Teaching our senior leaders to lead better

The focal point of FLAG University programs are the five critical competencies identified by Chief of Naval Operations, ADM Vern Clark, as essential for every senior leader:

1. Financial Literacy. The goal here is not to turn admirals into CPAs or CFOs, but to give every senior leader in the Navy the requisite skills to successfully manage complex budget, procurement, and contracting processes so that taxpayers' money is used for its intended purpose.

2. Information Management. IT systems change with head-spinning frequency. The Navy is presently working to implement and optimize the Navy-Marine Corps Intranet, one of the most ambitious network rollouts ever conducted. Senior leaders need to stay current on major aspects of this project, as well as on other IT systems and projects that enable unprecedented levels of flexibility and responsiveness to new and emerging threats to national security.

3. Sailor Power (sometimes called - Human Capital) Ensuring that the right people are in the right place at the right time and doing the right work is a challenge in the best of times for the best of organizations. With nearly 1 million personnel spread far and wide across the globe, the challenge is complex for Navy senior leaders.

4. Change Management. In large organizations, it's often said that the only constant is change. Now, with the officially named Global War on Terror beginning to come into sharper focus, it becomes increasingly clear that the old adage regarding change will be relevant for years to come. Navy leaders need to be expert at implementing and communicating significant change at every level--from grand to granular--to ensure that every service member not only has the orders for the day, but also understands how those orders contribute to both mission and readiness.

5. Leadership. Effective leadership begins with an individual who has an accurate understanding of self. Toward that end, FLAG University sponsors Navy senior leaders in a week-long intensive program at the Center for Creative Leadership, which is preceded by completion of five personal survey instruments, including two that require 360 degree feedback from subordinates, peers, and superiors. From there, the many dimensions of leadership are woven throughout the career learning continuum provided for Navy senior leaders.

Information Capable Warrior (ICW)

The National Strategy for Maritime Security demands that the Navy be a more capable and versatile force, collectively possessing the wide array of knowledge, skills, and abilities required to deliver information effects in synergy with kinetic effects in all other domains to achieve coalition/joint force victory.

Three potential options for a path ahead are bounded by these assumptions:

- Battlespace dominance includes the Information Domain.

- The Navy will deliver effects that may be kinetic (heat, blast, or fragmentation effects)
or non-kinetic (effects restricted to the Information Domain).

- "Information" both supports kinetic operations and delivers desired effects.

- Navy Information Capable Warriors are essential to all current and future operations.

Option 1: Establish a new URL community to develop fully qualified, future Information Domain leaders, some of whom may be designated as Maritime or Joint Information Warfare Component Commanders. This new community, drawn from officers serving in current URL and information-centric communities, must build competencies and broad experience in cyber, physical networks, and social networks domains, along with thorough knowledge of core enabling competencies (e.g., computer skills, information systems theory, language, signals intelligence (SIGINT), signals/radar fundamentals, communications systems, networking theory, space systems, shaping cognitive perceptions, etc.).

Option 2: Maintain current communities/designators and career paths, but establish a corps of Information Domain experts at the senior O-5 level and above. This Information Officer Corps could be competitively screened and selected from specific “feeder” communities/ cadres to create a pool of URL senior leaders with expertise in multiple information-specific domains (cyber, physical networks, and social networks) to develop the Information Domain leaders of the future, some of whom could be designated as Maritime or Joint Information Warfare Component Commanders.

Option 3: Maintain the status quo, but clarify the purpose of IP, IW, INTEL, PAO, FAO, Space Cadre, and EW communities/cadres. Additionally, require enhanced, collaborative resource management to address existing competency overlaps/deficiencies among these communities. This option does not address recognized performance gaps of existing career development processes, nor will it serve to develop the broad and deep Information Domain expertise that we will need in our Maritime or Joint Information Warfare Component Commanders of the future; but it may establish a clear rationalization for specific community membership and clarified swim lanes for individual missions, processes, and functions.

From a paper by Captain Mark Wilson - July 2007

Navy Force Shaping Business Rules

It is Navy policy to access the nation's best and brightest young people into its officer corps and then, through training, education and leadership, grow them into future leaders. Just as we expect our junior officers to take their commitment to the Navy seriously, the Navy takes its commitment to them seriously.

Consequently, we are obliged to ensure we have the required number of officers to meet the Navy's mission, today and in the future, while remaining within our authorized end strength and manpower personnel funding levels.

It is necessary to separate those officers who no longer have viable career paths or who do not possess unique and critical skills that could be utilized in a critical designator.

MEMORANDUM FOR DEPUTY CHIEF OF NAVAL PERSONNEL

1000 Ser 00/003 of 22 Jan 09
Subj: FORCE SHAPING AUTHORITY

Tips For Success in Assuming Command

• Go slow with regards to changing processes—make sure you fully understand current procedures before making any changes.

• Concentrate on three or four specific qualities you want to instill in the individuals in your command.

- How will you instill these qualities in your command members?
- What will you emphasize?

• Assess early what actions you should stop, start, continue, or avoid in order to produce the legacy you want to create.

• “Dare to be a person, not a position” (be honest, take responsibility, and keep your ego in check).

From Air University's AU-2 "Guidelines For Command"

The Machine Signs Your Award

There has been much discussion over a very long period of time about the proliferation of military awards (i.e., USAF - lots of them, Army - many of them, Navy - some of them and USMC - none of them).

My recommended solution was that the award nominating authority be required to hand-write the award and the awarding authority be required to personally sign the award. Neither is ever going to happen. But, it sure would add to the value of the award.

My highest awards in 30 years of Navy service - a personal letter (hand-written) by the CNO (ADM Jay Johnson) and the many personal letters from the parents of my truly awesome Sailors.

As shameful as it sounds (and is), some of our Commanding Officers actually use rubber signature stamps to sign letters of commendation for our Sailors - incomprehensible and inexcusable.

Signs of institutional vitality and health - Does your organization have them?

I should note that during my time as Secretary, I have been impressed by the way the Army’s professional journals allow some of our brightest and most innovative officers to critique—sometimes bluntly—the way the service does business; to include judgments about senior leadership, both military and civilian.

I believe this is a sign of institutional vitality and health and strength. I encourage every member of the military to take on the mantle of fearless, thoughtful, but loyal dissent when the situation calls for it. Agree with the articles or not, senior officers should embrace such dissent as healthy dialogue and protect and advance those considerably more junior who are taking on that mantle.

In the military, as at every university or company in America, there is a focus on teamwork, consensus-building, and collaboration. Yet make no mistake, the time will come when a leader in today’s military must stand alone and make a difficult, unpopular decision, or challenge the opinion of superiors and tell them that they cannot get the job done with the time and the resources available—a difficult charge in an organization built on a “can-do” ethos like America’s Army; or a time when a member of the military will know that what superiors are telling the press or the Congress or the American people is inaccurate.

These are the moments when an officer’s entire career may be at risk. What will they do? These are difficult questions that require serious thought over the course of any officer’s career. There are no easy answers.

If they will follow the dictates of their conscience and maintain the courage of their convictions while being respectfully candid with superiors and encouraging candor in others, they will be in good stead to meet the challenges facing them as officers and leaders in the years ahead.

Robert M. Gates
REFLECTIONS ON LEADERSHIP

Valour IT – The Countdown Begins

Raise Money for Wounded Warriors and Beat Army:

What could be better than doing both at the same time?

Valour IT: Organized by the non-profit group Soldiers’ Angels, the program raises funds to provide movement-impaired wounded warriors with voice activated laptop computers.

The Countdown Begins: This year’s project runs October 26th through Veterans Day. Bloggers and site operators break into teams by military service preference. Teams then compete to see who can raise the most money. I’m inviting you to be part of Team Navy. Want to help us? Email us blog@usni.org.

The funds raised provide:

• Voice-controlled Laptops – Operated by speaking into a microphone or using other adaptive technologies, they allow the wounded to maintain connections with the rest of the world during recovery.

• Wii Video Game Systems – Whole-body game systems increase motivation and speed recovery when used under the guidance of physical therapists in therapy sessions (donated only to medical facilities).

• Personal GPS – Handheld GPS devices build self-confidence and independence by compensating for short-term memory loss and organizational challenges related to severe TBI and severe PTSD.

Every penny raised by Valour-IT goes directly to purchasing technology for wounded Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and Guardians. There are no overhead costs for the project.

GO NAVY! BEAT ARMY!

Responsibility to Communicate Effectively

Effective leaders recognize the importance of good communication. Communication problems can cause bottlenecks in the organization. But before you blame subordinates for bottlenecks, stop and examine a bottle. Notice where the neck is. It is not at the bottom.

Responsible leaders communicate effectively. They work hard to prevent bottlenecks and keep channels open up, down, and throughout the organization by (1) establishing an appropriate working climate and adjusting their communication behavior to fit the situation, and (2) practicing techniques to improve communication in their organization.

Leaders Communicating Effectively
John A. Kline

Writing A Letter - Naval Officers May Have Forgotten How To Do This

In the days of cell phones, email, and text messages, letter writing can seem hopelessly outdated. But it’s an art worth bringing back, and not because of some misplaced sense of nostalgia either. The writing and reception of letters will always offer an experience that modern technology cannot touch. Twitter is effective for broadcasting what you’re eating for lunch, and email is fantastic for quick exchanges on the most pertinent pieces of information. But when it comes to sharing one’s true thoughts, sincere sympathies, ardent love, and deepest gratitude, words traveling along an invisible superhighway will never suffice. Why?

Because sending a letter is the next best thing to showing up personally at someone’s door. Ink from your pen touches the stationary, your fingers touch the paper, your saliva seals the envelope. Something tangible from your world travels through machines and hands, and deposits itself in another’s mailbox. Your letter is then carried inside as an invited guest. The paper that was sitting on your desk, now sits on another’s. The recipient handles the paper that you handled. Letters create a connection that modern, impersonal forms of communication will never approach.

From THE ART OF MANLINESS

Take care of people

Leaders should recognize not just the top performers but also the many others who are doing their jobs well, with good attitudes and a strong commitment to institutional goals.

Leaders should never ask subordinates to write their own personal evaluations or effectiveness reports; leaders should write their effective­ness reports or their personal evaluations and make sure that these are done with care and style.

Leaders should get up in the morning thanking people; at noontime they should thank more people; before going home at night, they should thank still more.

Thanking people is an important part of taking care of them because it's taking care of their psychological health.

Leaders should mentor outstanding subordinates while avoiding the pitfalls of cronyism.

They should follow Pierce Chapron's advice when he helps people: "He who receives a bene­fit should never forget it; he who bestows should never remember it."

Major General Perry M. Smith

Navy Leadership 2.0 - more effort required

"Information-age leadership in the Navy is a daunting challenge. We need to examine how we're going to get this done properly and keep our Sailors (officer and enlisted) motivated at the same time. Sailors have a voracious, almost insatiable, need for information and we don't seem to be getting it to them. It's not a stovepipe issue; it's an effort issue. We have boundless opportunities and the technology to communicate with every one of them on so many levels and we're not getting the job done. More effort on the part of our Flag officers is essential. This has to change soon or we will be fully disconnected from the people we are trying hardest to reach - our followers."

Scuttlebutt from the Admiral in the passageway.
(You know who I'm talking about)

Something you may like even less

"If you don’t like change, you will like irrelevance even less."

General Eric Shinseki
Former Army Chief of Staff

Commander-Centric Operations

The commander’s role in “command” - applying the “Art of War” - in this complex environment is critical. Without exception, we find that commander-centric organizations out perform staff-centric organizations. Clear commander’s guidance and intent, enriched by the commander’s experience, instinct, and intuition are ingredients always found in high performing units.

Insights for commanders:

• “The more things change, the more they stay the same” in leadership.

• Personal relationships are essential – the foundation for successful joint, interagency, and multinational world. Build these relationships, and foster trust and confidence with your partners. We discuss trust building techniques later.

• Your vision / guidance and intent provide clarity in today’s dynamic, ambiguous environment. Mission type orders remain key to success.

• Rely on your instinct and intuition while recognizing and leveraging the value of the staff to assist in understanding the increasingly complex environment.

• Working with your staffs, receiving benefit of their analysis and recommendations, and then giving guidance and staying with and guiding them, will result in better solutions in a fraction of the time.

• Build a command climate and organizational capability that fosters inclusion with your joint, interagency, and multinational partners in planning and operations.

• Focus on unity of effort, not unity of command. Recognize the reality of different perspectives and goals of your partners. Strive to arrive at a set of common desired outcomes to promote unity of effort.

• Stay at the appropriate level (i.e. the theater-strategic level for GCCs and operational level for JTFs) to set conditions for your subordinates’ success.

• Decentralize where possible to retain agility and speed of action. This will likely entail decentralization – some operational commanders have termed the phrase “become or accept being uncomfortably decentralized” as the only way to be agile enough to take advantage of opportunities in today’s operational environment. Too much structure can be the enemy.

From JFCOM's
Joint Operations - Insights and Best Practices - 2nd Edition

Anchor Up Shipmate

MCPON West shared some time-honored advice with the Navy's newest chief petty officers. "If I had just three words to say to our new (CPOs) as they pin on their anchors, it would be 'anchor up shipmate.' You hear story after story of successful personnel that at one point in their Navy career, had some chief petty officer step up and challenge them to be better every day; adding strength to our Navy. I would not want to see our Navy without chief petty officers. The chiefs are the movers and the shakers. The officers run the Navy. The chiefs make it run."

MCPON and I are on the same page. I take credit for coining this phrase ("ANCHOR UP") several years ago and it was published in my USNI PROCEEDINGS article "Anchor Up, Chiefs. Reset Your Mess".

From: West, Rick MCPON OPNAV, N00D

Date: Wednesday, April 1, 2009 8:54 PM

To: Mike Lambert

Subject: RE: Anchor Up, Chiefs !

Capt, Thanks for sharing. First I've seen of the article and good to see we are sync'd. HOOYAH, v/r MCPON MCPON(SS/SW) R.D. West "For Official Use Only - Privacy Sensitive: Any misuse or unauthorized access may result in civil and criminal penalties."

Robert P. Burke - 2005 VADM James Bond Stockdale Inspirational Leadership Award Winner

Robert P. Burke told me that .. "the three main contributors to earning this great honor:

- The ship was not performing or running well when my tour began. We borrowed heavily from our waterfront peers, rebuilt almost every program from the ground up using what we begged, borrowed and shared those 'best of breed' ideas/programs/successes with our waterfront peers.

- As the crew got its rhythm, and partly due to where we were in the operational/deployment cycle, and a little bit out of plain luck, we were able to maintain our readiness to go to sea on short notice. We got ahead in our maintenance at every opportunity, and as a result, when another ship had a readiness issue, I was able to raise my hand and suggest HAMPTON take the mission. We did that over and over again.

- We cross-decked at every opportunity, taking Sailors from other ships to sea with us, sending ours to other ships, inviting them to do the same for us. This allowed us to share our standards, best practices and methods for self-improvement with our waterfront peers, while gaining the same in return from them.

The final and most important element of this though, was setting, articulating and enforcing standards. Making your expectations known, praising those who upheld them, and visibly (not necessarily negatively) holding those who did not uphold the standards accountable - that really helped make the leadership by example a reality."

His Sailors won the Battle E, Tactical T, Engineering E (every year), Comms C and Supply E.

Captain Robert P. Burke is the officer on the right in the photo.