Category: Uncategorized

The Decisive Officer

Officers do need to be able to be decisive. They need to be decisive, however, when the circumstances warrant it. In battle, in emergencies and in certain situations where people are being put under pressure thenecessity for decisive action is readily apparent. 
On other occasions being decisive, where being decisive means making a swift decision, is the very opposite of what is needed. A process of slow and thorough consultation and thought may be more appropriate to the situation. If the officer tries to ‘be decisive’ in these sorts of circumstances he may end up failing to get commitment from his team, may overlook problems and solutions to those problems, may fail to take the best or the most creative decision and will certainly fail to attain the objective or goal.
The officer also needs to be flexible in decision making. That will involve being ready to change or alter a decision that has been taken. It will also involve, on some occasions, hardly taking ‘a decision’ at all but deciding merely to proceed until options and paths become clearer.
Being a decisive officer is important. But being decisive is appropriate only in certain situations. Far more important than being decisive alone is the ability to know when to be decisive in its classical sense and when to take decisions in a less ‘decisive’ way. Training will be needed for officers to develop the different types of decision making.

D. G. KIBBLE
LIEUT. CDR, RNR
with DEAN HARGREAVES

Navy Cyber Forces Change of Command

RDML Herbert surprises her Navy SEAL husband, Roger, with a retirement shadowbox at her promotion in September 2010.

Rear Admiral Gretchen S. Herbert relieved Rear Admiral Thomas P. Meek on 22 June as Commander, Navy Cyber Forces Command at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek. 

Navy Cyber Forces (CYBERFOR) is the Navy’s global Type Commander (TYCOM) to organize, man, train, equip, and maintain Cyber/C5I forces and activities to generate current and future readiness afloat and ashore. C5I and Cyber include Command, Control, Communications, and Computer Systems; Networks and Architectures; Combat System Interoperability; Cryptology/Signals Intelligence; Computer Network Operations; Electronic Warfare; Information Operations; Intelligence; and Space disciplines.

CYBERFOR ensures the Navy’s Information Dominance Corps balances requirements and resources to meet mission capabilities.

The difficult position of junior intelligence officers at conferences

Being unwilling to express themselves in a decided manner at a conference at which senior officers are present, a point may sometimes be missed which only the junior can expound. A junior intelligence officer may be the only person present who has a deep knowledge of a subject, the intelligence sources, their validity and security screen. 
He must, therefore, not only have his wits about him and know what to say, but be able to say it in a forthright manner, unawed by the multiplicity of stripes which surround him.  He must press his point of view, secure in the knowledge that, if he does so, he will invariably have the support and sympathy of the chairman, and in fact of the whole gathering who admire nothing so much as a junior officer with something to say, and the guts to say it in a convincing way.

Recent history is peppered with occasions when wishfulness has prevailed in spite of the presence at a conference of those who knew the subject inside out, but just failed to say their bit at the right moment.

THE IMPORTANCE OF A BALANCED VIEW

I would  suggest that one of the many benefits given to the service by THE NAVAL REVIEW is the help it gives to the development of the balanced view.  Sometimes one may read in it a rather extreme article but with an assurance that in a later number a friendly reasoned reply will give a better balanced view on the subject. Thus, a sounder judgment on the ever arising problems is developed. The importance of this cannot be over-estimated; the extremist, be he the man with an idea, or a critic, is not allowed to get away with it unchallenged as too often he is in literature and the Press. Not that one must ever underrate the extremist’s value. If one has an idea and the courage to advance it, it is human to overstress one’s strong points, leaving to another to point out the risks involved; there are always two sides to a case. Balance of mind is vital in big decisions; but if your mind is too well balanced, you are apt to be safe rather than enterprising. Few great things can be accomplished without taking risks and, if you are a Nelson, balancing them correctly. Every advanced thinker seems at the moment to be an extremist; so I hope THE NAVAL REVIEW will keep its pages open to the extreme enthusiast, while cultivating the balanced view.

It is not always that a balanced view can be gained merely by deep thought; sometimes too much thinking may unbalance the mind. Practical test and experience is frequently necessary to find the correct balance. If we look back at some of the larger problems that disturbed naval equanimity, we find that conflict of opinions led to two issues: should the new road advocated be rejected, or should we move along it slowly and cautiously ?
From the 1951 issue of the THE NAVAL REVIEW, Quarterly Journal of independent professional debate of the Royal Navy.

The Five Types of Multipliers and Diminishers – Liz Wiseman

There are many ways to stifle the creativity and smarts of your team, just as there are lots of ways to get the most out of people. To assess your leadership style, take the survey at www.multipliersbook.com.

Diminishers

  • The Empire Builder
    • Hoards resources and underutilizes talent
  • The Tyrant
    • Creates a tense environment that suppresses people’s thinking and capabilities
  • The Know-It-All
    • Gives directives that demonstrate how much he or she knows
  • The Decision Maker
    • Makes centralized, abrupt decisions that confuse the organization
  • The Micro-manager
    • Drives results through his or her personal involvement

Multipliers

  • The Talent Magnet
    • Attracts talented people and uses them to their highest potential
  • The Liberator
    • Creates an intense environment that requires people’s best thinking and work
  • The Challenger
    • Defines an opportunity that causes people to stretch their thinking and behaviors
  • The Debate Maker
    • Drives sound decisions by cultivating rigorous debate among team members
  • The Investor
    • Gives other people ownership of results and invests in their success
Comment on this post and get a free autographed copy of Liz Wiseman’s book MULTIPLIERS.  (One commenter will be chosen at random to win the free book).

I’m reading – SENSEMAKING

I try very hard to get better, to learn more, to think more, to understand more and to share more.  David T. Moore has captured my attention.  I am digging into his book “SENSEMAKING, A Structure For An Intelligence Revolution.”  It’s 156 pages of good reading. Having spent the majority of my life in the Intelligence Community, I care about it deeply.  If you care about the IC at all, this is a book that is worth serious attention and careful reading.
You can find his book HERE.

Rear Admiral Bill Leigher headed to OPNAV N2/N6F – Concepts, Strategies and Integration

Rear Admiral (lower half) William E. Leigher, who has been selected for promotion to rear admiral, will be assigned as Director of Concepts, Strategies and Integration for Information Dominance, N2/N6F, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, D.C. Leigher is currently serving as Deputy Commander, Fleet Cyber Command/Deputy Commander, TENTH Fleet, Fort Meade, Maryland.

Rear Admiral Leigher will be replacing VADM Kendall Card who was recently promoted and assigned as the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Dominance and the Director of Naval Intelligence.