Leadership Vs Coast Guard

I define leadership as providing a team with vision and guidance in the execution of a mission or task. Serving as the Officer in Charge of a Coast Guard Station I have developed a Command Philosophy to communicate my intent and methodology to my crew. My hope is that my philosophy allows the team to better understand the priorities and direction that will govern my tenure as Officer in Charge. I have stated the core of my command philosophy is, “Build the Team, Meet the Mission.” An examination of this philosophy and my leadership in practice will identify strengths and weaknesses and lead to a better unit both in terms of effectiveness and morale.

Leadership can be defined in many different facets. To me the definition of leadership is, “Displaying the ability to inspire and empower others through the example of one’s own self actions”. Too many times we hear, “Do what I say”, instead of, “Do what I do.” A successful leader’s actions speak louder than words ever will. My first day in the Coast Guard following boot camp graduation, I experienced firsthand on how a leader should not act nor conduct themselves. Though alcohol was the main contributing factor on what occurred that evening, looking back, it was more of the lack of maintaining our core values that ultimately resulted in that Chief losing the title as Chief of the boat and being forced to retire.. That moment left a negative impression on me and it took a horrific car accident that landed me in the office of whom I consider as my most influential leader I have had in my career. Master Chief Richard Wolfe was someone that led by example. He helped broaden my vision and let me see my own potential. He always inspired me to not only better myself, but ensured that I challenged myself to learn something new each day. He would often say, “Challenges are just opportunities in disguise”, and it wasn’t until I advanced to Chief Petty Officer to truly understand what he meant. Far too often we get caught up in the present instead of focusing what is on the horizon and that is how complacency becomes the new norm.

Leadership can be defined in many different facets. To me the definition of leadership is, “Displaying the ability to inspire and empower others through the example of one’s own self actions”. Too many times we hear, “Do what I say”, instead of, “Do what I do.” A successful leader’s actions speak louder than words ever will. My first day in the Coast Guard following boot camp graduation, I experienced firsthand on how a leader should not act nor conduct themselves. Though alcohol was the main contributing factor on what occurred that evening, looking back, it was more of the lack of maintaining our core values that ultimately resulted in that Chief losing the title as Chief of the boat and being forced to retire.. That moment

“Leadership is the lifting of a man’s vision to higher sights, the raising of a man’s performance to a higher standard, the building of a man’s personality beyond its normal limitations.” - Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices. Leadership is shown through actions, and the actions of Shackleton, leader of the Antarctic expedition, were always selfless. He showed his crew how to stay strong and preserver, Shackleton’s leadership influenced his men to work hard and respect one another.

This is my personal presentation of my leadership philosophy that spans my 22 plus years of Coast Guard service. I’ve never precisely thought of who my leadership influences would be, I never felt like I could live up to the transformational leadership figures like George Washington and other notable history figures. I’ve had allot of disappointments in my life, maybe someone I did look up to in a leadership capacity that turned into a disappointment. Then again, no one is perfect so maybe my rationalization of no perfection has caused me not to have a specific leadership influence. As allot of experienced Coast Guard members know, we learn valuable lessons about raw leadership over time, with certain experiences, trials, tribulations, and the like. We all form assumptions and generic wisdom which we believe works well with those below us in the chain of command, and those above us. My opinion is that leadership encompasses everyone around us from CO-workers, to family, to people we interact with in public. I believe that true influence is a 24-hour, 7 days per week life undertaking that people that are thrust into certain positions in the Coast Guard start to assume over a long period of time. A vast number of leaders throughout military and U.S. History have inwardly reflected the subject of leadership, many have written extensively regarding their personal style, or the style of other historical figures they have looked to for an example. I feel like I am a simple person

There is no one-size-fits all definition when it comes to leadership. Some individuals define leadership as solely guiding others to complete a task. While others, including myself, believe leadership is defined as “motivating yourself to be the best so that you can one day motivate the members of your own team.” For me, leadership is being bold enough to have a vision and humble enough to recognize that achieving that vision requires much effort. A leader translates vision into reality, by stepping out of their comfort zone and taking risks. I believe I took the initiative to translate the vision of the founders of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., which --- and of the current members who pour their hearts and

The Army’s definition of leadership is influencing people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation, while operating to accomplish the mission and improve the organization (Army, 2012). As a young Sergeant in the United States Army, I thought I was being a good leader by being an effective manager. I was determined to lead Soldiers and accomplish my organizations’ mission. As I gained more experience and attained the rank of Staff Sergeant, I realized that I was managing instead of leading. Leadership is not synonymous with management. Leadership goes beyond the allocation of personnel and resources to accomplish the organization’s goals. Leadership involves change, from being an individual performer to being an influencer. An effective leader has the ability to unite personnel behind the organization’s mission by examining individual motivations to promote success. Providing purpose and direction instills ownership in the success of the organization. A leader is also effective in building team culture. Yet, a leader cannot accomplish the above with establishing her/her own leadership philosophy grounded their individual values,

My definition of leadership is to possess the skills to provide transparent communication, the aptitude to ask for help and the emotional intelligence to have empathy for others. While I was in the Marine Corps, I got to experience how ineffective and problematic leadership that operates vertically. The type of leadership that I am accustomed too is more focused on the mission and has no problem expressing how easily replaceable you are to the organization. I believe that leadership should operate horizontally, focusing collectivism. I really resonated with John Chamber’s leadership style. He is a leader that realizes that each individual is vital to the success of the organization and he goes out of his way to ensure his followers know that.

Leadership is defined in many different ways by many different academics and professionals. A few words that resonate with the meaning include management, control, guidance, headship, direction and governance. My basic definition for the word describes it as a technique used to manage and guide individuals or groups of individuals in a specific direction to achieve a common goal. However this is a bit too basic for my liking. While conducting the research for this manifesto I found two definitions that I thought were more interesting and quite charming. Tom Landry defines leadership as “getting someone to do what they don’t want to do, to achieve what they want to achieve” (Murphy, 2010). Alternatively Otto Scharmer stated, “at its core, leadership is about shaping and shifting how individuals and groups attend and subsequently respond to a situation” (Scharmer, 2007).

Unfortunately, there is no universal definition of leadership because of its complexity and the fact that leadership is studied in many ways which often need a definition to fit the situation in which it is being studied. (Lussier, Achua, 2010). My own venture into the leadership arena began in the early 80’s when, as a Petty Officer Second Class (E-5) I was assigned to the USS Trenton LPD-14 in a division of 21 personnel. As an Operations Specialist I worked in the Combat Information Center or CIC for short. The CIC housed the ships main radar equipment and communications gear. I supervised a watch section and was not the leading petty officer or LPO until I returned from leave (vacation) in early 1983 and as the senior petty officer in the division I became the

I have long observed many leaders in my time since enlisting in the Coast Guard from an early age. I have seen the good leadership styles and the bad. Each observation is equally important as it helped build my foundation and principles for which I choose to lead. Leadership to me is the simple fact of establishing guiding principles for others to follow. If done correctly each individual that is affected by my leadership should have a positive experience. I have had many great leaders in my career that have had a great influence on me.

Taking this course and reading most of the book from Peter G. Northouse as well as listening to the lectures and videos that have been throughout, I have learned that there are many different aspects of leadership and there are many different definitions and aspects that can change those definitions. According to Seeman (1960), “leadership is acts by persons which influence other persons in a shared direction” (p. 3). This is the definition that I have been following my whole life. Wherever I go I thought that whatever you do as long as you have followers who tend to follow the same direction that makes you a leader. I never thought of the actions being right or wrong or the followers going down their own path I was simply stuck on this definition. After reading the book and learning there was more to that definition I was able to come up with a definition of leadership that I have been living by since this past spring and it has elevated my leadership skills to a great height. I think that leadership has three components: to listen, to inspire and to empower. Since becoming a president of an organization here at Florida State University those three things have made being a President so much easier. I have learned a lot from others just by simply listening to what they say rather than being focused only on my needs. It has caused me to learn from others and really understand people’s point of view. Being an inspiration is important. As a leader you want the people that

. I always assumed that leadership was more on how you managed people. If I accomplished the day’s tasking successfully, I led my people properly. After making Chief Petty Officer (CPO) in 2010, I started to see that leading was not managing and vice versa. As a CPO, it was not just about “me” but more about those under me. Eventually when I advanced to Senior Chief Petty Officer (SCPO), things finally clicked on what leadership meant. I also started to realize what kind of leader I was and how I wanted to lead. Now after almost 21 years of active duty service, I can confidently state that leadership is about people and taking care of those people. It is not selfless and you must practice what you preach. If you lead by example and inspire those who follow but at the same time not have fears of following others, you will become an excellent leader. My best example of a leader who inspired me in my career was a man named Pat DeQuattro and who at the time was an LCDR. Of course now he is a Rear Admiral and I honestly feel he could be one of our next Commandants in the future. Admiral DeQuattro was my TACLET CO and the way he inspired me was by leading by example. Specifically I remember that he was the only CO that would deploy with a team and conduct boarding’s. I’ll never forget seeing him in coveralls and conducting an intrusive search for contraband alongside me and my teammates. For me this stated that he did not feel he was better than us and he was not going to ask us

Leadership is the measure of one’s ability to influence others to work to achieve a goal. I say that it is the measure of one’s ability because, a leader will always be judged and when described, will normally have an adjective prior to the word leader. Some examples are: He was a good leader or He was a horrible leader and could not lead ants to a cookie crumb. Influencing people is the primary purpose of a leader. To influence people, one must realize that every person is different and has their own motivating factors. In order to know what a person’s motivating factors are, a leader must know his people. Though, in this course it is said that the Coast Guard has leaders and managers, I would argue that to be a leader in the Coast Guard, one must also be a manager. A good leader could lead a group of people right off of a cliff, but should be able to manage the situation, circumstances and resources, so as not to lead his/her people off of the proverbial cliff. This can be seen in Leading Chiefs that do not manage their personnel allowance list (PAL), leading their unit into a very unnecessarily difficult transfer season.

I have learned and heard of several different definitions of leadership during my time in this class. First, during our group meeting with Chancellor Jack Hawkins he defined leadership as “the management of hope.” Next, when I was preparing my two-minute speech I found a definition by Dr. Ben Carson that I enjoyed. He said this, “I think one of the keys to leadership is recognizing that everybody has gifts and talents. A good leader will learn how to harness those gifts toward the same goal.” I especially like this quote because it focuses on the gifts and talents of others, not on the leader, all the leader does is help guide and direct those with the special gifts and talents to the greater goal of success. Third, the definition of