Coast Guard Leadership Definition

1. Leadership, according to the Coast Guard, is influencing others to achieve a goal. This is a simple definition that explains a highly complex idea in an extremely basic form. The differences between good and bad leadership is not given, instead the reader of this short definition is left with the inclination that as long as a given goal was completed, then leadership must have occurred. A tyrant, however, can influence people to accomplish goals through intimidation, but that is not an example of good leadership. Many people can recognize good leadership when they see it in action first hand or read about. Explaining to someone exactly what good leadership is, however, can be an elusive undertaking in itself. This is a particularly troubling …show more content…
My definition of good leadership is to influence the people around you to not simply achieve a goal, but to accomplish them, in such as way, that benefits both the organization and its members. This type of good leadership can occur by successfully communicating to people that the goals of their organization they work in are important to them. A good leader finds success when people self-internalize a goal or task, analyzing it to determine its importance to them, with a positive outcome. Self-internalizing the importance of a goal is not something that occurs in a vacuum, even though the decision is made on an individual basis, because external influences constantly shape or even change our values. Our personal values are quite dynamic, changing over time as the social mores in our society evolve. Since our values are influenced by external philosophical forces, a good leader can affect how people self internalize the value they place in accomplishing a goal. The key is to genuinely convince someone that accomplishing a goal will benefit them as …show more content…
Secondly, I need to do a better job of publicly recognizing people who embody the same values as our organization. Publically recognizing people for their commitment to the Coast Guard can be accomplished in two ways. Awards during scheduled all hands will highlight someone’s accomplishments in front of the whole command, ensuring everyone becomes aware of the individual’s dedication and hard work. Publically recognizing someone for their shared values is also not limited to subordinates, but can be extended across designated chains-of-command to other deserving members as well. The second way to highlight a person’s contribution and shared value with the Coast Guard is with on the spot recognition. This can be accomplished with tangible objects, such as a challenge coin, or through simple verbal recognition in a simple statement of your