How Generals Respond

How does an O-10 General Officer respond to an O-6 Navy Captain when the Captain offers constructive criticism?  Just the way you would expect the O-10 to respond - with promptness and alacrity.  When I told General Stan McChrystal recently that I loved his McChrystal Group website but thought that his presence on YouTube could be improved, he said "Thanks" and they were doing just that - IMPROVING!  The General has some awesome leadership tips on YouTube and his group plans to add many more.  You can check out his leadership tips HERE.  This group has their 'stuff' in one sock.

The Spirit of Hope Award Winner - CTR1 (IDW/SG/SW/AW) Jamar Salters

THE SPIRIT OF HOPE AWARD IS NAMED FOR MR. BOB HOPE, AND IS PRESENTED ANNUALLY BY THE WIEGAND FOUNDATION TO INDIVIDUALS OR ORGANIZATIONS THAT EMBODY MR. HOPE'S FIVE DECADE-LONG COMMITMENT AND SERVICE TO MILITARY MEN AND WOMEN.

CTR1(IDW/SG/SW/AW) JAMAR SALTERS WAS NOMINATED BY THE COMMANDING OFFICER, NAVY INFORMATION OPERATIONS COMMAND (NIOC) HAWAII, FOR HIS SELFLESS DEVOTION, DEDICATION, AND COMMITMENT TO HELPING MORE THAN 3,300 SAILORS REACH THEIR EDUCATIONAL AND PROFESSIONAL GOALS; HIS COMMITMENT TO MOTIVATING FELLOW SAILORS FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE THROUGH THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A MILITARY SERVICE MEMBER VOLUNTEER ORGANIZATION; AND HIS TIRELESS SERVICE AND SUPPORT TO THE COMMUNITY AND FAMILIES THROUGH INVOLVEMENT IN NINE SEPARATE VOLUNTEER FUNDRAISING, EDUCATIONAL, AND COMMUNITY PROJECT EFFORTS.

A short video of the ceremony is HERE.

Express Oneself in Writing

Learning to think as a naval officer requires expressing oneself in writing. Naval officers must be able to find the language in which to explain their thinking. Research and writing are inextricably linked and are at the center of the historical enterprise. Both aspects of the craft can be fun, as well as rewarding.  Give it a try.  You'll be better for it.

Admiral James Stavridis

Difficult and challenging

“A ship at sea is a distant world in herself and in consideration of the protracted and distant operations of the fleet units the Navy must place great power, responsibility and trust in the hands of those leaders chosen for command. . . . This is the most difficult and demanding assignment in the Navy.”

Everything Starts and Ends with Leadership

Admiral Pratt while CNO

"As the youth progresses onward to mature manhood, he reaps a harvest from experience, he gleans much knowledge from his studies, he learns concisely what the laws of the seaman require, and the rules of the art of war demand. . . . But who is there to tell him that toward the end of your career you cannot pick up new tools and use them with the dexterity of the expert unless you have spent a lifetime with them, tested the temper of their steel, and made them a part of your life’s equipment."

REAR ADMIRAL WILLIAM PRATT, LEADERSHIP

Do the right thing. I know it's hard sometimes. Do it anyway.

Your shipmates are counting on you.

MULTIPLIERS - How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter

Some of our fellow naval officers drain all the intelligence and capability out of their teams. Because they need to be the smartest, most capable person in the room, these officers often shut down the smarts of other really smart Sailors, Chiefs, civilians and officers, ultimately stifling the flow of ideas. You know these officers, because you’ve worked for and with them. You may be working for one now.  If that's the case, sorry - it sucks to be you. On the other hand, if your boss is a 'multiplier', you are one very fortunate individual.

Consider the senior naval officer who, week after week, suggests new tasks and assignments for your team—never letting you complete any one task, forcing you to scurry to keep up with her thinking rather than think for yourself and contribute your own ideas. Or, the executive officer who, despite having more than 15 top-notch officers in the wardroom, admits that he listens to only a couple of people at weekly meetings, claiming “no one else really has anything much to offer.” These naval officers—we call them “diminishers”—underutilize people and leave creativity and talent on the table.

We can't afford to leave anything on the table.  Read Liz Wiseman's book and learn how to become a MULTIPLIER and not a DIMINISHER.   Drop me a note with your e-mail address and I'll send a few of you a complimentary autographed copy.

21 Skippers Fired - One common thread

The Navy Times has an article about 7 of the 21 skippers who have been fired in 2011.  The common thread among 7 of them was abuse of alcohol.  

The real common thread among the 21 skippers fired is that they didn't live up to the demanding personal and professional standards required of our commanding officers.

The Navy is interviewing the fired skippers to find out if there are some "hard lessons learned" that they can incorporate into training and the selection process.

Developing Senior Navy Leaders

The array of expertise required to be a successful leader in the U.S. Navy has become more complex. To be a successful Navy leader, it is no longer sufficient to be skilled only at surface, submarine, or air warfare. Additional kinds of expertise are needed to lead and manage the Navy of today and the Navy of the future. Furthermore, like its sister services, the Navy also has a large and distinct core of senior civilian leaders that continues to provide a broad array of in-depth business skills, as well as the continuity and stability of senior leadership.

We examined the Navy’s structure, its force development, its doctrinal documents, and its technology acquisitions for the past decade and the next decade to forecast how the demand for domain-specific expertise may change in the future. The areas of domain-specific expertise with the strongest evidence of increasing future importance to the Navy are:

•  Information Warfare
•  Information Operations
•  Information Technology
•  Surface Warfare
•  Submarine Warfare
•  Special Warfare
•  Expeditionary Warfare
•  Intelligence
•  Logistics and Readiness
•  Anti-Submarine Warfare
•  Littoral Warfare
•  Sea Basing

From the RAND Sjtudy: Developing Senior Navy Leaders - Requirements for Flag Officer
Expertise Today and in the Future

Presidential Proclamation - November is National Military Family Month

“Just as our troops embody the courage and character that make America’s military the finest in the world, their family members embody the resilience and generosity that make our communities strong. Day after day, week after week, spouses resolutely accomplish the work of two parents, sons and daughters diligently keep up with homework and activities, and parents and grandparents patiently wait for news of their child and grandchild’s safe return. To these families, and to those whose service members never come home, we bear a debt that can never be fully repaid.”

 

“As America asks ever more of military families, they have a right to expect more of us -- it is our national challenge and moral obligation to uphold that promise.”

And, for your sacrifices, we are going to give you a 1.6% pay raise.

“If we hold ourselves to the same high standard of excellence our military families live by every day, we will realize the vision of an America that supports and engages these heroes now and for decades to come.”

Intended for serious study by professionals

Naval Operations Concept 2010 (NOC 10) describes when, where and how U.S. naval forces will contribute to enhancing security, preventing conflict and prevailing in war. NOC 10 is not designed for a cursory reading; it is a publication intended for serious study by professionals.  You can read it HERE.  Are you a professional?  Have you given this serious study?  Are you really a Navy professional?  Have you even read it?   This is a self-graded test.  How did you do?  You know whether you need to be ashamed or not.  Report your results to your next superior in the chain of command.

Go Down Into the Holds of your Ship/Command

Horatio Nelson, the British admiral made famous for defeating Napoleon's navy  at the Battle of Trafalgar, had an unusual habit when at sea. He would go to the bottom deck and spend time with his most junior officers. In those days, this was just not done...an admiral socializing with the youngest ranks? It was unheard of. But Nelson didn't go down to tell them a thing or two. He didn't go below deck to whip them into shape. Quite the opposite. He spent time with them to get something from them. To get something they had lots of, more than any of his ranking officers: unbridled passion and blind optimism...and Nelson loved it!

Enthusiasm, optimism, passion.  Get some - your Sailors likely have some to spare if you aren't killing it.

The Leader Sets the Example

The naval leader must set the example in all things.  Do you want your men to look smart?  Then you must be meticulous in your own dress.  Throw aside any non-regulation articles of uniform, refrain from wearing soiled or rumpled clothing, keep yourself clean and neat, your face shaved.  Do you want them to be courteous?  Then you must be courteous, to your juniors as well as to your seniors.  It is a rule that works both ways.  When your seniors are present with you before your men, you must be careful to do exactly the things that are expected of you.  Do you expect your men to be loyal?  Then you must be loyal, to those junior to you as well as to those who are senior.  Loyalty can never be over-emphasized.  And remember, it works both ways.

From:  The Naval Officer's Manual

Rear Admiral Harley Cope, USN-retired

Command Excellence: The Commanding Officer/Executive Officer Relationship

Captain Susan Cerovsky

Commander Paul Wilkes

The ability of the CO and XO to work together is vitally important because their relationship impacts all aspects of the command. In superior commands the CO and XO work as a team and live up to Napoleon's dictum that "Nothing in war is as important as an undivided command." 

Although the CO and XO work together, the CO leads and the XO follows: there is never any doubt about who is calling the shots.  In superior commands, the XO actively supports the CO's policies, philosophy, and procedures. This does not mean that there is always perfect agreement. Differences, though, are dealt with in private. The XO may try to convince the CO to change her mind. But once the decision is made, the XO fully supports it; he does not attempt to undermine the CO in any way. As they say in one aviation squadron, "Fight in private; support in public."

The COs and XOs of superior commands accept that their roles are different and that they must work together to accomplish the command's mission. The CO has the big picture; the XO, the nitty-gritty. Thus, the CO establishes policy and procedures and holds the XO responsible for implementation. Duties and responsibilities need not be the same from command to command in the same community: in fact, each CO emphasizes different areas. What is essential, though, is that these roles be clearly defined and mutually agreed to.

Most COs in superior commands meet regularly with their executive officers to discuss long-range plans, tell them about upcoming activities, and get their ideas on preparing for these activities. The XOs, in turn, keep the CO informed about how plans are being carried out and do not hesitate to raise concerns requiring the CO's attention.

This is how it works at the Center for Information Dominance (CID) Corry Station, Pensacola, Florida and at other excellent commands throughout the Navy.

CNO Strategic Studies Group - XXXI is looking at Warfighting in the Complex Electromagnetic Environment

The Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Strategic Studies Group (SSG) generates revolutionary naval warfare concepts. Revolutionary implies that the concepts would upset the existing order. Therefore, these concepts are non-consensual. The SSG focuses its efforts on warfighting concepts that appear to have great potential, but Navy organizations are currently not pursuing. In conducting this mission, the SSG is at the leading edge of the Conceptualization Phase of the Process for Naval Warfare Innovation.

Revolutionary innovation has been the key to U.S. naval supremacy. A key to past, successful innovations was the iteration of thought between operators, technologists and analysts. The operator brought "unarticulated requirements" to the table. The technologist brought emerging and existing technologies. Analysis blended the two. Only after considerable iteration did new thinking, combining the unarticulated requirement and technology, result in what became major naval warfare innovations.