Some Final Thoughts from Dr. Stephen R. Covey

Stephen Richards Covey was an American educator, author, businessman and motivational speaker.  His most popular book was “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,” which was written to help individuals discover how they can be more effective by making conscious decisions as to how they will respond, act, and think.

On July 16, 2012, we lost this pioneer in leadership development.  Dr. Covey died at the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls, Idaho, due to complications from a fall, having lost control of his bicycle in April.  He will be missed my many people here in the United States, and around the World.

Earlier this year, I posted, Good to Great (A Submariner’s Profile in Empowerment), a profile about Captain David Marquet, former Commanding Officer of the USS Santa Fe.  In that post, I mentioned Dr. Covey’s ride on that submarine, and that he discussed one of Captain Marquet’s leadership practices in his book, The 8th Habit.  More recently, upon his death, I posted a guest post by David Marquet to commemorate and honor the man entitled, In Memory of Dr. Stephen R. Covey (1932 – 2012).  That post was an impassioned reflection by Captain Marquet on how Dr. Covey impacted his life.  In that post, David wrote directly to the spirit of Dr. Covey writing, “Stephen, thank you for your influence, clear thinking, and enthusiasm for life. We will miss you.”

Dr. Covey’s ride on the USS Santa Fe had made an enormous impression on him.  As I said earlier, he wrote a few pages in his book, The 8th Habit, but that wouldn’t be the last time Dr. Covey would express his thoughts about that day on the Santa Fe.  Three weeks before his bicycle accident, Dr. Covey sent David Marquet a written draft that would soon become the Foreword to David’s book, “Turn The Ship Around! How To Create Leadership at Every level.”  With the release of David’s book on August 1, this piece would become one of the last public writings Dr. Covey would pen.  With David’s permission, I am posting the Foreword here.  Along with David’s gracious permission to reprint these words, David offered the following:

I thank Stephen for all his support of our project.  It’s no doubt, due to his influence, that the book has started out as the #1 new release in leadership.  I’m sorry he’s not here to see that.

 

L. David Marquet

Author, “Turn The Ship Around! How To Create Leadership at Every Level”

 

I present to you Some Final Thoughts from Dr. Stephen R. Covey; the foreword to Turn the Ship Around! -

Foreword

by Dr. Stephen R. Covey

I had the opportunity to ride the USS Santa Fe during Captain Marquet’s command tour and observed firsthand the impact of his leadership approach. It had a profound impact on what I thought possible in terms of empowered and engaged workplaces.

I had been training U.S. Navy officers in leadership during the dot.com era, when I started hearing about something really special happening on a submarine in Hawaii. When an opportunity arose to ride the USS Santa Fe I jumped at. I embarked on Captain Marquet’s submarine to see what the buzz was about. Never before had I observed such empowerment. We stood on the bridge of this multibillion-dollar nuclear submarine in the crystal clear waters off of Lahaina, Maui, moving silently along the surface of the water. Shortly after getting underway, a young officer approached the captain and said, “Sir, I intend to take this ship down 400 feet.” Captain Marquet asked about the sonar contacts and bottom depth and then instructed this young man to give us another few minutes on the bridge before carrying out his intention.

Throughout the day, people approached the captain intending to do this or do that. The captain would sometimes ask a question or two, and then say, “Very well.” He reserved only the tip of the iceberg type decisions for his own confirmation. The great mass of the iceberg – the other 95 percent of the decisions – were being made without any involvement or confirmation by the captain whatsoever. Wherever I went on the submarine, the control room, the torpedo room, even the galley where they were preparing lunch, I witnessed a dispersed intensity of operations I hadn’t expected. The crew was amazingly involved and there was a constant low-level chatter of sharing information.

I can’t say I actually saw the captain give an order.

I asked David how he achieved this turnabout. He said he wanted to empower his people as far as he possibly could within the Navy’s confines, and maybe a little bit more. There was a mischievous twinkle in his eye when he told me that. He felt if he required them to own the problem and the solution to it, they would begin to view themselves as a vitally important link in the chain of command. He created a culture where those sailors had a real sense of adding value. But that answer only makes clear his objective, not what it actually takes – from the top man in the organization and everyone else – to accomplish this.

How do you create such an organization? What does it take?

The answer is in this book.

WHAT I LOVE ABOUT THIS BOOK

First of all, this is a great story, one of self-discovery, tension, and the lonely self-doubts of the leader who sets off on an unknown path. We know now that Captain Marquet’s experiment on Santa Fe was wildly successful, but at the time, neither he nor the courageous crew who embraced this new way of running an organization, knew if it would work.

Second, the book provides the specific mechanisms they used on Santa Fe to achieve the transformation. We learn what they did, how the crew reacted – good or bad – and how the mechanisms matured with time. The good news is that these mechanisms are about how we interact as people, and are universally applicable. You can apply them in your organization – business, school, government, and family.

Third, the book presents a comprehensive paradigm shift for how we think about leadership. Captain Marquet has coined the phrase “leader-leader” to differentiate from the leader-follower approach traditional leadership models have espoused. I think that laying out this distinction in such opposing terms is a good idea. Having personally witnessed how Santa Fe operated, I can attest that this new way is not a nuanced modification of how we are doing business now – it is fundamentally different, and that is where its power lies.

WHY YOU WANT TO READ THIS BOOK

No matter where you are in your company’s organization chart, you’ll want to read this book. People at the top will learn how they can release the passion, intellect, and energy of those below them. They may be unwittingly behaving and taking actions that work against those goals.

People on the front lines will also find ways to embrace decision-making and make it easier for bosses to let go of control.

We are in the middle in one of the most profound shifts in human history, where the primary work of mankind is moving from the Industrial Age of “control” to the Knowledge Worker Age of “release.” As Albert Einstein said, “The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.” They certainly won’t be solved by one person, even and especially the one “at the top.”

Our world’s bright future will be built by people who have discovered that leadership is the enabling art. It is the art of releasing human talent and potential. You may be able to “buy” a person’s back with a paycheck, position power, or fear, but a human being’s genius, passion, loyalty and tenacious creativity is volunteered only. The world’s greatest problems will be solved by passionate, unleashed “volunteers.”

My definition of leadership is this: Leadership is communicating to people their worth and potential so clearly that they are inspired to see it in themselves. I don’t know of a finer model of this kind of empowering leadership than Captain Marquet. And in the pages that follow you will find a model for your pathway

Remember, leadership is a choice, not a position. I wish you well on your voyage!

– Stephen R. Covey, Spring 2012

 

*Reprinted with permission from “Turn The Ship Around!: How to Create Leadership at Every Level”, by L. David Marquet, 2012, Greenleaf Book Group Press, Austin, Texas. Copyright © 2012 by Louis David Marquet.

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Related Articles -

What I Learned from Stephen Covey: Begin with the End in Mind (posted 18 July 2012) (leader-leader.com/blog)

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A New Method of Resupplying ~ Putting “I intend to…” into Action

Another excerpt from “Turn The Ship Around! How to Create Leadership at Every Level“, By L. David Marquet, Captain, U.S. Navy (retired), published by Greenleaf Book Group LLC, released today, August 1, 2012:

For context, read the post, ”I intend to…,“ before reading this excerpt.

Chapter 28

“A New Method of Resupplying”

Santa Fe was operating in the Strait of Hormuz and we were running low on oil.  I was “thinking out loud” (one of our mechanisms) with the Engineer in the control room when a solution came from an unexpected place: the newest officer on board.  After listening to a discussion about our need for more oil, Ensign Aviles chimed in. He was manning the periscope and was looking at the contacts around us.  “Hey, that’s a fast-resupply ship. Why don’t we just ask them for some oil?”  I looked at the periscope display and, sure enough, the USS Rainier is transiting through the Strait of Hormuz several miles away.  The Rainier was a supply ship designed to support a carrier battle group.  She carried 2 million gallons of diesel fuel, 2 million gallons of jet fuel, and tons of ammunition and supplies.  All we needed was a few cans of oil. Surely Rainier would have that.

There was a problem.  All ship movements in the carrier battle group were pre-directed 36 hours in advance.  One just didn’t “call up” and get supplied.  But I was curious.  I waved the flashlight around.  “Go ahead, guys, see if you can set it up.”

“I intend to break radio silence to coordinate a resupply from Rainier,” said the Officer on Deck (OOD).

“Very well.”

The OOD called Rainier on the radio, identified who we were, and what we needed.  Sure enough, they would supply us!  Fortunately, Captain Kendall Card, commander of the Rainier, had reinforced with his crew that they were there to support the ships of the U.S. Navy, and that trumped bureaucracy.  I’d never heard of such a thing.  Not only that but the CO invited us to send over any crew members who needed medical or dental checkups beyond what Santa Fe’s Doc Hill could provide.

Rainier had a schedule to maintain; we couldn’t delay long.  If we didn’t get surfaced in a few minutes, it wouldn’t be able to stay around to help us.

The crew sprung to action, to which I gave my immediate assent.

From the Officer of the Deck: “Captain, I intend to prepare to surface.”

Very well.

From the Chief of the Boat (COB): “I intend to muster the small boat handling party in the crew’s mess.  I intend to open the forward escape trunk lower hatch.  COB is Chief in Charge.”

Very well.

From Doc Hill: “I intend to muster selected personnel for dental checkups in the crew’s mess, conducting watch reliefs as necessary.”

Very well.

From the admin officer, Petty Officer Scott Dillon: “Captain, I intend to canvass the crew for outgoing mail and transfer it to Rainier.”

Very well.

From the supply officer: “Captain, I intend to transfer the hydraulic oil from Rainier.”

Very well.

Myriad various activities happened quickly and in a synchronized manner.  Here’s where the training paid off.  There’s no way I would have been able to pull off a plan for conducting this kind of operation and direct it piece by piece.  You could call it speed of response, or reducing the sense-act delay inherent in organizations, or adaptability to change.  Whatever you call it, the crew’s performance allowed us to resupply at sea and continue being a submarine in defense of the country rather than limping into port for a fill up.

*Reprinted with permission from “Turn The Ship Around!: How to Create Leadership at Every Level”, by L. David Marquet, 2012, Greenleaf Book Group Press, Austin, Texas. Copyright © 2012 by Louis David Marquet.

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If you would like to order the book “Turn The Ship Around!: How to Create Leadership at Every Level”, please visit:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Books-A-Million

800ceoread

IndieBound

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Related Articles -

“I Intend To” – More Than a Recommendation (championsclubcommunity.com)

How We Made Leader to Leader Work on Santa Fe – By David Adams (leader-leader.com/blog)

Good to Great (A Submariner’s Profile in Empowerment

Turn The Ship Around! A Captain’s Guide to Creating Leadership at Every Level

Up Scope!

Teach Your People to “Think Out Loud” to Enable Them to Maintain Control

In Memory of Dr. Stephen R. Covey (1932 – 2012)

“I intend to . . .”

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“I intend to . . .”

Over the last few months, I have been writing posts featuring David Marquet and his new book, “Turn The Ship Around! How to Create Leadership at Every Level.”  The reason for this is simple: I am fascinated with David and what he was able to accomplish as the Commanding Officer of the USS Santa Fe.  If you have not read the posts about David Marquet, I encourage you to read them first, before continuing to read this post, as it will provide you some background.  Then, come back to continue reading this post:

• Good to Great (A Submariner’s Profile in Empowerment
• Turn The Ship Around! A Captain’s Guide to Creating Leadership at Every Level
• Up Scope!
• Teach Your People to “Think Out Loud” to Enable Them to Maintain Control
• In Memory of Dr. Stephen R. Covey (1932 – 2012)

I was introduced to David in February of this year, through this blog and other social media, and I became acquainted with his leader-leader (leader to leader) philosophy.  He became a fan of my blog, and I became a fan of him and his blog.  David was gracious to share with his blog’s audience posts from this blog.  David even invited me to write a book review for his book reviews section of his blog, such as the post, ”How Would the Marines Run Your Business.”  Over time, David and I have become allies and friends.

This blog, Command Performance Leadership, is about the synergies between military and corporate leadership, and there is no better example of those synergies than David and his leadership philosophy of empowerment and developing leaders at every level.  What he has accomplished throughout his career,  and since his retirement from the United States Navy, is the perfect story for this blog.  David’s message is one that absolutely deserves to be told.

Today, David’s book is officially released, and “Turn The Ship Around!” will be deployed for an important mission: to enlighten leaders, those who aspire to lead, and those formerly known as followers (the people who are leaders without a title).  The book discusses empowerment and how to create leaders at all levels.  I wanted to use this occasion to celebrate this book’s release, and to share a few of the ideas and mechanisms that come right out of the pages of David’s book.  Below, I have ripped a few those pages out of the book for you to read.  I hope that David’s message resonates with you, and that you can use a few of his ideas in your workplace to empower your people, and to create leaders, not followers.

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Chapter 11

“I intend to . . .”

How proactive are senior managers and employees in your organization? Rewording our speech dramatically changed our level of proactivity.

21 January 1999, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (159 days to deployment)

“Conn, maneuvering, reactor scram!” The reactor had just shut down. The engineer inserted the shutdown deliberately, testing his department’s ability to find and repair a simulated fault.

The Officer of the Deck was my senior department head, Lieutenant Commander Bill Greene, and he was doing all the right things. We had shifted propulsion from the main engines to an auxiliary electric motor, the EPM, to turn the propeller. The EPM can only power the ship at low-speed and draws down the battery.

The ship was coming shallow in order to use its diesel engine to provide electrical power and keep the battery charged until the reactor was restarted. During the long troubleshooting period while the nuclear electronics technicians were isolating the fault, I started to get bored. I fiddled with my flashlight, turning it on and off. Things were going too smoothly. I couldn’t let the crew think their new captain was easy!

I nudged Bill and suggested we increase speed from “ahead 1/3” to “ahead 2/3” on the EPM to give the nuclear-trained enlisted men a sense of urgency. This would significantly increase the rate of battery discharge and put pressure on the trouble shooters to find and correct the fault quickly. At “ahead 2/3,” there is a near continuous click-click-click on the battery amp-hour meter. An audible reminder that time is running out, it’s physically unnerving!

“Ahead 2/3,” he ordered.

Nothing happened.

The helmsman should have reached over and rung up ahead 2/3. Instead, I could see him squirming in his chair. No one said anything and several awkward seconds passed. Astutely noting that the order hadn’t been carried out, I asked the helmsman what was going on. He was facing his panel but reported over his shoulder, “Captain, there is no ahead 2/3 on the EPM!”

I had made a mistake. I’d been shifted to command Santa Fe at the last-minute and unlike every other submarine I’d been on, there was only a 1/3 on the EPM.

I applauded the helmsman and grabbed Bill, the OOD. In the corner of the control room, I asked him if he knew there was no ahead 2/3 on the EPM.

“Yes, Captain, I did.”

“Well, why did you order it?” I asked, astounded.

“Because you told me to.”

He was being perfectly honest. By giving that order, I took the crew right back to the top-down command and control leadership model. That my most senior, experienced OOD would repeat it was a giant wake-up call about the perils of that model for something as complicated as a submarine. What happens when the leader is wrong in a top-down culture? Everyone goes over the cliff. I vowed henceforth never to give an order, any order. Instead, subordinates would say “I intend to….”

Mechanism: Use “I intend to . . .” to turn passive followers into active leaders

Although it may seem like a minor trick of language, we found “I intend to…” profoundly shifted ownership of the plan to the officers.

“I intend to . . .” didn’t take long to catch on. The officers and crew loved it.

A year later, I was standing on the bridge of the Santa Fe with Dr. Stephen Covey. He’d heard what we were doing and was interested in riding a submarine. By this point, the crew had fully embraced our initiatives for control, and “I intend to . . .” was prominently visible. Throughout the day the officers approached me with “I intend to.”

“Captain, I intend to submerge the ship. We are in water we own, water depth has been checked and is 400 feet, all men are below, the ship is rigged for dive, and I’ve certified my watch team.”

I’d reply “Very well” and off we’d go.

Dr. Covey was keenly interested and incorporated this concept into his subsequent book, The 8th Habit.

The Power of Words

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The key to your team becoming more proactive rests in the language subordinates and superiors use.

Here is a short list of “disempowered phrases” that passive followers use:

Request permission to . . .

I would like to . . .

What should I do about . . .

Do you think we should . . .

Could we . . .

Here is a short list of “empowered phrases” that active doers use:

I intend to . . .

I plan on . . .

I will . . .

We will . . .

Later, I heard from a friend of mine who had taught future submarine commanders how frustrated he was by the inability of too many officers to make decisions at the command level. He said that these officers “came from good ships” but would become paralyzed when it came to tough decision-making. I took issue with his categorizing them as “good ships.” By using that term, he meant ships that didn’t have problems—at least that we knew about. But this had obviously been accomplished using a top-down, leader-follower structure where the captain made the decisions. Had those officers practiced “I intend to…” when they were second-in-command, they would have been practiced in decision-making.

This shows the degree to which we reward personality-centered leadership structures and accept the limitations. These may have been good ships, in that they avoided problems, but it certainly was not good leadership.

Questions to Consider

What causes us to take control when we should be giving control?

Can you recall a recent incident where your subordinate followed your order because he or she thought you had learned secret information “for executives only”?

What would be the most challenging obstacle to implementing “I intend to . . .” in your place of business?

*Reprinted with permission from “Turn The Ship Around!: How to Create Leadership at Every Level”, by L. David Marquet, 2012, Greenleaf Book Group Press, Austin, Texas. Copyright © 2012 by Louis David Marquet.

Another source for this excerpt can be found HERE

- If you enjoyed this excerpt, you can read another one.  I posted “A New Method of Resupplying ~ Putting “I intend to…” Into Action” today.

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If you would like to order the book “Turn The Ship Around!: How to Create Leadership at Every Level”, please visit:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Books-A-Million

800ceoread

IndieBound

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Related Articles -

“I Intend To” – More Than a Recommendation (championsclubcommunity.com)

How We Made Leader to Leader Work on Santa Fe – By David Adams (leader-leader.com/blog)

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In Memory of Dr. Stephen R. Covey (1932 – 2012)

A Guest Post by David Marquet

Stephen Covey’s Ride on the USS Santa Fe

By David Marquet

With sadness, we learn of the passing of Stephen Covey [yesterday], age 79.

Stephen had a tremendous impact not only on my life, but, through me, on the lives of those I had the privilege to lead. It started indirectly, when, after a period of reflection and tough going, I discovered The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. The overall approach of private victory, then public victory, describing our growth as proceeding from dependence through independence to interdependence, struck me as incredibly simple, yet powerful. I applied what I learned to my life immediately.

Later, when assigned to command the USS Santa Fe, I applied his 7 Habits approach at the organizational level. I gave every officer and chief who reported a copy of his book. We would have seminars discussing the various habits, and the application of those habits made Santa Fe a more effective submarine.

It turned out that Stephen was doing some work for the navy and learned about what we were doing on Santa Fe. He expressed an interest in riding the ship and the navy set it up. We were scheduled to conduct a one-day transit from the port of Lahaina, on the neighboring island of Maui, back to Pearl Harbor. This would be a perfect time for him to ride. It was also when we had set up a family member cruise and were expecting about 80 family members to ride, as well.

I was apprehensive about having both events at the same time. I thought the presence of the family members would present a distorted picture of how Santa Fe operated. Further, I wasn’t sure how I’d appropriately apportion my time between running Santa Fe, Stephen, and the family members.

It worked out perfectly! Stephen was working on a book for families and held a special talk just for the family members. His message was that they played a critically important role in the success of the ship, and placed high value on family. It was a win-win.

Stephen Covey addresses family members aboard USS Santa Fe

Stephen spent the entire day onboard, talking with crew members, looking through the periscope and driving the ship. He was tremendously interested in the people, and how they worked together. Everyone he talked to felt better about themselves afterward, especially me.

Stephen Covey at the helm of USS Santa Fe

He remained interested in how Santa Fe did and was happy to hear of the subsequent successes the ship had, including the selection of 9 of the officers for submarine command. I was honored that he included USS Santa Fe in his book, The Eight Habit, and agreed to write the forward to Turn the Ship Around!

In the control room of USS Santa Fe with Stephen Covey

Stephen, thank you for your influence, clear thinking, and enthusiasm for life. We will miss you. (1)

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[Stephen Covey rode the USS Santa Fe with commanding officer David Marquet in 2000]

*Reprinted with permission from the blog, “Leader-Leader,“ by L. David Marquet.  Originally posted on July 16, 2012.

Copyright © 2012 by Louis David Marquet.

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Throughout his career, Dr. Covey had many unique and fascinating experiences.  Dr. Covey chronicled his time spent on the USS Santa Fe with Captain Marquet.  Here is what Dr. Covey wrote about that experience:

I was training U.S. Navy officers in leadership during the dot.com era, when someone told me about an exemplary leader named Captain David Marquet, Captain of the U.S.S. Santa Fe, who never lost anyone, in spite of the hellish conditions submarine personnel are required to endure.

An opportunity arose, which I jumped at. I was invited to board Captain Marquet’s sub and interview him. Never before had I observed such empowerment. We stood on the bridge of this multibillion-dollar nuclear submarine with a football field of vessel in front of and behind us. A young officer approached the Captain and said, “Sir, I intend to take this ship down 400 feet.” Captain Marquet asked about the sonar and sounding and then instructed this young man to give us another twenty minutes on the bridge before carrying out his intention.

Throughout the day, people approached the captain intending to do this or do that. The Captain would sometimes ask a question or two, but then say, “Very well.” He reserved only the top decisions for his own confirmation and empowered others to make the rest. He said he wanted to empower his people as far as he possibly could within the Navy’s confines. He felt if he required them to own the problem and the solution to it, they would begin to view themselves as a vitally important link in the chain of command. He created a culture where those sailors had a real sense of adding value.

Months after my sub ride, Captain Marquet wrote to inform me that the U.S.S. Santa Fe was awarded the Arleigh Burke Trophy for most improved submarine, ship, or aviation squadron in the Pacific. (2)

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If you liked this post, you’ll definitely like this post —> Some Final Thoughts from Dr. Stephen R. Covey

Related Articles:

“I Intend To” – More Than a Recommendation (championsclubcommunity.com)

What I Learned from Stephen Covey: Begin with the End in Mind (posted 18 July 2012) (leader-leader.com/blog)

How We Made Leader to Leader Work on Santa Fe – By David Adams (leader-leader.com/blog)

Good to Great (A Submariner’s Profile in Empowerment) (commandperformanceleadership.wordpress.com)

Turn The Ship Around!: A Captain’s Guide to Creating Leadership at Every Level (commandperformanceleadership.wordpress.com)

Up Scope! (commandperformanceleadership.wordpress.com)

Teach Your People to “Think Out Loud” to Enable Them to Maintain Control (commandperformanceleadership.wordpress.com)

Sources:

(1) Stephen Covey’s Ride on the USS Santa Fe – http://leader-leader.com/blog/2012/07/16/stephen-covey-tribute-uss-santa-fe/ - Accessed 16 July 2012 – Leader-Leader The Movement – http://leader-leader.com/blog/

(2) About Dr. Covey – Career Highlights – https://www.stephencovey.com/about/career.php - Accessed 16 July 2012 – Stephen R. Covey (website) – https://www.stephencovey.com/

Teach Your People to “Think Out Loud” to Enable Them to Maintain Control

Here is yet another sneak peak inside the book, “Turn The Ship Around! How to Create Leadership at Every Level”, By L. David Marquet, Captain, U.S. Navy (retired), to be published by Greenleaf Book Group LLC on August 1, 2012:

USS Santa Fe riding on the surface

I was standing on top of the bridge in a harness. The tactical inspection was essentially over and we were returning to port. Lieutenant Dave Adams was [Officer of the Deck] OOD, driving Santa Fe up the channel into Pearl Harbor. He chatted with the bridge phone talker and lookouts. Everyone, it seemed, was in a buoyant mood except me. We had followed the attack on the submarine with a successful attack on an enemy surface ship. We sunk two “enemy” vessels, shooting two for two, and hadn’t been counter-detected. We had operated Santa Fe safely and effectively. We’d done well.

Still, I was thinking about how the inspection had gone in more critical terms and how much I’d had to drive solutions to problems.

“Bridge, navigator. Mark the turn.” I overheard Lieutenant Commander Bill Greene’s voice on the bridge loudspeaker. The navigation team in the control room was using bearings from the periscope and GPS to determine whereSanta Fe was in the channel and when we needed to turn.

“Nav, bridge, aye,” Dave acknowledged, holding the microphone to his mouth, but he didn’t order the turn. I waited a second.

“Weps, are you going to turn?” I asked directly. In the narrow channel, every second counted. I glanced sideways at the familiar day markers and palm trees and knew we were at the point where we needed to turn.

“Yes, 3 seconds. I thought they were early.” He seemed miffed I had prodded him.

“Helm, right 15 degrees rudder.” Santa Fe started a slow turn to the right, lining up with the next leg of the channel. It worked out just fine.

But I could see Dave had lost initiative, lost confidence, and lost control. He was no longer driving the submarine, I was. His job satisfaction just took a big hit.

Mechanism: Thinking Out Loud

As naval officers, we stress formal communications and even have a book, the Interior Communications Manual, that specifies exactly how equipment, watch stations, and evolutions are spoken, written, and abbreviated. By consistently using these terms, we avoid confusion. For example, we shut valves, we don’t close them, because close could be confused with blow. We prepare to snorkel, but then we report being ready—not prepared—to snorkel,

This adherence to formal communications unfortunately crowds out the less formal but highly important contextual information needed for peak team performance. Words like “I think . . .” or “I am assuming . . .” or “It is likely . . .” that are not specific and concise orders get written up by inspection teams as examples of informal communications, a big no-no. But that is just the communication we need to make leader-leader work.

We also discussed what had happened on the bridge as we approached Pearl Harbor. Here’s what I wish Dave had been saying: “Captain, the navigator has been marking the turns early. I am planning on waiting 5 seconds then ordering the turn.” or “I’m seeing the current running past this buoy pretty strongly and I’m going to turn early because of it.” Now the captain can let the scene play out. The OOD retains control of his job, his initiative; he learns more and becomes a more effective officer. He’s driving the submarine! He loves his job and stays in the navy.

We called this “thinking out loud.”

*Reprinted with permission from “Turn The Ship Around!: How to Create Leadership at Every Level”, by L. David Marquet, 2012, Greenleaf Book Group Press, Austin, Texas. Copyright © 2012 by Louis David Marquet.

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• What do you think of the newest sneak peak of “Turn the Ship Around!”?
• Have any examples of where “thinking out loud” has or could have helped maintain control and drive empowered decision-making in your organization?

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If you would like to order the book “Turn The Ship Around!: A Captain’s Guide to Creating Leadership at Every Level”, please visit THIS link at Barnes & Noble (BN.com).

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Related Articles -

How We Made Leader to Leader Work on Santa Fe – By David Adams (leader-leader.com/blog)

Turn The Ship Around!: A Captain’s Guide to Creating Leadership at Every Level (commandperformanceleadership.wordpress.com)

Up Scope! (commandperformanceleadership.wordpress.com)

Good to Great (A Submariner’s Profile in Empowerment) (commandperformanceleadership.wordpress.com)

Military Leadership (Concepts of Command) – The Premise Behind the Book

I can’t recall how long I have thought about writing a book.  I had many thoughts swirling in my mind about what I might write about and who the target audience might be, and I always knew that writing a book would be a great accomplishment.  But, my desire to write a book went further than that.  In this post, I want to share with you what is going into “Military Leadership – Concepts of Command (The comprehensive Study of the Leadership Competencies of the United States Military).“

This blog was created to become the springboard for writing the book, among other reasons.  I knew that I needed to get into the routine and practice of writing regularly, and that I needed to create a theme that would create the framework for what the book would become.  December 5, 2011, was the birth of a leadership blog now known as Command Performance Leadership.  Ultimately, the content of the blog will be my notepad and library of information for writing the book.

As the blog develops, you will begin to see a common theme and pattern, as I begin to piece together the content of the book.  I’m not suggesting that I won’t bounce from topic to topic and back again, but you will notice that certain chapters will be formed.  We have already gone through a few topics that will form the content of the book, such as Qualities of a Leader, Core Values, Eleven Principles of Leadership, and Qualities that Lead to Success, as well as the posts in the toxic leadership series.  As I continue to format the blog, it will soon take on the theme that I am after.  I’d like this blog to become a destination, just as a library would be, for anyone who wants to learn from and contribute to the subject of military leadership.  Hence, the Command Performance Leadership blog will become a virtual library.

Along with writing this blog and the book comes the research and study about the topic of military leadership.  This is what I am looking forward to the most.  As you can imagine, I am fascinated with the subject of leadership, and, of course, military leadership.  Understanding that I am below an amateur when it comes to writing, and the reason for this blog is to strengthen my writing skills, I am hopeful and eager to discipline myself into a routine where my studying and writing habits are developed.  I can easily equate the work and research I am about to conduct to getting a masters degree in advanced military history and leadership.  I welcome the challenge, and look forward to the long, hard march.  Most importantly, I am glad you are along for the ride.

Below, I introduce the draft of the Table of Contents.  It remains a work in progress, and is not nearly complete.  It is the outline of what will become Military Leadership (Concepts of Command).  In chapter one, I will write about the history of the people and philosophy of military leadership throughout history.  Chapter two will discuss what leadership is, what makes a great leader, the rigorous schooling (such as military academies, ROTC, OCS, etc.), and the profession of arms.  Chapter three will more specifically go into the principles and virtues that make a great leader, and how to capsulize those qualities into a successful leader.  Chapter four will be about leading on the foundation of strong character, built by strong moral responsiblity, leading by example, and guided spiritual by one’s faith.  Chapter five will go into some of the personal management traits vital to becoming an organized and forward-thinking leader; organizational skills, time management, stress management, personal responsiblity, managing your life’s skills, etc.  Chapter six puts everything into action on the battlefield of life.  Chapter six’s title pretty much speaks for itself; “Theory into Practice ~ Officership in Action.”  Chapter seven is entitled “Human Factors that Contribute to the Leadership Challenge,” and discusses the challenges we face as human, let alone military leaders (or, leaders in general), that are forces to contend with; fear, stress, anxiety, fatigue, etc.  Chapter eight moves into the topics tactics and strategy as a leader.  Not maneuver tactics or strategy, but leadership tactics and strategy.  Chapter eight discusses critical thinking, decision-making, motivation, and problem-solving.  Chapter nine discusses change and transformation of people and the organization.  Chapter ten takes everything that has been discussed previously in the book and discusses the action phase; putting everything together to lead the organization to victory.  Chapter ten will play out as an actual battle plan for leadership.  It will go into preparedness for taking action, communicating intent, ensuring the readiness of the organization, staging the resources for battle, maneuvering toward objectives, the struggles in the face of adversity, after action reviews, accountability and mission accomplishment, etc.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Prologue – Leading the Charge: “Forward…March!”

Chapter One – Historical Perspectives on Military Leadership

Voices of doctrine, Echoes of Wisdom – Masters of the Science – Icons of Diplomatic Military Protocol – The Patriotic Spirit – Our Nation, Our Soldiers

Chapter Two – Foundations of Leadership

Leadership Defined – Qualities that Lead to Success – Learning the Art/The Academic March Toward Leadership – The Military Profession

Chapter Three – Dimensions of the Professional Soldier

Guiding Principles – Wisdom of Excellence – Comprehensive Review of Leadership’s Essential Principles – Situational Awareness – Putting these Elements of Success into Action

Chapter Four – Leader of Character

Duty, Honor, Country – Framework of Values – Moral Courage – Doing the Right Thing – Leadership by Example – Spiritual Fitness; For God and Country - Positive Mental Attitude

Chapter Five – Core Competencies for Self-Improvement

Getting Organized – Stress Management – Time Management – Taking Personal Responsibility for Time & Results/Accountability

Chapter Six – Theory into Practice ~ Officership in Action

Officer’s Call – Chain of Command – Leadership versus Management – Creating the Ideal Workplace Environment – Building Esprit de Corps and the Organizational Culture – The Business of Leading People – Effective Communication – The Edifice of Leading People – Cohesion ~ The Organizational Bond – Executive Leadership – Discipline & Obedience – Mentorship – Counseling to Influence Outcomes – Modeling Behaviors through the Art of Influence

Chapter Seven – Human Factors that Contribute to the Leadership Challenge

Fear – Stress – Anxiety – Fatigue – Communication Breakdown – Complacency

Chapter Eight – Battle Command

Warrior Spirit – The Professional Soldier as Warrior – Tactical Theory and Practice – Fundamentals of Strategic Leadership – Critical Thinking and the Art of Decision Making – Motivating the Organization to Accomplish Missions – Purpose, Structure & Motivation – Crisis Management & Problem-Solving

Chapter Nine – Transforming the Organization

Create and Communicate the Vision – Empowerment of the Change Agents

Chapter Ten – The Long Road to Victory

Putting it all together – The Power of Pride – Duty Calls – Mission Ready – Command Performance - The Long, Hard March – Maneuvering Toward the Objective – Facing Adversity & the Test of Fortitude – Mastering the Challenge – After Action Review – Assessment, Responsibility, Accountability – Reaching for the Stars – Mission Accomplishment ~ Job Well Done!

Epilogue – Celebrating Victory

Notes

Bibliography

Copyright © Dale R. Wilson

Never Fly Solo ~ Top Gun Success

Lt. Col. Rob “Waldo” Waldman (USAF Reserve)

This week, I have chosen a few videos featuring Lieutenant Colonel Rob “Waldo” Waldman; also known as “The Wingman.”  Colonel Waldman is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, and became a highly decorated fighter pilot with over 65 combat missions over Iraq and Serbia.  He holds an MBA with a focus on organizational behavior.  Now serving in the U.S. Air Force Reserve, Waldo has become a professional business motivational speaker and consultant, and is the author of the New York Times and Wall Street Journal best seller “Never Fly Solo.”  He teaches organizations and individuals how to build trusting, revenue producing relationships with their employees, partners, and customers, while sharing his experiences as a combat decorated fighter pilot and businessman.[i]

Col. Waldman’s philosophy: No fighter pilot flies solo, and neither should you.  You need Wingmen – trusted partners – to win when the missiles of life and business are launched.  Whether achieving victory as a fighter pilot or in business, the same qualities that ensure success apply: relentless commitment, disciplined training, dedicated teamwork, impassioned leadership, and most of all…trust.[ii]

When I came across the Never Fly Solo video that promotes his book, and other videos featuring his inspirational message, I was absolutely motivated and lifted.  I wanted to share his message with you.  I have posted five videos below that define Colonel Waldman’s Never Fly Solo message.  It will take you just under 20 minutes to view them all.  Each video has a common theme, but a different message and focus.  I encourage you to view each of them, and take what you learn from them and immediately apply the Never Fly Solo principles.

Never Fly Solo

The Wingman

Teamwork and Communication in Business

Team Building and Leadership

Motivational Wingman Video

I hope you enjoyed this week’s installment of “Video of the Week.”  Remember, never fly solo, and protect your team from hidden dangers.  And, most importantly, become a wingman in everything you do; every person, every team, every day.  PUSH IT UP!!!

For more information on Lt. Col. Rob “Waldo” Waldman, Check out www.YourWingman.com.  If you would like to order the book Never Fly Solo, please visit http://www.neverflysolo.com.  And, if you would like Col. Waldman to attend your next conference or convention, please visit http://bureau.espeakers.com/simp/viewspeaker6542.

Copyright © Dale R. Wilson

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[i] “Meet Waldo.” Motivational Keynote Speaker : Business Speaker : Professional Speaker : Waldo Waldman: YourWingman.com.  Accessed 9 December 2011. http://www.yourwingman/about/

[ii] “Rob “Waldo” Waskman’s LinkedIn Profile.” http://www.linkedin.com/.  Accessed 9 December 2011