The Big Four - Leadership

The next stop on our tour through Chapter 14 of the Personnel Manual is Leadership. The below excerpt is straight from the Manual.

Leadership. Officers selected demonstrate those leadership traits and values that allow them to serve in a series of assignments with increasing responsibility in the grade to which promoted. Officers must exemplify our core values of honor, respect and devotion to duty in the highest degree.

a. A leader influences people to accomplish a purpose. Coast Guard leaders concentrate on “doing right things right,” integrating a leader’s focus on effectiveness with a manager’s focus on efficiency.

b. A successful leader inspires others by:
(1) Convincing them they have the solution and acting decisively and confidently;
(2) Sharing a vision of service, excellence and achievement;
(3) Demonstrating a commitment to innovation and quality team work; and,
(4) Modeling strength of character in word and action.

I'd first like to comment on what is in the manual, and then provide you with some thoughts that extend beyond the manual and can help you in molding your own leadership style. The first paragraph seems to tie back to professionalism, by stating that officers must "be" a particular way - embody Core Values, etc. Since we discussed professionalism thoroughly already, and since everyone already knows we need to be strong of character, let's focus instead on what this section of policy tells us to "do."

Influencing People and Accomplishing a Purpose: pretty much wherever you go as an officer in the Coast Guard, you are going to need to influence people to execute or support a mission. Many of these leadership circumstances are unique: it may be different for a LTjg co-pilot as it is for a LTjg Marine Inspector trainee as it is for a LTjg Deck Watch Officer. But in all circumstances, you will need to convey a sense of purpose to your crew or subordinates, and you will need to direct or guide them to perform some duty. How are your interpersonal skills? What do your peers or subordinates think of your ability to lead? You should at least be a bit curious about the answers to those questions. Unless you are constantly assessing your own performance, you will be unable to improve your performance. It is not about accomplishing the mission at any cost - the motto, "you have to go out, you don't have to come back" is no longer applicable to the way we operate. Nowadays, we have to plan ahead to be ready to accomplish today's mission, but be thinking about how we're going to respond to the next call coming in. No one, not even the Commandant, can do that alone. Get your people on board, oriented and moving in the same/right direction. Tell your crew what to do - don't tell them how to do it. If you have trouble inspiring your folks to achieve, you may see that in page 2 of your OER. If you tell your folks in exhaustive detail how to accomplish every task, and leave them no room for creativity, inspiration or flexibility, how fun is that? The technical term is "micro-management" - and it keeps you and your crew from blossoming into your full potential. You will find there are occasions where you need to be exceedingly directive. But I hope that doesn't encompass every interpersonal transaction.

Leader vs. Manager - Note that this criterion, though named "leadership," actually requires you to be both a good leader and an effective manager. What is the difference? Here is the way I think about it: a be the type of leader you would like to follow, be the type of manager you'd like to have working for you. A leader needs to be optimistic, engaging and energetic. A leader is a person who calms the fears, calmly guides the unit and makes change palatable and achievable. A leader "does the right thing right." In contrast, a manager does the staff work, figures out how to make the "trains run on time". She looks for the risk and gets ahead of it. There is a lot of yin and yang here, you can be a great leader and a miserable manager. You can be a detail-oriented manager, and lousy with people. To be really successful in the Service, you have to be ambidextrous when it comes to the leader vs. manager balance. Having trouble establishing a good balance? Often the best officers will recognize a weakness in their own make-up - not good with technology, challenged at managing conflict, etc. Where those senior officers successfully compensate is by finding a deputy who covers their blind spot. If you know you have a weakness, try to develop competency in that area - but in the interim, you may consider joining forces with a deputy and agree on roles. You may find your rating chain might credit your overall results, not necessarily the individual skills you bring to the table - so the "deputy compensation" can give you a boost in those areas of your record where you may not necessarily be the strongest.

Think like the Service. One of the biggest differences between successful officers and less-successful ones is the sense of mission or commitment. When I was a lieutenant, I had doubts about doing a career in the Coast Guard. I was holding myself back from committing. I didn't realize it then, but that hesitantcy was adversely impacting my effectivenss as a leader. How could I inspire, convince, share a vision, or serve as a model, when I wasn't committed to what I was doing? Most of my work-thoughts were hedged by a low commitment level, I was thinking about "me versus the Service." To fix it, I began imagine myself as the Service - I realized I needed to make it more than a job, and stop being so transactional about the whole thing. Once I committed, to say that I was going to have to live with the results of my leadership efforts in the Coast Guard, my passion went up, and my results went up, and it continued to spiral upward. It is a big step - but if you can convince yourself that doing your best for the Service will actually pay the biggest personal dividends of effectivenss and satisfaction - you won't regret it.

As you progress in your career, ask your detailer or career counselor what jobs would assist in showing progress in leadership. As you are factoring in future assignment options, what jobs stretch you, give you new skills, exposure to new ideas and opportunities, fill in a gap in your development? If you have done a deputy (manager) job and succeeded, your next job should be a principal (leader) job. If you have done a series of CO or leader jobs, you may not want to take the deputy job, but chances are, it is the best opportunity for you to develop and grow.

My next entry will be on Education. I really appreciate all the positive feedback on the blog. Keep spreading the word and let's keep the dialogue up. For those of you doing the math at home, Education is the last of the Big 4. I would love to hear from you and guide this blog to provide you with the answers you need, as we wrap up the Big 4 and start expanding out from there. Thanks again, shipmates!! ~jea