Lead, Manage, Motivate or Get Out of the Way

Throughout my Naval career I had the good fortune to work with some great people, officers and enlisted alike.

As a former officer, I learned the importance of how to lead a team of young men, motivate them to accomplish what we needed to do and manage them to successfully accomplish the daily routine in preparing for the worst.

Perhaps one of the best examples of leadership lessons I can share comes from the story of my experience about the U.S.S. Iowa, in 1989.

It was training and leadership that allowed those of us aboard to save the ship during a horrific accident in which we lost 47 crew members. This week marks the 29th anniversary of that event.

My shipmates died because of a gunnery accident off the coast of Vieques, which was a Naval Gunfire Support Range. We were in the midst of a gunnery exercise. I was in my office, down in engineering, when I heard the sound of general quarters.

Initially, I did not know what to think of the alarm as we did not have a general quarters drill planned that day. As I opened the hatch to my office to proceed to my general quarters station as Officer of the Deck, I saw smoke coming down the engineering space to what we called Broadway, which is where the fire rooms and engine rooms were.

As I ran to my battle station I felt the ship list to one side. When I arrived at the bridge I learned that we had an explosion in Turret 2 center gun. Smoke was billowing out of the turret.

The Captain, Fred Moosally, had ordered the activation of the sprinkler system, which caused the 57,000-ton ship to list. If it were not for the captain’s quick actions we could have experienced a greater issue—the powder flats of the gun turret could have exploded and blown off the bow of one of the Navy’s greatest war ships.

Because of their tremendous training the crew moved swiftly to extinguish the fire and secure the ship’s safety.

So what are some of the leadership lessons learned and how can you parlay them into managing a company?

#1 Do Your Own Job Well

As an officer in the Navy or a leader of a company, your primary job is to do your job well. You can’t garner respect or strive for excellence if you do not have a vision, the ability to communicate and provide direction to fulfill that vision, and are a well-trained, experienced leader. If you continually strive for excellence in all you do you’ll increase your leadership abilities and have respect from those you manage.

#2 Lead by Example

As an officer or leader of a company, you need to set the example for others to follow. If you are in early and working late your team will see this and naturally modify their behavior accordingly. You also need to set the tone of the culture and environment you want for your team, and set the expectations you want from that team (and hold them accountable).

#3 Communicate Effectively and Often 

As a leader, you need to clearly articulate what you expect and need done. Communication is best when it’s short and to the point. In the business world, good communication skills are important to set expectations, provide feedback and review performance.

On my ship, the captain clearly and decisively made the decision to activate the ship’s sprinkler system serving turret 2 and saved hundreds of lives. He did not hesitate, and he did not mince words. He communicated expertly and executed deftly—and the crew responded accordingly.

#4 Train to Win

As a leader of any great team, you need to train your team to win. As a sales leader, you need to provide sales training to include sales skills, education about the product, the competition and more.

The military trains to win and save lives. In business you need to train your team to grow and generate profits. Both are complex but can be attained with great training.

#5 Don’t Become Best Friends With Your Team

Not becoming too friendly with my crew or the people that work for me is difficult as I am a people person. The problem is that too much familiarity can lead to favoritism.

This is true both in the business world and in the military. It’s best to keep an arm’s length from those who work for you so the perception of favoritism never surfaces with others you manage.

#6 Remember That All Eyes Are on You

Leadership is not difficult. You just need to always remember that your team is watching you, your actions and how you react when you are under pressure.

The military invests a great deal in training its leaders to oversee and execute through the most difficult situations one could encounter. It’s important for each of us to continue to grow, develop and train ourselves to be great leaders each and every day.

Thank you to the crew of the U.S.S. Iowa and all my shipmates during this difficult week.