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SectorUpper Mississippi River is LEANing IN - LCDR Kathryn Moretti and Ms. Christine Woodard
The Mighty Mississippi Metamorphosis is harnessing the power of peer support while developing leadership best practices by standing up and participating in a Lean In Circle.
Leading Others through Action - ENS Victoria Borges
The Coast Guard emphasizes leading others by influence. However, the word influence is loosely defined by the Coast Guard. So exactly what does influence mean?
Marketing & Motivation: Telling the Coast Guard Story - CAPT Gregory Stump
Cardboard cutouts -- those life-sized photos marketing an actor, athlete, or other personality -- are they able to provide a greater good?
Little Erroll:A Children's Book on Courage and Determination - LCDR Shameen E. Anthanio-Williams
Through every challenge faced and victory attained, the leader’s willingness to evolve and adjust her personal leadership philosophy is contingent upon the rigidity of her personality.
LeadershipEquals Diversity - LDCR Richard Angelet
Leadership equals Diversity? Really? Absolutely! Well, let me give you my personal story and maybe you will agree that leadership good or bad impacts individuals, thus affecting Diversity within an organization.
MissionCommand Develops Better Leaders - CDR Andrew Campen
“Where’s the Chief?” This is a question I have heard a lot, and wondered myself from time to time.
How are you developing leadership skills for yourself and others? - Dr. Anne Niccoli
Coast Guard members continue to call upon the Leadership Development Center (LDC) in search of self-serve, deployable leadership resources.
Watchstander Woes Worksheet: A Performance Improvement Tool - LT Gordon A. Hood
The United States Coast Guard, like many 24x7 response-oriented organizations, relies heavily on the watchstander – the person on duty any given minute of the day to take the call, maintain the equipment, or ensure the security of a facility.
Apprentice Leadership Program: Molding the Future Leaders of the Coast Guard - PA3 Frank Iannazzo-Simmons
The duty of a Coast Guardsmen can range from one extreme to another and vary far and few between. Each day has a different struggle, a different mission and concludes with a different outcome.
What is Leadership? - Destini R. Baldwin
Congratulations to the Junior Council and Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) Focus Group Coordination Team on receiving a Meritorious Team Commendation from Vice Admiral M.K. Brown for their Junior Council Report: SAPR Focus Group Results.
Civilian Leadership in Government - Dr. Ken Malmberg
There is a tendency to think of leadership as an independent, public, and sometimes heroic manifestation of traits like charisma or decisiveness. A more honest picture reflecting leadership in a non-crisis situation is more sublime.
The Leadership Journey: A Cycle of Continuous Improvement - ISCS Joe Melton
Leadership is a continuous journey of improvement. Much like the Deming cycle of PLAN • DO • CHECK • ACT used in business to ensure continuous improvement of processes, leadership too can be visualized in an improvement cycle.
Plans Change - Mr. Michael P. Smith
You know how you come into work every day with a plan?
Dealing with Lots of Information - Dr. Ken Malmberg
Today in the federal government everyone has to deal with a growing need for organizing bits and pieces of data coming into the workplace.
The Even Numbered Chief - YNC Jeff C. Wheater
I know what you’re thinking, “What is that?” Well, he is the least known member of the chief’s corps and one of the most important, yet underappreciated, members in our service. The even numbered Chief is the E8; commonly known as the Senior Chief Petty Officer.
We Should Lead Our Children Like We Lead Everyone Else - LT James A. Crockett
Recently, I’ve had cause to consider how differently I led my children and my fellow Coastguardsmen. As a Coast Guard enlisted and as an officer, I have striven to apply leadership principles gleaned from innumerable courses, books, training, presentations, and trusted leaders over a 25-year career.
A Coast Guardsman First - Chief Warrant Officer Kimberley N. Angel
Although we all come to the Coast Guard through different accession points, we’re united by our core values of "Honor, Respect and Devotion to Duty." I would submit these words are not hollow leadership talking points; it’s essentially the moral compass of our service.
Non-Selected - Anonymous
Then came anger….rage to be more exact. How could the Coast Guard do this to me? I’d given over 11 years of my life to this organization. I’d checked all the boxes – qualifications, graduate degree, even been selected (twice) for educational opportunities funded by the Coast Guard.
True Confidence - LCDR Steve Bird
Truly confident leaders are secure enough to embrace and share their humility. In the long run, their humility makes them stronger; for without humility, our strengths disappear to others due to our arrogance.
Diversity Leadership: Sponsoring Our Future Leaders - CDR John Imahori
As a senior officer within the Coast Guard and a first generation Asian American I am proud to be part of the current leadership initiatives that promote diversity within our maritime service. As our nation changes so too must the Coast Guard, so that we continue to represent those people we protect.
Home is Where the Heart Is - Veronique Freeman
As I knock on the end of my first month here at the new home of U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C., St. Elizabeths, I wanted to share some reflections. My initial reaction to this move was admittedly not a happy one.
The Presence of Leadership - CAPT Drew Tucci
“One must be present to lead.” A friend and I were discussing leadership challenges as he prepared for his first Command. We were thinking about how to create and maintain a command climate that truly promotes our Core Values, keeps our people safe, and our mission on trackline.
Lessons Learned from Training Center Yorktown's Chief Warrant Officer Pre-Board - CDR Doug Simpson
Training Center Yorktown (TCY) typically has 50 enlisted members request to compete for Chief Warrant Officer commissions annually. These candidates come from various divisions and branches, posing the potential for numerous chains of command to request “highest recommendation” for any given warrant officer specialty from the commanding officer.
Afloat Managers Needed - LT Mark Rawls
The cutter fleet is aging rapidly and help has been hindered by dramatically cut future budgets. Now, more than ever the cutter community needs its leaders to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty to help preserve the aging fleet.
Crossing the Cultural Barrier: Leadership Learning for an International Audience - LCDR Erin Williams
Teaching self-awareness to a group of Coast Guardsmen with varying backgrounds can be challenging. Teaching this to an international audience raises the challenge to an entirely new level.
First AA Female Helo Pilot (MH65): An Up-Close Interview with LT LaShandaJones - Mr. David S. Rosen
Check out this interview with LT Jones to learn: Why the Coast Guard? Why she became a pilot? What was the hardest part of her training? And, what is the greatest challenge of being an MH-65 pilot at LA AIRSTA?
Richard L. Burke: The Coast Guard's Most Famous Forgotten Aviator - William H. Thiesen, Ph.D, Atlantic Area Coast Guard Historian
The pantheon of famous Coast Guard aviators includes such 20th century luminaries as Elmer Stone, world’s first aviator to pilot an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean; Frank Erickson, foremost aviator in the development of the helicopter; and Donald MacDiarmid, considered the Coast Guard’s “. . . recognized authority in open sea landings and ditchings in seaplanes, and procedures for maritime aviation search, rescue and survival.”
The Power of a Signature: Making the Watch Qualification System(WQS) Work! - LCDR S. E. Ramassini
Given advances in today’s underway qualification procedures, a person’s signature remains significant to the validity of the qualification process. To maintain viability, it is important to stratify the roles and responsibilities of those responsible for exercising the system to keep the qualification process meaningful and effective.
Coast Guard Environmental Sustainability Awards Program - Dr. Ken Malmberg
The Environmental Sustainability Awards Program is designed to promote awareness and action on the part of Coast Guard personnel to comply with environmental requirements while being good stewards of the environment.
What a Dollar Bought Me - CDR Paul Fawcett
This article is a sequel to the article “My First Salute Opened a Door”, published in the Leadership News in the fall of 2000 and in The Reservist in 2002.
GET OUT (and about) - Mr. Michael P. Smith
Are you a Leader and Manager? Getting out and visiting your workers in their workspaces is one of the best ways to build trust, understanding, and esprit de corps. Taking the time to visit your folks informally in the spaces where they work shows that you really care about them and the work they do.
The Coast Guard's Dirty Laundry: Should We Air It or Bury It? - CDR Mike Dolan
The Coast Guard is an organization of tens of thousands of people. Collectively, we take immense pride in our service and we live by the Core Values. However, any large organization has a few individuals who commit dishonorable, illegal, and even evil acts. They are rightfully and routinely discharged and sent to prison.
Cutterwomen - MKC T. Claflin
Holding in its fury, is a beauty and mystery unlike any other natural force on earth. With settled calmness, it can soothe the most troublesome of souls but its sporadic impulsiveness will slap a mariner with a rogue wave when least expected…it is the sea! The sea holds no prejudice to the unfortunate souls that are taken to the depths of their fate nor does the sea discriminate against the saviors of those souls.
CG OPC's: Influencing Others to Achieve a Goal - Mr. Jeff Wright
What if there was a way for you to be more efficient, effective and ultimately make your job easier? If there were a CG resource available that could help you do these things, would you take advantage? The great news is that just such a resource exists!
Company Commanders: Leaders In and Out of Rating - LT Michael Cole
Company commanders have long been a symbol of the Coast Guard’s enlisted corps. The mirror shined boots, the campaign cover, the booming voice; all are hallmarks of one of the most important leadership positions in the Coast Guard, forging our future enlisted force.
What's Your Contribution? - LT Fred Bertsch
We tend to think about personal conduct in terms of individual actions and behaviors as they relate to misconduct and disciplinary issues. While clearly an aspect incorporated in the concept, personal conduct is a much broader idea that includes self accountability for performance, actions, and contributions.
Do Our Core Values Need Modernizing? - LCDR Stephen Bird
As we work hard to steady the course after arguably the most change the Coast Guard has seen in decades, one might ask if our core values still remain current, or maybe even wonder if they are just too demanding along with the additional stress and pressures from change. I think the best way to approach this is to delve into each value individually, and then compare them collectively to what our organization values most today and how they relate to accomplishing our mission.
Effective Leadership - YNC Jeff C. Wheater
Looking around, one can see that leadership is everywhere. However, people often disagree with each other as to what constitutes good leadership. "It is determined by how effective it is." "No, it is based on how efficient it is." "No, no, no, it is both, plus how happy the workers are at performing their respective tasks." Leadership is sophisticated and how it is interpreted influences others perspective of work as well as the way their success is measured.
The Learning Leader: A New Perspective on Coast Guard LeadershipCulture - LCDR Meridena Kauffman
The Coast Guard is facing a leadership dilemma. It has enjoyed, and deserved, the reputation as a world leader across its many programs, from Search and Rescue and Law Enforcement to Marine Environmental Response. Semper Paratus is ingrained in Coast Guard culture and has led to an organization that tries to answer the call regardless of increasing stress placed on its personnel and systems.
Personal Conduct: A Systems Thinking Approach - Mr. Nelson Torres
The aforementioned epigraph illustrated the employee’s recognition that his Personal Conduct mattered and that his actions and performance aligned with the aims, mission, and strategy of the organization.
Let Them Screw Up!...Some - CDR Gerald A. (Jerry) Nauert
"That which does not kill us makes us stronger" is a quote, sometimes attributed to Alexander the Great, that in my ignorance I assumed was probably uttered when he was training his troops for battle, and is often found adorning the walls of many a weight room and gymnasium, to motivate the warrior instinct in trainees. In fact I first saw it on the wall of the Kentucky State Police Academy when I arrived there as an instructor in 1987.
Building Leaders of Character...One Protege at a Time - Captain Andrea Marcille and Dr. Laurel Goulet
Leadership means different things to different people. Most would agree that a leader has a vision and builds upon it. There may not be as much agreement about how that is accomplished. Strong leadership usually means a leader who is charismatic and decisive.
Lessons From a Leader - Master Chief Mark Allen
This publication is yours. As is such, we seek articles on leadership issues and best practices from all over the field. If you are ready to be heard now, here is the information and details on submitting your article.