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MCPON on the "Law of the lid"

I believe effectively and efficiently executing mission requires innovative leadership. Without competent leadership, even the most routine tasks can become difficult.

In John Maxwell’s book, the 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, he states, “Without leadership ability, a person’s impact is only a fraction of what it could be with good leadership. The higher you want to climb, the more you need leadership.” He calls this the Law of the Lid, which suggests “Wherever you look, you can find smart, talented successful people who are able to go only so far because of the limitations of their leadership”.  If our Navy is going to continue climbing, then we as Chief Petty Officers must always seek to increase our and our Sailors’ ability to lead.

We develop leaders through a combination of mentorship, practical experience and training. Do not downplay the acute impact you have in your routine daily interaction with enlisted and commissioned Sailors on how they ultimately evolve as leaders. It, more than any other element, sets the tone for exactly how singularly irreplaceable personal example is in building bold, accountable, confident leadership.

MCPON Stevens

From NAVY NEWS

More on ‘the law of the lid’

http://seanheritage.com/blog/lidless-leadership/


Twenty three and twenty four

Two commanding officers have been fired for misconduct in unrelated incidents, the Navy announced on Monday.
Capt. Ted Williams, CO of the amphibious command ship USS MOUNT WHITNEY, and Cmdr. Ray Hartman, CO of the amphibious dock-landing ship USS FORT MCHENRY, were both fired by 6th Fleet Commander Vice Adm. Frank Pandolfe.
Williams was temporarily reassigned to 6th Fleet staff and Capt. Craig Clapperton took command of the Gaeta, Italy-based ship.
Hartman was sent to Destroyer Squadron 60 staff and Cmdr. Eric Kellum assumed command of the Little Creek, Va.-based LSD.
In both instances, 6th Fleet cited “allegations of misconduct” as the reason for the firings, but did not elaborate on the nature of the accusations.

2012 Navy Firings – A quick review

• Captain Jeffrey Riedel was fired Jan. 26 as program manager for the Navy’s littoral combat ship program due to allegations of inappropriate behavior.
• Commander Diego Hernandez was fired Feb. 4 as CO of the ballistic-missile submarine USS WYOMING’s gold crew for mishandling classified materials.
• Captain Robert Marin was fired Feb.10 as CO of the cruiser USS COWPENS “while an investigation into inappropriate personal behavior is conducted.”
• Commander Jeffrey Wissel was fired Feb. 27 as CO of Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron ONE amid allegations of “personal misconduct.”
• Commander Jon Haydel was fired March 12 as CO of the yet-to-be commissioned amphibious transport dock USS SAN DIEGO amid an investigation into “personal misconduct.”
• Captain Kim Lyons was fired April 6 as CO of Navy Health Clinic New England after a survey found a poor command climate.
• Commander Dennis Klein was fired May 1 as CO of the attack submarine USS COLUMBIA due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command after a number of external assessments.
• Commander Lee Hoey was fired May 1 as CO of the Navy Drug Screening Lab in San Diego due to command climate problems at his command.
• Commander Derick Armstrong was fired May 8 as CO of the destroyer USS THE SULLIVANS due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command.
• Captain Chuck Litchfield was fired June 18 as CO of the amphibious assault ship USS ESSEX, in the wake of ESSEX’s May 16 collision with the replenishment oiler Yukon as both ships were en route to San Diego.
• Captain Liza Raimondo was fired June 29 as CO of Navy Health Clinic, Patuxent River, Md, due to a loss of confidence in her ability to command due to a significant lack of leadership and integrity.
• Commander Michael Ward was fired Aug. 10 as CO of Los Angeles-class submarine USS PITTSBURGH for allegations of personal misconduct.
• Commander Franklin Fernandez was fired Aug. 21 as CO of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion TWENTY FOUR due to loss of confidence in his ability to command.
• Commander Martin Arriola was fired Aug. 30 as CO of the destroyer USS PORTER due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command.
• Commander Sara Santoski was fired Sept. 1 as CO of Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron FIFTEEN due to a loss of confidence in her ability to command.
• Commander Sheryl Tannahill was fired Sept. 14 as CO of Navy Operational Support Center Nashville, Tenn., due to a loss of confidence in her ability to command.
• Captain Antonio Cardoso was fired Sept. 21 as CO of Training Support Center San Diego due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command.
• Captain James CoBell was fired Sept. 27 as CO of FRC Mid-Atlantic after an investigation found he was abusive to subordinates and used them to conduct personal favors.
• Rear Admiral Charles Gaouette was fired Oct. 27 as head of the USS JOHN C. STENNIS Carrier Strike Group while the CSG was deployed to the Arabian Sea. The Navy cited “inappropriate leadership judgment” for his “temporary reassignment.”
• Commander Joseph Darlak was fired Nov. 2 as CO of the frigate USS VANDEGRIFT, along with his XO, OPS and CHENG, after investigators found the ship’s crew had behaved inappropriately during a September port visit to Russia.
• Captain Michael Wiegand was fired Nov. 8 as head of the Southwest Regional Maintenance Center “due to loss of confidence in his ability to command.”

Know your Sailors

Learning Names is Important
Names of your Sailors are important. The sweetest sound to anyone is his or her own name. Learn it and use it!
After a formal and impressive change-of-command parade and ceremony at one of our larger NIOCs, the departing CO was honored at a reception at the officers club. As he greeted the line of Sailors, officers, Chiefs and their wives, he called each by name, asked something about their families or status and then greeted the next. 
Someone in attendance remarked,  “He is one of few COs in recent memory that I have served with who can do that. And I can guarantee you that not one member of his command will ever forget him, and many will seek to serve under him again.”

Chiefly Expectations: A JO’s Perspective

LT Ryan Haag is an Information Warfare Officer. After graduating from the University of Michigan, he served in USS HAMPTON (SSN-767) as the Electrical Officer and Assistant Weapons Officer, at U.S. Second Fleet as a TLAM Senior Mission Planner and Flag Aide.  After obtaining a lateral transfer, he is now serving at NIOC Georgia as the Air Operations Officer. 

Check out his guest post on CDR Sean Heritage’s blog HERE.

Review of General and Flag Officer Ethics

Statement by the Press Secretary on Review of General and Flag Officer Ethics

The Secretary believes that the vast majority of our senior military officers exemplify the strength of character and the highest ethical standards the American people expect of those whose job it is to provide for the security of our nation.  They represent not only the best of the American military but the American people.  The majority of these officers lead by example, which is one of the reasons the United States military stands without peer 
Over the past several months, the Secretary has spoken with the service secretaries, service chiefs, and combatant commanders about those instances when senior officers have not lived up to the standards expected of them. This has been an ongoing discussion reflecting shared concerns. 
This week, the Secretary directed General Dempsey to work with the other members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to review how to better foster a culture of stewardship among our most senior military officers. Their initial findings are due to the Secretary within the next few weeks. This process is intended to reinforce and strengthen the standards that keep us a well led and disciplined military. 
Input to the Secretary will form the basis of a report to the President on the Department’s progress in this area by December 1, 2012.

More on the importance of writing

How does one become a good writer?

a.  Anyone who has the brains to gain a commission has the brains to become a good writer. It requires work. It doesn’t come easily or quickly. It demands time and effort to master the language. It demands practice, practice and more practice. Lastly, the writer must have something to say. The task is to deliver the message of substance in the clearest possible way. Almost always this means the shortest way.
b.  A person who reads a lot soon finds that writing is almost as easy as reading. Most effective officers read a lot, and not just instruction manuals.
c.  The only way to become a writer is to write. There are reasons why the services are so free with dictionaries and run so many courses on fundamental writing skills. There are reasons why the services have either published or adopted a manual style and format. The services want to provide opportunities for mastery of the language. Just as a condition of the profession demands that an officer master a particular weapon, learning the language of the profession is similarly essential. Poor spelling, poor grammar and lack of specific vocabulary are excuses, not the result of effort. Even great athletes, whose stock in trade is essentially muscular coordination, understand the need for practice.
d.  In the same way, good writing comes from practice and practice and more practice. Only after the process of making words into sentences and sentences into paragraphs and paragraphs into chapters becomes a natural rhythmic process does the stamp of individuality and personality shine through the writing to the reader.
From The Armed Forces Officer available HERE.

Sailor misconduct characterized as a ‘disease’

If it is in fact a disease, the Navy’s cure all of punishing the whole for the acts of the few is not close to a remedy for curing misconduct. 
Recalling the restrictions on personal liberty imposed during my time on the staff of the Commander, U.S. SEVENTH Fleet aboard USS BLUE RIDGE (LCC-19) , the entire crew and staff  (E-1 to O6) were governed by the identical restrictions after a number of liberty incidents.  In foreign ports we were not allowed to leave the ship alone.  Everyone on board had to depart with a ‘buddy’ and had to return to the ship with the same ‘buddy’.  If your ‘buddy’ didn’t want to return to the ship, you were stuck in town overnight.  
None of this made sense to anyone and our favorite Marine on the staff confronted our well meaning Chief of Staff and said, “When you issued this directive, I was under the impression it applied to E-4 and below.  There is no way this could apply to an E5 or an O5, it just doesn’t make sense.”  The Chief of Staff assured the Colonel that the policy applied “across the board.”  It was many months before the policy was eased.  I always left the ship with a buddy.  The Colonel always left the ship alone as a matter of principle.  I think the Chief of Staff was okay with that.

Don’t punish the whole when you know who the ‘at risk’ individuals are.  Be sensible.  Imposing archaic and unreasonable rules on high performing Sailors just doesn’t make sense.  Our leadership can do better than that.

Obstacle Illusion

One of the young people I mentor opened my eyes to the fact that something which I was having a very difficult time overcoming was not nearly as challenging as I was making it out to be.  In the process of solving this complex (in my mind) problem, we came up with a new (in my mind) term for my inability to see past my own perceived limitations.  I was suffering from what we call an “OBSTACLE ILLUSION“.  The obstacle was not real but I had created it in my mind and the illusion of a non-existent challenge prevented me from solving the problem.
My advice to you – don’t let “OBSTACLE ILLUSIONS” prevent you from reaching your goals.