According to Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry, “The first component of Naval leadership is personal example. Your subordinates will reflect your sincerity, enthusiasm, smart appearance, military behavior, technical competence, and coolness and courage under stress. To be an effective leader you must first look and act like one.” Perry instinctively understood this principle.

According to an Army officer who had frequent contact with him: “the commodore was blunt, yet dignified… heavy and not graceful…held in awe by the junior officers and having little to do with them, seriously courteous to others… The ship seemed to have a sense of importance because he was on board.”

From LEADERSHIP EMBODIED,
Chapter 7, Mathew Calbraith Perry
by Dr. Michael J. Crawford

Mark Miller wrote about core values on his blog – GREAT LEADERS SERVE

Paraphrasing from his blog and applying his ideas to our Navy core values, he suggests that for “Honor, Courage and Commitment” to add value, Navy leaders must:

Assuming all three of these conditions are met, he suggests that there are 10 ways that Navy Core Values add value.

1. Core Values create a common language within the Navy and among its Sailors. Once those Navy core values were established, the Navy and her Sailors began the journey to ensure the ideas and concepts were clearly understood. Publishing the words alone is NOT sufficient to add value.
2. Core Values establish norms of conduct and approach. By definition, Navy Core Values are the beliefs that we want to inform/drive the behavior within the Navy. As we continue to communicate these values, our Sailors will respond accordingly.
3. Core Values set the priorities of the organization. Not operating priorities – cultural priorities. Culture is the most powerful force in any organization – think about it, the culture of aviation, surface warfare, submarines, across the shore establishment. Navy core values, once firmly rooted, are the Navy culture.
4. Core Values, when rank ordered, establish behavioral priorities as well. Honor is first among equals.  Courage and Commitment follow.
5. Core Values can be used to screen potential employees. The Navy hires from the whole of American society and then must teach them Navy core values.  Mark Miller suggests that the Navy would be more successful if we selected people who already embodied the Navy’s core values.
6. Core Values provide a standard against which people can be evaluated. The Navy should be evaluating Sailors on both traditional performance metrics and adherence to the Navy Core Values.
7. Core Values accelerate the contribution of new Sailors. There is a natural tentativeness in Sailors when they don’t know what is valued in the Navy culture. Without overt declaration of Navy Core Values at each command, new Sailors at your command may spend many months attempting to figure them out.
8. Core Values create a platform for leaders to articulate and demonstrate what matters most. Done well, this builds the Sailors’s trust and confidence in their navy leaders.
9. Core Values provide strategic opportunities for recognition. The behavior you recognize and reward will be repeated.
10. Nothing will shape a culture faster than Navy Core Values articulated, modeled and recognized in practice.

Do all the Sailors in your organization know and practice Navy Core Values? Think about the power of getting everyone in your command aligned around what matters most.

When someone tells you “it’s a no brainer”, they usually want you to suspend the use of your brain and accept the judgment of their brain.  Don’t get caught in this trap.