Selfishness, overblown sense of worth, and indecisiveness are certain traits that seem to appear more frequently in today’s leadership due to an ineffectual advancement process. The Navy’s advancement process consist of a standardized test, Navy wide rating quotas, and evaluations which may or may not accurately reflect the person’s being. Certain aspects of these rolls and processes need to be changed to more accurately reflect those qualities that are required to be an effective leader in today’s Navy.
One aspect of the advancement process that should be changed is the evaluation program. Navy evaluations are based on several characteristics such as job performance, collateral duties, college courses taken, plus several other items. I want to focus on one specific aspect of this process, the collateral duties. These duties are secondary duties that an individual would volunteer for or would be told to do. The collateral duties can range from being a divisional mail clerk to the command ESWS coordinator. For a lot of people, these duties usually interfere with a person’s primary job, which results in work being handed down to a less fortunate individual. Sometimes these jobs require a person to dedicate up to fifty percent of their day to complete these tasks. Furthermore the process of fulfilling these duties can adversely affect a person’s ability to dedicate time and energy to learn and perfect their primary job. Some people receive better evaluations because they have more collateral duties than another sailor. Does having more of something mean they are better prepared to be a leader? This is one bullet on the evaluation form that needs to be part of the process change.
Along with the collateral duties, anoth...
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...age because the test could be primarily made up of questions from either field of work, hence, putting them at an extreme disadvantage if those questions aren’t from their field.
In conclusion, the ability for sailors to better their career has been taken out of their hands, and relies too much on external entities. Advancement is not based on one’s abilities to excel at his or her job, but by hoping they earn more money for the commands Navy Day Ball, they must have faith that the standardized test will cover their job field, and that the writing ability of their superiors is good enough to keep them competitive. Once these aspects under the advancement criteria are changed, the navy as a whole will start seeing more effective leaders who understands their jobs, understand their people, and more closely reflect the ideals and traits required in today’s leaders.
...hought it was interesting learning the various ways people had fought out in the sea, including the ways the young officers would eventually end up becoming the only Five-Star Fleet Admirals. In the book The Admirals the officers (Nimetz, King, Halsey, Leahy) prove that men should not be ranked on their skills or technology alone, but on both areas in a synchronized manner to overcome obstacles and rise above all other elements that stand in the way. The ships that the men grew fond of had become an inspiration to keep moving forward and succeed when it came to the battlefield. This thought would later become the thought that America has adopted to move forward when it comes to technology and build upon what has been learned. Anything from the structure of sea vessels to the artillery it carried did not only aid in war, but it aided in a country that could progress.
“Military leadership qualities are formed in a progressive and sequential series of carefully planned training, educational, and experiential events—far more time-consuming and expensive than similar training in industry or government. Secondly, military leaders tend to hold high levels of responsibility and authority at low levels of our organizations. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, military leadership is based on a concept of duty, service, and self-sacrifice; we take an oath to that effect.”
On a warm San Diego night in May of 1988, not smart enough to know whether I should be scared or excited, I embarked on my military career standing atop yellow footprints neatly painted on the asphalt. As an eighteen year-old kid entering recruit training, the finer points of leadership, at any level, had not yet piqued my curiosity. The drill instructors who supervised my training placed far different leadership expectations on me than what I will face as a colonel in the Air Force. Having learned a lot, good and bad, along the way, I realize that I must adapt to make good decisions and effectively lead at the senior level. Dr. Gene Kamena’s Right to Lead Assessment Model (RLAM) provides a handy, visual means to think about leadership, and assess how one can grow as a leader. Using the RLAM, I can concentrate xxxxxx My current leadership skills and abilities have enabled me to thrive at the tactical and operational level; however, in order to succeed
The NJROTC, or Naval Junior Recruit Officer Training Corpse, is built not only to teach high school students about the navy but also allows student to become our great leaders of the future. In NJROTC cadets are asked to live up to very high standards because those students in NJROTC are thought of as the best of the best and are at that school to represent the military way of life. In this program I have learned three traits that will help me better myself not only in the future but in the day I live today. These traits that I speak of are discipline, punctuality, and respect. If not for NJROTC I would have not been as great a person and would have little or no direction in my life.
We cannot possess the courage to be unselfish, be decisive, and be tactful without knowledge, we cannot give loyalty without enthusiasm and endurance, and there is no integrity without courage. Equal devotion to the development of each trait is essential if our ambition is to successfully lead Marines. But, could this same uniqueness require staff noncommissioned officers to utilize fewer of the leadership traits more intensely?
Commanders are given their positions because they have demonstrated their ability to execute sound judgment. Judgment is the key factor when committing to actions that could be either favorable or disastrous, or anything in between. Moral decision making, however, takes more than sound judgment when complex problems with undiscernible outcomes arise. When developing leaders to understand decision making in high-stress or combat situations, a thorough understanding of moral judgment is warranted. Case studies provide leaders with valuable tools to stimulate thinking and challenge subordinates. When evaluating the decision the commander of the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) has to make, understanding the difference between moral dilemmas and
There are many things that have impacted my life in a positive way as a result of my military service. For starters, joining the Navy was huge. It got me organized and opened my eyes to an entirely new world, and not just the military service world. The variety of experiences that I’ve had in the service interacting with people from all over the world has helped me grow as a person. However, from the day I entered service, one item or one rank in the structure of the Navy struck me as critical to the operation of the Navy. That item or rank was the position of the Chief Petty Officer. As I entered service I quickly discovered that the Chief was the go to guy and the old saying “ask a chief” had a profound meaning. The Chief was a leader, mentor, and an expert in just about everything, all qualities that I lacked at the time. Then, twelve or so years later, the life changing event for me of being selected as a Chief Petty Officer in the US Navy came to fruition.
In any discussion of leadership, thoughts immediately begin to turn to examples of leadership gone wrong. These may include leaders who bully, threaten, or allow their mood to affect the environment of the agency (Reed, 2004, p. 67). The reason we focus upon these examples is the destructive impact they have upon the agency as a whole, as well as the individual officers unfortunate enough to serve under that type of leader. Leaders such as these foster an environment of backbiting and belittling as a method of control, resulting in an untenable environment for those officers who choose not to engage in such behavior and, as often as not, promotion of those that do. This kind of management gives way to:
Captain Aubrey exhibits and demonstrates leadership characteristics that inspire his crew to be the best that they can be. One of the most important leadership traits that Captain Jack has is a single-minded focus on his purpose. All of his decisions are held up against the g...
As being a military officer, society will expect a great deal from us. We have professional standards that ever...
As a Marine, it is imperative to have leadership skills along with being capable of working with others. This book was written to enhance the reader’s mentality of how the Marines operate. It informs those who are looking into the service, and provides an in depth look into the trials and tribulations it has been through—as well as conquered. This book substantially explains the vigorous training platoon 3086 went through in order to earn the title of being a Marine.
As NCO’s we sometimes become complacent in our positions and our routines. Accepting challenges is what sets us apart and continues to ensure that we grow as Soldiers, Leaders, and Non-Commissioned Officers. The Sergeant Audie Murphy Club induction process is rigorous, and because of the rigorous amount of preparation that it takes to earn it, I will become a more knowledgeable NCO, while also allowing room to realize what my weaknesses are in order to improve in those areas. This learning and self-refining assessment will ultimately help me become a better NCO for my Soldiers. I aspire to become a member of the Sergeant Audie Murphy Club for
As our forefathers before us stated, ‘‘No one is more professional than I. I am a Noncommissioned Officer, a leader of soldiers. As a Noncommissioned Officer, I realize that I am a member of a time honored corps, which is known as “The Backbone of the Army (“The NCO Creed writing by SFC Earle Brigham and Jimmie Jakes Sr”). These words to Noncommissioned Officer should inspire us to the fullest with pride, honor, and integrity. The NCO creed should mean much more than just words whenever we attend a NCO’s school. For most of us this is what our creed has become because we learn to narrate or recite. The military from the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard has an overabundance of NCOs who fall under their pay grade of E-5, E-6 and etc. Yet somehow there still not enough leaders. I believe that the largest problem afflicting the military today is our lack of competent leaders, ineffective leader development, and how we influence our subordinates under us who are becoming leaders.
The history of Lieutenant General Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller is not well known outside of the U.S. Marine Corps, but as the most decorated marine in history his legend will live on and continue to inspire the marines of tomorrow. The enlisted corps has idolized him, frequently encouraging one another to do that last push up when motivated by fellow marines saying “Do one for Chesty!” The purpose of this essay is to demonstrate that Chesty, using current day leadership theories, was a visionary and ethical leader who exemplified the characteristics that our nation’s military needed during World War II and still needs today. I will explain how he embodied some principles of Full Range Leadership Development that are taught today. Then I will describe how he demonstrated his ethical leadership through combat actions when faced with general military ethics situations. Finally, I will examine how my own leadership abilities, though noncombat focused, compare to how Chesty led his marines. Let’s begin by exploring the visionary leadership that Lt Gen Puller exhibited.
Abrashoff begins the book by informing the reader of how his story begins; when he is given command of the USS Benfold. The Benfold was the Navy’s most advanced guided missile destroyer the Navy had in 1997 and its command was to be one of the Navy’s top innovators. Unfortunately, Abrashoff points out some flaws with the Navy’s personnel management that I found to be shocking. First, was that “nearly 35 percent of the people who joined the military annually, wouldn’t complete their enlistment contracts.” (p.2) Such turnover can be understood by many business managers in the service industry, but unlike the quick and cheap training process for them, the cost for the military (taxpayers) is astounding. Abrashoff estimates that it cost roughly “$35,000 to recruit a trainee and tens of thousands more in additional training costs to get new personnel to the basic level of proficiency.” (p.2) Curbing this trend on his own ship and eventually helping to achieve a decrease overall in the mil...