Thursday, September 17, 2009

Bruce Grooms - 1999 VADM James Bond Stockdale Inspirational Leadership Award Winner

Bruce Grooms told me that the biggest leadership challenge that he faced in command..."was the same faced throughout my career and continues to date. How to read and understand the motivations of each individual in the command in order to find ways that each member feels empowered to contribute, to the best of their ability to make the command the best it could be. All I ever did was give my Sailors the opportunity to be heard, from the most junior enlisted to senior most officers. Once they figured out they had a golden opportunity to influence the direction of THEIR command and they were convinced they would get credit for accomplishments, top cover for mistakes and ownership of every aspect of their boat, the sky was the limit. Understand the motivations of your people and find ways to direct their energy to common good, that was and always will be my most difficult challenge."

His Sailors won the Battle E, the Golden Anchor Award, the Silver Anchor Award, the Commodore's Cup (twice), and the Engineering Excellence Award (twice). His Sailors were Ney Award and Arleigh A. Burke Award finalists. Captain Grooms' leadership teams's crowning achievement - over a dozen Sailors were picked up for Officer Commissioning Programs.

Rear Admiral Grooms is currently serving on the Joint Staff as Vice Director. He is a United States Naval Academy graduate.

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