Monday, October 24, 2011

Essential Qualities of Leadership - Choose the 'hard right' versus the 'easy wrong'

 “Another essential quality of leadership is integrity. Without this, real leadership is not possible. Nowadays, it seems like integrity – or honor or character – is kind of quaint, a curious, old-fashioned notion.  We read of too many successful and intelligent people in and out of government who succumb to the easy wrong rather than the hard right – whether from inattention or a sense of entitlement, the notion that rules are not for them. But for a real leader, personal virtues – self-reliance, self control, honor, truthfulness, morality – are absolute. These are the building blocks of character, of integrity – and only on that foundation can real leadership be built."
United States Naval Academy Commencement Address
As Delivered by Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates, Annapolis, Maryland, Friday, May 27, 2011
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3 comments:

  1. AnonymousNovember 2, 2011 at 2:57 AM

    Captain Lambert,

    A short time ago I was contacted by my last Executive Officer on the Submarine Tecumseh, which was over 30 years ago, and I asked him why I was able to come aboard Tecumseh as a non-qual Master Chief never having been stationed on a Submarine before. He told me that he was aware that I was a man of integrity, and Tecumseh needed such a Sailor. I made 7 deterrent patrols with the same Executive Officer, 6 of those patrols were as COB. We had a good Boat and a good crew and I am proud to have been a part of that effort, and that I was thought of as a man of integrity.

    Very Respectfully,
    Navyman834

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  2. CurtisNovember 2, 2011 at 5:54 PM

    Well, when you gotta go to the USNA to quote some boffin talking about the importance of doing the right thing for integrity.... you've gone to the wrong well. It's a place with an institutional standard which is the antithesis of integrity.

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  3. AnonymousNovember 4, 2011 at 5:17 AM

    Curtis,

    I have never been to the USNA but I have seen thousands of graduates from the Naval Academy who did stand for integrity every day that I was aware of their actions. That was nearly 25 years of observation.

    I was unable to understand some of your wording, is gotta or boffin proper English? To make our meaning clear we should make some attempt to express ourselves properly.

    Navyman834

    ReplyDelete