civilians are people.  Among their numbers will be reflected to some degree, the weaknesses, as well as strengths, of the general public.  But officers are most carefully selected before they are appointed.  As a group, they should be FAR better than a cross-section of American citizens.  We are well advised to remember that fact.

Some of the faults of these officers received prominence.  We should candidly admit these faults.  Unfortunately a few officers abused their positions, regarding their commissions as a means to personal gain and not as a means of greater service.  Some were greatly inefficient.  During the Navy's expansion, the selection process could not be airtight.  Unduly rapid promotions placed some officers in positions of responsibility beyond their capabilities.  Some were lazy and indifferent.  The sum of such individuals would be a very small percentage of the many thousands of officers in the Navy.  But the effects are serious and fine officers have suffered in the eyes of the general public.

THE NAVAL OFFICERS MANUAL
1951

Remembering my friend, mentor and lunch partner

http://www.robcannonphoto.com

Back in 1981, the Chief of Naval Personnel, Vice Admiral Lando W. Zech Jr. made a very wise detailing decision.  He sent CWO3 Wallace Louis Exum to teach celestial navigation at Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island.  I was one of hundreds of his students.  Both men influenced my Navy career greatly.  VADM Zech signed off on my first set of orders in June of 1982, sending me to Atsugi, Japan to fly with Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron ONE.  Thirty years later, both men were still in touch with me and we developed into great friends.

Sadly, Vice Admiral Zech passed away two years ago this month and is no longer with us, except in spirit.  The last time I saw him, he was in good spirits.  He was ill and weakened from his lengthy hospital stay - but his spirits were high. We talked a little bit about the USNA honoring him and a few of the other guys recently for being Captains of their varsity baseball teams over the years.  He was very proud of his years at the United States Naval Academy.

Besides being an athlete, he was very much an old school submariner and later a surface warfare officer. My goodness, how he loved the Navy and his family.  After his retirement from the Navy, he was Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.  He leaves behind a wonderful widow - Jo, 5 beautiful daughters and many grand children.  And a very sad Shipmate who still grieves deeply and tries to keep his memory alive in all ways that he can.  Farewell Admiral Zech.  Those who knew you - loved and respected you greatly.  Those who didn't - missed out on a great experience.  I said my good-byes at Arlington National Cemetery but they were in no way - final good-byes.  You will remain fresh in my memory.

For my mentors and "mentees"

"The greatest trust between 

man and man 

is 

the trust of giving and receiving counsel."

Sir Francis Bacon

Second Commanding Officer Fired in 2013

Rear Admiral Rick Breckenridge, Commander, Submarine Group TWO, fired Commander Luis Molina, commanding officer of USS PASADENA (SSN 752) on January 25, 2013 due to "loss of confidence in executing his duties as the submarine's commanding officer."

The admiral said, "I have lost confidence in Commander Molina's ability to effectively lead USS Pasadena through its maintenance overhaul."

More advice from JOs from a 'seasoned' Navy Captain with more than a few years at sea

The worst two chains of command (or leadership interactions if you will) I have had were AFTER my command tour. In both cases there was enough blame to go around - on my end on theirs - but I ended up in the "senior has the personality" realm because I was junior.

The basic takeaways as I look back are these:

1. Don't assume your senior sees everything you are doing.
2. Don't assume your junior knows your rule set or boundaries.
3. Early, early, early and non-confrontational discussions can solve most problems before they are a real problem.
4. If a senior lets something slide once, the junior should not expect all is forgiven and forgotten.

Anyway, DHs need to give guidance early, and positively if they way to have an impact. NEVER assume that a DivO knows what the rules are, what to do, or how to do it. Don't assume they are idiots either. Find the middle ground, that's your job as a leader. If you can't hit the right note with that DivO, talk to his peers and see if they can help. Either by helping you understand, or by translating to that DivO.

DivOs need to look, listen, read, and learn. And ask questions. Lots of questions. And know what the books say. And not be afraid to say to their DH "but..." even when the DH tries to crap all over them.

DivOs, if your DH is one of those "crap down and forget" types, go find another DH as a mentor that you can talk to. NOT another division officer, no matter how salty that LDO may seem. Another DH.

Today matters

Some questions for Today from John Maxwell:

1. Is your attitude a plus or minus?
2. Are your priorities keeping you focused?
3. Is your health enabling you to succeed?
4. Does your family situation provide support?
5. Is your thinking more mature and productive?
6. Have your commitments been kept?
7. Have your financial decisions been solid?
8. Has your faith been active?
9. Are your relationships being strengthened?
10. Has your generosity added value to others?
11. Are your values giving you direction?
12. Is your growth making you better?

How you answer these questions today allows you to plan a more successful tomorrow.

'Taking' versus 'accepting' responsibility

Excuses for failure or negligence are always unacceptable. Officers should take responsibility for their failures and not depend on alibis. If at fault, they should readily accept blame and the consequences.

Bootlicking, a deliberate courting of a senior's favor, is uniformly despised in the Navy. Seniors may temporarily mistake such tactics for a sincere desire to please and to do a good job. However, through long experience with such behavior, they in time recognize this false sincerity. However, junior officers must make a genuine effort to be friendly and cooperative to succeed.

Officers with a continued willingness to undertake any task assigned and perform it cheerfully and efficiently eventually gain a reputation for dependability. They also ensure their professional acceptance by fellow officers. Continued complaining has the opposite effect. The satisfaction of having done a good job should be sufficient reward in itself. The junior officer should not report each personal or divisional accomplishment to the senior officer.

National Handwriting Day

Today, 23 January 2013 is National Handwriting Day.  This day is meant to honor the birthday of John Hancock.  John Hancock, as nearly everyone knows, possesses one of the most famous signatures on the Declaration of Independence.  His signature is the original john hancock.  This day is also meant to highlight the notion that hand writing nearly anything is a lost art.  

Years from now, people will wonder who John Hancock was and will only be able to imagine the skill involved in hand writing anything at all.  

Now I am beginning to understand

Hypengyophobia or Hypegiaphobia – Fear of responsibility 

Hypengyophobia is an overwhelming, irrational fear of assuming responsibility. This person is usually self-indulgent, neglecting all responsibilities, at the expense of others. Some individuals coping with this phobia simply refuse to accept responsibility for anything and blame others when their failure to take responsibility leads to mistakes.

This phrase derives from the Greek hypengyos, meaning responsible and phobos meaning fear. 

What Causes Hypengyophobia? 

An individual suffering from hypengyophobia may have taken responsibility previously and failed. In that failure there may have been severely unfavorable consequences. This person may experience anxiety and emotional turmoil that is very disruptive to their ability to function at any professional level. 

What Are the Symptoms of Hypengyophobia? 

The signs of Hypengyophobia vary greatly from person to person. Some people, when confronted with responsibility, may begin to perspire, feel increasingly uncomfortable and may actually develop into nausea. Other individuals may be so severely compromised by this phobia, that they might experience crippling nervousness and/or panic attacks. 

Your command is in a serious jam if your Commanding Officer or Executive Officer are suffering from this malady.

Truth

The world always makes the assumption that the exposure of an error is identical with the discovery of truth—that the error and truth are simply opposite. 

They are nothing of the sort. 

What the world turns to, when it is cured on one error, is usually simply another error, and maybe one worse than the first one. 

H.L. Menchen

The problem

From the mouth of babes...

In a mentoring session with one of my active duty Lieutenant Junior Grade proteges, I was assaulted with this gem:

"The real problems with Navy leadership in my view are Navy leaders."

Annoyed

“If you can't annoy somebody, there is little point in writing.”
― Kingsley Amis,  

Lucky Jim

Look backward to see our way ahead

The term leadership can mean the body of doctrine that has been formed in regard to an area of human conduct, or it can refer to the sum of actions employed by one person dealing with others. It is often used as a summary term to describe the level of success of a command, of a unit, or of a person. In this instance achievement of a mission, high state of readiness, and productivity all indicate a high level of leadership, while unsatisfactory or mediocre results indicate poor or average leadership. In other words, from an evaluation of the results, it is possible to reason back to the probability that “leadership” was responsible for the results. Hence, the term “leadership” covers many actions over a period of time.

In the Navy, leadership is the execution of the sum total of the Navy’s laws, regulations, and customs as they govern the relationships of superiors to subordinates. These in turn have been derived from the United States Constitution, our national laws, the missions of our Armed Forces, and the customs and traditions of the Navy. Where the individual naval officer is concerned, “leadership” consists of his development of the human influences surrounding his position through the sum of his beliefs, knowledge and skills. These are, of course, derived from his education, training, and experiences as a member of the United States Navy.

LEADERSHIP
NAVPERS 2932-3 (New 7-62)

The Navy had some very strong and sound leadership programs such as "General Order 21 Leadership in the United States Navy and Marine Corps" from 1 May 1963.  As we move forward, I recommend we take look back five decades and review some of our leadership doctrine - and then move forward.

 

Information Dominance Corps (IDC) Considerations for the FY2014 Captain Selection Board

The IDC was established in 2009 in recognition of Information Dominance as a modern warfighting discipline. Comprising officers of the Oceanography (180X), Information warfare (181X), Information Professionals (182X), and Naval Intelligence (183X) communities and the Space Cadre, the IDC was created to more effectively and collaboratively lead and manage the cadre of officers, enlisted, and civilian professionals who possess extensive skills in information-intensive specialties. 

The Navy needs officers who are agile, flexible, and fully .capable of leading across the range of functions associated with the IDC. This must be considered when evaluating officers within IDC communities. Evaluate the officer's potential to be an IDC leader, as a priority attributes and milestones within communities are secondary to this consideration. As such, board members should view an officer's performance in leadership assignments as an indicator of his or her ability to lead diverse organizations across the range of IDC missions and functions. 

In 2010, the IDC held its first combined commander and captain Command and Leadership Screen Board to select those officers for leadership in the most significant community assignments. However, some officers currently in zone for promotion have not had the opportunity to be screened for combined IDC milestone or command tours. As such, board members should view an officer's performance in leadership assignments as an indicator of his or her ability to lead diverse organizations across the range of IDC missions and functions. 

RDML Willie Metts and Captain Justin F. Kershaw sat this year's board as the IWO representatives.