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Navy commands that stand out – some observations

Stand-out commands are those that focus on meaningful contact with their Sailors at every opportunity. These contacts, be they at routine events such as morning quarters or engagements by officers and Chief Petty Officers out and about on the deck-plates, where candid, meaningful and two-way conversation with Sailors can take place, are where trust is built. 
Too often we see command communications devolve to impersonal, and very imperfect, forms of contact, devoid of the context that can only come from face-to-face communications. Always be on the look-out for the opportunity to look your Sailors in the eye and engage them on the issues important to you and to them. Always be ready for the opportunity to build and sustain trust with those you lead. 
Another common denominator found at successful commands is a commanding officer and command team that holds themselves, and their Sailors, accountable to established Navy standards as they fulfill their responsibilities. Human contact builds trust, accountability sustains trust. When trust and accountability are institutionalized in the daily routine of a command, the result is usually long-term success. When accountability is not strictly enforced, the command and control structure, which is held together by trust, falls apart and the command eventually fails.

Efforts at self-synchronization – trust is essential

“Self-synchronization is the ability of a well-informed force to organize and synchronize complex activities from the bottom up. Self-synchronization is achieving the goals of the organization without or with less leaders than in a hierarchical organization. ‘A priori knowledge’ enables individuals to self-synchronize because they have a shared understanding of the situation.”

The creation of self-synchronization through unity of effort, commander’s intent, rules of engagement, and battlespace knowledge is discussed as a starting point to create self-synchronization. The next steps in achieving self-synchronization are to empower individuals by releasing them from the multitude of requirements currently in place and the expectation and acceptance of the military as an adaptive learning organization.

Trust appears to be an important factor for self-synchronization to be successful. Trust in information, people, and equipment is needed for self-synchronization to work effectively. Trust is needed for commanders to give up some personal control and rely more on the staff.
Trust is important for self-synchronization because teams function dispersed and therefore relatively autonomous. Members of military teams have to know each other well and need trust each other. The team also needs to trust other units and other personnel that are located elsewhere. According to the interviewees, trust is closely related to the situational awareness. Knowledge about the capabilities and expertise of other units is essential for self-synchronizing the efforts of the team.
The Information Dominance Corps Self-Synchronization efforts grew from an understanding among the IDC officer corps that they would have to take the initiative to share information across the Corps.  They are doing this every day.  Every member of the IDC has the opportunity to participate in this process and elevate the level of self-synchronization across the Corps.  You can check it out HERE.
More on Self-Synchronization: What is it, how is it created and is it needed?  written by Lieutenant Commander Layne M.K. Araki, USN, Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island.

Crisis in Leadership – modified slightly from Bill Deresiewicz’s USMA presentation

http://www.mindjet.com/
We have a crisis of leadership in America because our overwhelming power and wealth, earned under earlier generations of leaders, made us complacent, and for too long we have been training leaders who only know how to keep the routine going.  (The XO can keep the routine going; Skipper – we need you to think and act in ways that move the command, mission and Sailors forward!)  
We are training leaders:
-Who can answer questions, but don’t know how to ask them. 
-Who can fulfill goals, but don’t know how to set them.
– Who think about how to get things done, but not whether they’re worth doing in the first place. (Check with Simon Sinek and CDR Sean Heritage on “The WHY of what we are doing.”)
What we have now are the greatest technocrats the world has ever seen, people who have been trained to be incredibly good at one specific thing, but who have no interest in anything beyond their area of expertise. What we don’t have enough of are real leaders – those with ZERO interest in just keeping the routine going.
What we really need, in other words, are more thinkers.  
We need more:
– People who can think for themselves. 
– People who can formulate a new direction: for the country, for a corporation or a college, for the Navy—a new way of doing things, a new way of looking at things. 
– People, in other words, with vision.

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CNO Diversity Vision – A home run

CNO’s Sailing Directions describe a vision of the contribution and characteristics of the Navy over the next 10-15 years. Today and in the next decade, ready Sailors and Civilians will remain the centerpiece of Navy’s warfighting capability. 
To maintain our warfighting edge, it is essential that our people be diverse in experience, background and ideas; personally and professionally ready; and proficient in the operation of their weapons and systems. 
Diversity is not founded on statistics, percentages, or quotas.  
Diversity is about achieving peak performance. 

Our force will draw upon the widest possible set of talents and backgrounds to maximize our warfighting capability, adapt to address new threats and challenges, and take advantage of new opportunities. 
The unique personal characteristics and skills of each Sailor and Civilian will continue to add value to our Navy.  Our efforts to attain and sustain a force of diverse talent and experience will be an intrinsic part of recruiting, developing, retaining and employing our people. We will continue to be united by our shared commitment to the Nation and each other as part of one Navy team. Every Sailor and Civilian will adhere to a professional culture of fairness and respect, and value the contributions each one makes to the Navy’s warfighting capability, forward operations and readiness

Some advice on how to write

Memorandum from David Ogilvy
People who think well, write well.

Good writing is not a natural gift. You have to learn to write well. Here are 10 hints:

1. Read the Roman-Raphaelson book on writing*. Read it three times.

2. Write the way you talk. Naturally.

3. Use short words, short sentences and short paragraphs.

4. Never use jargon words like reconceptualize, demassification, attitudinally, judgmentally. They are hallmarks of a pretentious ass.

5. Never write more than two pages on any subject.

6. Check your quotations.

7. Never send a letter or a memo on the day you write it. Read it aloud the next morning—and then edit it.

8. If it is something important, get a colleague to improve it.

9. Before you send your letter or your memo, make sure it is crystal clear what you want the recipient to do.

10. If you want ACTION, don’t write. Go and tell the guy what you want.

David

Mentors

I received this nice Moleskin notebook with camo cover from one of the warriors I was mentoring (from the comfort of my home in Virginia) who was serving in Iraq.  I was deeply honored to receive it.  There’s a nice guest blog post over HERE on Sean Heritage’s blog about mentorship by an independent thinking JO in Hawaii.  It’s worth a read.  Thanks for the post ENSIGN Zaki Rucker, NIOC Hawaii.