My Leadership Philosophy

1. Leadership is defined by several principles of knowledge, applied knowledge and results. Oxford Dictionary defined leadership simply as, “the action of leading a group of people or an organization”. The Coast Guard sets a great store on the concept and application of leadership skills and practices. The service begins training the enlisted workforce leadership skills at the most basic level in boot camp, with primary focus on followership, team building and effective communications; all of which are elements of leadership. We place such a store on leadership the Coast Guard created the Leadership Development Center (LDC) with a primary focus on training leadership to the enlisted and officer workforce. The LDC created the enlisted leadership
Another basis of leadership are clear expectations or the “require” element of my leadership philosophy. Utilizing effective communication principles, we must ensure we clearly articulate expectations of those we lead. Expectations begin utilizing our Core Values as the bedrock principle and discussing how to apply those values in the environment we work. Respect is a clearly defined value I consistently stress of those I lead. I promise them respect and require the same from them. Not only as far as the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) has demanded it but also as human beings. That is a clear example of a professional vice personal power base; of which both are necessary to lead. An ongoing example of the requirement piece of my leadership philosophy is that if we don’t clearly outline our expectations, those we lead will be at a disadvantage in achieving the mission. A wise Master Chief once told me his leadership philosophy was simple, “decide; delegate; disappear”. As I pondered this quick and succinct philosophy I was impressed by its simple approach. No long definitions, no flowery words, and just succinct principles he followed. The alliteration element, whether planned or not, was genius as it commits easily to memory. Some would argue that is an unsupportive approach to leadership, but I would argue that the support element is achieved by making a clear decision, booking no confusion, delegating by clearly articulating the required action and
Creating an inspired workforce is comparative to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs chart level of “self actualization”. In Maslow’s chart, one must first have the basic necessities of life met in order to reach a person’s highest level of self actualization. His theory maintains that if a person’s physiological, safety, love/belonging and esteem needs aren’t met, they can’t move into the higher bracket of self-actualization. While my leadership philosophy of reflecting, requiring and inspiring isn’t all encompassing, I base it on the same basic principles as Maslow. When we lead a person, team, office or work force, we must meet certain criticalities before we can achieve inspired leadership. Anyone can lead from their professional power base, the UCMJ fully outlines the parameters and we must render obedience to all lawful orders issued. Power base leadership requires compliance. The real challenge comes when developing leadership skills from your personal power base. A strong and effective personal power base is when we shift from requiring compliance to inspire commitment. It can be a tricky balance point and requires flexibility from the leader to sense how to shift from one element to the other, but the rewards for striking that balance are significant. When a person is committed to something, they have personal buy in, they are dedicated in a way you can’t force upon someone. There is a saying, “you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink” which