Coast Guard's Leadership Influences In My Career

According to the Coast Guard’s Leadership Development Framework, leadership is the ability to influence others to obtain their obedience, respect, confidence, and loyal cooperation. I believe that leadership is simply guiding others to succeed. When I think of leadership influences during my career I think of one excellent example, and one example of what I never wanted to be. The first influence was the guidance I was given when I started on Active Duty after September 11th, 2001. My job was to administratively support about 25 Reservists who were called up on Title 10 orders at MSU Wilmington. I had no experience and had only been in the Coast Guard a few years. The Warrant Officer at MSU Wilmington was the best mentor I could have ever asked for. She was tough, consistent, and the most knowledgeable yeoman I had ever been around. She never gave me answers, but made me think and research. She challenged me in so many ways. I cared deeply about the customer service and care my Reservists received. Now when I see those guys they often remark about how I took care of them and helped them, but it is all because of the Warrant who empowered me. The negative
example that had a huge effect on me was an active duty First Class Yeoman at my first unit. I had a Master’s Degree and was eager to learn everything I could. I was so excited about my role in the Coast Guard and ready to give back to my country. This yeoman had me punching holes in Leave and Earning Statements and filing in PDRs. I did this one weekend a month for an entire year. I knew then that I would be a different kind of leader.
When I advanced to Chief I knew that I could do anything I put my mind to. I had watched Chiefs (like MSTCM Williams) make things happen. I exceled at the CPO Academy and gained confidence. I applied to be a Senior Enlisted Reserve Advisor at a station and was selected as one of the first non- BM or MK SERAs ever selected in the CG Reserve. I completed two weeks of boarding team member training and used the Chief’s network to find out everything I could about small boats. I read and studied about boat crew, coxswain and engineering requirements. I learned about currency cycles and hours, and how to run various reports. Then I combined that with what I already knew – how to take care of my people.
The LPI/360 feedback was amazing. I was honored to see what others thought about my leadership, and only wished that I had done an assessment like this earlier. I was also glad to see how I can improve on three behaviors. The first is that I need to experiment and take risks, even when there is a chance of failure. The second behavior is to give my crew freedom and choice in deciding how to do their work, and the third is to challenge my people to try out new and innovative ways to do their work. All three of these behaviors are related to challenging, taking risks and giving my crew choices in how they do their jobs. When I return, I will begin by asking some of my SELC classmates and fellow SERAs how they look outward to innovate and take risks in the station environment. I will meet with my two Chiefs and lead Petty Officers and explain what I am trying to improve, get their ideas, and together create a plan to implement. I will also challenge my crew to come up with better ways of doing things and reward their initiative.
There are many things that are important to me, however I have five main personal values.
The first is family – my family is everything to me. They support me and make my life worth living. The second is dependability – I know that people can depend on me and I expect the same of others. My third main value is honesty / integrity – without this there is nothing. We must do the right thing, even when people aren’t watching. Fourth is teamwork – doing things on our own is sometimes easier, but “together everyone achieves more!” Finally, effectiveness is important to me. Although focusing on success seems selfish, effectiveness can be in all you do- how you work on your relationship with your spouse, kids and family; how you treat others, how you worship your Lord, or how your treat your
coworkers.
As a retired teacher, I find my leadership philosophy to be simple: I am here to guide others to succeed, serve those I work for, and find solutions to problems. I am passionate about my people and my Coast Guard mission. I never want to stop learning or helping others!