There are countless similar definitions of leadership; my personal take on the subject is “Achieving a common goal while taking care of the crew.” There have been numerous influences on my leadership style throughout my career; most positive and a few that couldn’t lead their way out of a cardboard box. The first two members who were the most impactful and had the most influence were: QMC Glenn Lamonte (retired BMCM) and CDR Patrick Culver. Both of these men were exceptional operators who also took great care of their crew; they had the ability to listen, earned the respect of their superiors and subordinates, delegated responsibility and encouraged growth while taking charge of whatever emergent situation arose. Another poor leader whom I
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Those two areas receive 90% of my focus and everything else is secondary. The values that were most important to me were Competence, Honesty, Family, Love and Happiness. These characteristics tie directly back into my philosophy. We need competent and confident Coasties to get the mission done. We also need Coasties to be in the right frame of mind while conducting these dangerous missions and that’s where the family, love and happiness come into play. If things aren’t good on the home front there are typically problems at the office. My crew knows that I and the Coast Guard demand a lot from them but they also know that whenever a personal issue arises that I will do everything in my power to accommodate them and give them the necessary time that they need to take care of their unique situations. I have the flexibility as an OIC to make these decisions without seeking a higher level of permission and a lot of the written feedback that I received in the LPI was gratitude for taking care of the crew. The mission is important, I couldn’t be an OIC without that being a top priority, but at the end of the day we are all going to separate from the Coast Guard at some point and I constantly remind my crew to take care of their families at home. Once the Coast Guard is out of our life the mission won’t matter and all we will have left is our
Those two areas receive 90% of my focus and everything else is secondary. The values that were most important to me were Competence, Honesty, Family, Love and Happiness. These characteristics tie directly back into my philosophy. We need competent and confident Coasties to get the mission done. We also need Coasties to be in the right frame of mind while conducting these dangerous missions and that’s where the family, love and happiness come into play. If things aren’t good on the home front there are typically problems at the office. My crew knows that I and the Coast Guard demand a lot from them but they also know that whenever a personal issue arises that I will do everything in my power to accommodate them and give them the necessary time that they need to take care of their unique situations. I have the flexibility as an OIC to make these decisions without seeking a higher level of permission and a lot of the written feedback that I received in the LPI was gratitude for taking care of the crew. The mission is important, I couldn’t be an OIC without that being a top priority, but at the end of the day we are all going to separate from the Coast Guard at some point and I constantly remind my crew to take care of their families at home. Once the Coast Guard is out of our life the mission won’t matter and all we will have left is our