Bm2 Welch Leadership

The privilege to command units afloat and ashore provided me with intimate exposure to the challenges experienced by our workforce and their families. Often accompanied by a myriad of ethical dilemmas, these challenges provided a wealth of experience and a better understanding of the impact a leader has on the workforce and their families. Similarly, my experience as the Boatswain’s Mate “A” School Assistant School Chief afforded me vital insight into the Coast Guard’s formal training system, Human Performance Technology and the development of future enlisted leaders. These experiences provided invaluable opportunities for me to interact with our workforce and understand their views, perform thorough assessments of complex situations, and provide accurate, sound, and practical counsel in order to achieve the best outcome for the unit and our Coast

One of my many supervisors that I looked up to was Master Sergeant William Cope. I served under him a few years back while I was stationed at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan. He guided me to become the best at what my job was as Assistant Non-Commissioned Officer of Dispatch Operations in my career field called Vehicle Operations. He was hard to get along with at times, but he made sure you were doing the right things for the mission.

There are many leaders who displayed humility in leadership that I have served throughout my career. But, there is one leader who I can remember is CDR (retired) Tarwater who was my previous Executive Officer. Commander Tarwater entered the U.S. Navy in 1984 as an enlisted signalman. He grew up in the rank from an E-1 to Senior Chief Petty Officer and became LDO.

I discovered how much of an influence I had and that I was fully capable of being be a leader. Despite the fact my personality leans towards introvertism, being captain helped me to come out of my shell and to make a difference. It gave me the chance to not only step up and step out, but to lead and to lead the right way, for the right reasons. That being said, at times I found myself passive and indecisive, wanting to be sure my teammates had a voice and were content with a decision. I soon realized that although everyone may not agree on my decision it was my responsibility to make the best choice possible for my teammates and I. Ultimately, I learned that I’m flexible, understanding, and a listener, and those qualities ensured my contributions were ones that beneficially impacted each and every individual on the

This chapter follows his first observations as Commander and the immediate actions he sought to implement. He notes that the crew seemed relieved by the departing Commander and realized that he must come up with a new leadership model to reach his crew. As he noted in the introduction that high percentage of turnover among crew bothered him and he notes some trends in society that contribute to this problem. The long economic boom had made most people unafraid of losing their jobs, or finding new ones. Thus he believed it manager 's challenge to retain them by motivating them to "work with passion, energy, and enthusiasm." (p.12) By reading over the exit surveys he assumed as many that low pay was a main reason for people leaving, but was shocked when it was in fact 5th. The top four are strikingly similar to the slide we studied in class on "What Associates Want from Their Job" in wanting appreciation, ability to make impact, not being listened to, and more responsibility. This helped him understand his crew better and try to "see the ship through the eyes of the crew." (p.13) He encouraged his crew to challenge the way in which they carried out their jobs by asking, "Is there a better way to do what you do?" If so, then he wanted them to take the responsibility one their own to implement the change, unless it involved major implications.

As a Marine I have been trained to accomplish the mission; that has always been the hallmark for Marines. From the yellow footprints at boot camp, to becoming a senior leader; mission accomplishment has always been the single most important thing early on. But as I matured and came across some good leaders, I was enlightened. I then learned that the commander’s intent, the purpose, was more important than all of the tasks assigned. The situation will always change; but understanding the commander’s intent will allow you to adjust in order to ultimately achieve his or her end-state. Sometimes it is easy to lose focus on what’s important throughout a long successful carrier; you start to chase achievements instead of doing your job. I was

Like many young sailor coming out of boot camp, when I heard the words talk to “THE CHIEF” I had that picture in my head of that mean scruffy old sailor that drinks at least four cups of coffee and spent an ridiculous amount of time thinking of new ways to make junior sailor’s lives miserable. How ever throughout my career I realized that a chief is more than that. They are mentors, teachers, a shoulder to cry on and for some a father figure I met many Chiefs throughout my Naval career, some good and some bad. Many of them had a positive impact on my Naval. But there was one individual who took the time to mold and mentor not just as a junior sailor but also as a man and made the word “CHIEF” take on an entirely different meaning.

Before discharge, I was told by my Commander that I was one of the best leaders he had ever seen. He told me that he could tell I was a true leader and that my dedication would get me far in life. I would say that basic training was a walk in the park, however, it was not. Being around many leaders, I had to learn to step back and allow myself to accept help, even if it did not always make sense. It was during this time that I learned working as a team can get you further, if you are willing to support each other. Basic training also exemplified what true leadership looked like. Although my dream of being in the Coast Guard did not work out, I was able to persevere over my health and get back to my other leadership roles. I took every lesson I learned while in Basic Training; I applied the values, the dedication, and the leadership techniques that I had learned during those 12 weeks to my leadership

We use the words “honor, courage, commitment” to define the core values of every sailor in the United States Navy. We recite them when we say the sailor’s creed, and we do our best to adhere to their meaning. However, as with all maxims, they lose the nuances of their meaning over time. It took me many years to fully grasp these nuances, and how they apply to being a leader. It is this understanding of our core values, how they apply to being a leader and my experience as a Petty Officer in the Navy that allow me to excel as a candidate for officer.

We all have the opportunity to learn from all manners of leadership. The good leaders and the bad leaders will have an effect on our styles leadership styles and how we choose to engage with the people we meet. I have learned just as much from those some would consider being a “bad” leader as much as I have learned from the “good”, and based my practice on those experiences. Leadership will always mean that you are willing to learn from all your experiences and apply them into practices that enhance your Navy and your Sailors. There is no lesson too big or too small that cannot assist in your daily assessments and influence the leaders you follow and mold the future leaders of the Navy.

In the U.S. Coast Guard it is required to report to new units every two to five years based on your rate and location. This allows the service and its members the ability to diversify in areas such as gaining new knowledge and leadership techniques. Reporting to a new unit serves as an opportunity to display such techniques and knowledge learned previously. Issues that arise when reporting to a new unit differ in many aspects: unqualified crew, rigorous watch hours extended, and lack of quality training. However; each issue can be solved by utilizing steps from “The Five Steps of Exemplary Leadership” as learned in Chief Petty Officers Academy. The Five Steps of Exemplary Leadership are: Modeling the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Challenging the Process, Enabling Others to Act, and Encouraging the Heart (John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 2017). Each has two commitments that should be met to allow behaviors to be exposed.

Three main people have provided inspiration in my quest towards sharpening my individual leadership skills. While at my first duty station, our Engineering Petty Officer (MK1) stood apart from the crowd by taking the time to show myself care and compassion in a sea of other influences that seemed bent on leading by positional authority, intimidation, and antagonism. My personality and temperament flourished under his leadership. I filed his approach in the back of mind for future reference in dealing with junior members of our organization. There will never be a shortage of leaders that are aggressive, outspoken, and brash. Not everyone responds to the same styles of leadership so my approach has generally leaned towards one of a more sympathetic and empathetic nature.

As I reflect back, I recognize my definition of leadership in my mentors and supervisors. A short list of the mentors I revered include: CWO4 Kenneth Hawko, MSTCM Judd Reno, Commander John Humpage, Rear Admiral Joanna Nunan, and BMC Mike Hunt. Their leadership naturally flowed from their personalities. I viewed these men and woman as my leaders and their attitudes is what made me choose to follow them.

One of my first experiences in the Coast Guard was a question that went out to the whole company, “Why do you want to be in the Coast Guard?” Naturally my response was that I wanted to help people. Little did I know at the time, that as I progressed through my career, so too would the focus of my desire to help shift to the people placed under my charge. Starting out I didn’t place much thought into leadership. Luckily, I have had the privilege to serve with several people that have demonstrated exceptional leadership throughout my career. Jeff Dorwart, John Lorentz, Marvin Wells, etc., the list goes on. All of whom have imparted some of their leadership wisdom upon me, either through demonstration or conversation. Leadership to me is the ability to influence others in the pursuit of a shared vision or goal, regardless of whether it is yours or one you yourself have been influenced to follow.

The non-Coast Guard leader who has directly influenced me the most is perhaps my college wrestling coach, John Hangey. After barely graduating high school, quitting the high school wrestling team, and serving for seven years in the Coast Guard, I somehow found myself on a Division I college wrestling team. The process getting there wasn’t easy, but this was my penance and being successful was of deep personal importance. I shared this with John and he took me under his wing. His leadership skills are easily apparent, confident, hard working, head strong, wide reaching yet personable. He is someone who can talk to and relate to both young athletes and university executives with refreshing candor. His larger-than-life personality is never overbearing, yet dually keeps you on your toes and instills confidence. Words simply cannot convey the full strength of his personality, only experiencing it in person can one fully understand.