Look to the United States for leadership

"I am convinced, irrespective of what is reported in global opinion surveys, or recounted in the latest speculation about American decline, that around the world, men and women seeking freedom from despotism, want, and fear will continue to look to the United States for leadership.

For any given cause or crisis, if America does not lead, then more often than not, what needs to get done simply won’t get done. In the final analysis, our global responsibilities are not a burden on the people or the soul of this nation. They are, rather, a blessing."

Secretary of Defense, Dr. Robert M. Gates at the U.S. Global Leadership Campaign, 15 July 2008

Five critical competencies for senior leaders

The five critical competencies below were identified by the Chief of Naval Operations as essential for every senior leader:

1. Financial Literacy. The goal is not to create 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 evolve the Navy-Marine Corps Intranet into NGEN. 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. 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. Navy leaders must 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.

A drink and chit-chat at the Army & Navy Club

Spry and trim, William Daniel Leahy, belies his 61 years, but the seams in his face are eloquent of years at sea. Navy men who admire his prodigious physical endurance swear that they are not exaggerating when they tell how he once stayed on his bridge for six weeks during fleet maneuvers, relaxing only to take short catnaps. When he takes over his new office he will be no stranger to Washington. He maintains a residence there, has gone there whenever his duties would permit. In Washington he is not active socially but he likes to go for drink and chit-chat to the swank Army & Navy Club or Chevy Chase Country Club.

Written about the incoming Chief of Naval Operations (1937-1939) in TIME Magazine in 1937

Captain Stephen Decatur

He was the youngest man (25) to reach the rank of captain in the history of the United States Navy. He was one of "Preble's Boys" and friends with Charles Stewart and Richard Rush.

In April 1816 he made the toast that would become a standard expression of American patriotism: "Our Country! In her intercourse with foreign nations may she always be in the right; but our country, right or wrong."

President John Quincy Adams summed up Decatur best: "He was kind, warm-hearted, unassuming, gentle and hospitable, beloved in social life and with a soul totally and utterly devoted to his country."

Captain Edward Preble - founder of the Navy

Sometimes called the true founder of the American Navy, Commodore Preble was keenly interested in his Bluejackets; their care and fair treatment attracted his full attention. Preble tried to draw his junior officers in and encouraged them to offer their ideas. He was generous in giving his subordinates due credit for their achievements. His fleet was singularly united in spirit and, through his leadership, he became the idol of his officers and men (they were happily called "Preble's Boys"). Preble taught his subordinates the need for absolute obedience, unyeilding courage, and 24-hour-a-day efficiency which have continued to be standards of the American Navy.

From Naval Orientation NAVPERS 16138-A (RESTRICTED) December 1948

LTjg Kennedy grows into a leader

"My fellow citizens, let no one doubt that this is a difficult and dangerous effort on which we have set out. No one can foresee precisely what course it will take or what costs or casualties will be incurred. Many months of sacrifice and self-discipline lie ahead — months in which both our patience and our will be tested, months in which many threats and denunciations will keep us aware of our dangers. But the greatest danger of all would be to do nothing.

The path we have chosen for the present is full of hazards, as all paths are; but it is the one most consistent with our character and courage as a nation and our commitments around the world. The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, and that is the path of surrender or submission."

President John F. Kennedy, Cuban Missile Crisis

Photo from the JFK Library

What Will Your Leadership Legacy Be?

A little Air Force blue...

In my office, I have a quotation framed and positioned on my desk where I can see it every day. It says, “My biggest fear is that I will look back on my life and wonder what I did with it.” Sooner or later, it will be time for all of us to hang up our uniforms and find something else to do. As I look back over my career, I continually wonder if I have done enough—if I have done all that I could to make a difference and be a positive influence on others. I hope I have.

Last year, I was lucky enough to be able to travel with the chief of staff to Balad in Iraq. We visited the hospital there, and one of the many individuals I talked to was an Army lieutenant colonel—a tall, thin, lean, and gaunt man with dark circles under his eyes. He was very tired! He was a battalion commander who had been in the country for 11 months and was visiting one of his wounded troops. After chatting for a few minutes, I backed away from him to the other side of the tent, and people began to flow between us. As I stood there watching him, I said to myself, “You know, Lorenz, you’ve been a commander several times in the last 35 years. I just hope you are a good-enough leader to lead someone like that.” You see, you must never, ever stop trying to be the best leader you can be.

Lt Gen Stephen R. Lorenz, United States Air Force, commander of Air University, Maxwell AFB, Alabama.

5500 additional years of service

It was standing room only Saturday at the Al Faw Palace in Baghdad as 1,215 service members raised their right hands in an unprecedented mass reenlistment ceremony.

The service members were brought to Camp Victory from forward operating bases and camps all over Iraq, according to a Multi-National Force-Iraq news release, which stated that it was the largest re-enlistment ceremony to take place since the all-volunteer force began in 1973.

MNF-I commanding general Gen. David Petraeus read the oath at the ceremony for the Soldiers, Marines, Airmen and Sailors.

“Volunteering to continue to serve our nation, while deployed … is both noble and inspiring,” Petraeus said in the release. “It is, as award citations often state, in keeping with the finest traditions of our military services.”

The joint re-enlistment represents more than 5,500 years of combined additional service in uniform.

From the Navy Times

No doubt, those who serve understand the value of their service and their sacrifice. Their nation has called them to service and they never fail to answer the clarion's call.

How do you rate? How does your boss rate?

Leading People

- Skill in motivating, inspiring, and mentoring Navy personnel through a positive attitude, enthusiastic leadership, and ethical behavior.
- Skill in motivating, inspiring, and mentoring civilian personnel (DoD and contractors) through a positive attitude, enthusiastic leadership, and ethical behavior.
- Skill in leading by professional example to promote team building and personnel development.
- Skill in managing conflict in a crisis by identifying potential situations that could result in unpleasant confrontations.
- Skill in managing conflict in a combat or wartime situation to maximize force effectiveness and enhance mission accomplishment.
- Skill in leveraging an ethnically and culturally diverse workforce to improve working environment and capitalize on achievements of each individual.

Taken from: Developing Senior Navy Leaders - Requirements for Flag Officer Expertise Today and in the Future (RAND Report 2008)

Notable organization change in the Navy

Information Warfare

"Turning now to specific areas of expertise, the most notable organizational changes seem to be in Information Warfare (IW). Organizational changes alone suggest that IO expertise may need to be disaggregated into two new areas of expertise: Information Operations (IO) and Information Technology (IT).

IO is often treated as transitive with psychological operations and strategic communications, roughly meaning “operations intended to influence.” IO and Information Warfare (IW) may be treated as transitive, but IW usually includes both influence and counter-influence operations. IT, on the other hand, focuses on network-related warfare, as distinct from IO’s emphasis on influence operations."

From the RAND Study (2008) - Developing Senior Navy Leaders - Requirements for Flag Officer Expertise Today and in the Future

Admiral James Stavridis: Think, Read, Write and Publish

Admiral Dahlgren's published works preceded Admiral Staviridis' admonition by more than 150 years. But these two leaders would have been fast friends (in my opinion). If one doesn't share their experiences through the written word, those experiences are soon forgotten.

Admiral Dahlgren was a man of great personal bravery, dignified in manner, and of exemplary character. He published many scientific works on ordnance, which have been used as Textbooks in the navy. They include "Thirty-two-pounder Practice for Rangers" (1850): "System of Boat-Armament in the U. S. Navy" (1852 ; French translation, 1855); "Naval Percussion Locks and Primers" (1852); "Ordnance Memoranda" (1853); "Shells and Shell-Guns," explaining his own sys-tern(1856); and various reports on ordnance, armored vessels, and coast defenses. After his death appeared "Notes on Maritime and International Law," with a preface by his widow, indicating the plan of an uncompleted work (Boston, 1877). See " Memoir of John A. Dahlgren," by his widow (Boston, 1882).

Taken from http://www.virtualology.com

God Bless the U.S.A.

Toil, Blood and Treasure

"It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. ... I am well aware of the Toil and Blood and Treasure, that it will cost Us to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these States. Yet through all the Gloom I can see the Rays of ravishing Light and Glory. I can see that the End is more than worth all the Means. And that Posterity will tryumph in that Days Transaction, even altho We should rue it, which I trust in God We shall not."

John Adams

Navy Hymn - Chiefs' verse

Eternal Father, bless Thy Chiefs
Who guide and lead with firm beliefs
in Courage, Commitment and Honor bright.
Strengthen with Thy holy might
Those who wear the anchors of the CPO.
O, guard them, Lord, where ever they go.

Honorable and glorious

It follows then as certain as night succeeds day, that without a decisive naval force we can do nothing definitive, and that with it everything honorable and glorious.

George Washington