It was late December of 2012 and I had just finished my list of goals for 2013, or so I thought. The week prior to finalizing my list, a mentor had lent me the book How to Deliver A TED Talk. He had known how much I enjoy watching TED Talks […]
Category: Leadership
Letting Things Break
I have always enjoyed being a member of a team. Whether it be my family, a team on the athletic field, a command, or an informal group working toward a common goal, I prefer to be an active contributor to a team more than I do working by myself. In […]
The Vortex (Guest Post)
LTJG Kelly Ryan commissioned in the Navy in 2010 through Officer Candidate School in Newport, RI after a successful career as an equestrian dressage coach and trainer. After she commissioned, she underwent training at the Navy and Marine Corps Intelligence Training Center in Virginia Beach, VA and subsequently reported to […]
Swatting at Gnats
In any organization, there are main lines of operations and there are distractions. Sometimes the distractions come in the form of “good ideas” thrust upon the team by seniors. Sometimes the distractions come in the form of sub-par performers. And yes, sometimes the distractions are in fact opportunities. The challenge […]
Shared Values (Guest Post)
ENS Kyle Hunter is an Information Warfare Officer, commissioned in 2011 through the Seaman to Admiral-21st Century program. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy in March 2001, and after completion of basic training reported to Monterey, California to become a Cryptologic Technician Interpretive. Currently, he serves at Navy Information Operations […]
Building Trust
I know I am far from alone in my belief that a team is not a team merely because members happen to work in the same building or wear the same uniform. Rather, a group of people becomes a team when they have shared trust in each other. And the […]
Defining Success
We all define success differently. The cynic in me acknowledges that some measure their success by their bank account, their job title, or their perceived superiority over their friends, neighbors, and coworkers. The people I enjoy most are those who recognize that success is better measured by assessing happiness, realizing […]
Subject to Change (Guest Post)
Petty Officer David Hennessy is a 29 year old, single with no dependents, American Sailor, who hails from the great city of Chicago. Taking a varied path that did not directly lead to service in our Navy, but did lead directly to the Cryptologic Technician (Networks) Rating, he has been wearing […]
Culture Clash (Guest Post)
Ensign Lukas Dwelly was commissioned as an Intelligence Officer last fall through the Navy Reserve Direct Commissioning Program. Enlisting in the Marines in 1995, he obtained the rank of Sergeant and deployed as an infantry squad leader aboard the USS GUAM with the 24th MEU (BLT 3/6) in support of […]
Leadership AND Followership
It’s no secret that I am both passionate about leadership and appreciative of the opportunity to follow those who truly lead. I believe effective followership is the path to effective leadership. In fact, I would go so far as to say that one cannot effectively lead if they don’t know […]
Flattening your Tree of Monkeys – Observations on Leadership (Guest Post)
CTR2 Willoughby is a 23-year-old first-term Sailor with a driving passion for learning and understanding; a rational, positive outlook on life; a distaste for the superflous; and, if not uncensored, a tongue which expresses his distaste. Since enlisting in 2009 he has been the honor graduate of CTR “A” School, […]
Has the Term Shipmate Shipwrecked? (Guest Post)
LT Jim Legg is an Information Warfare Officer. He enlisted in the Navy in 1994. After completing boot camp, Jim reported to Pensacola, FL for Cryptologic Technician Administrative “A” School. He was commissioned in 2006 through the Seaman to Admiral-21st Century (STA-21) program, earning his Bachelor’s Degree in African & […]
Mentors: “Being” and “Doing”
Of late and as a result of recent posts, I have enjoyed the pleasure of many conversations on the topic of mentorship. These conversations have left me believing that there are two kinds of mentors…“Doing” Mentors and “Being” Mentors. Both are extremely valuable, each serving in a different capacity. As […]
Operate Forward (Guest Post)
LTJG Jason Pawlak is an Information Warfare Officer originally from Mason, Ohio. After graduating from the University of Cincinnati with a degree in Computer Science, he commissioned through Officer Candidate School in October of 2010. Jason took orders to NIOC Texas where he works in Computer Network Operations. Outside of […]
Advisors, Actors…Leaders
It’s been three weeks since I started my new position and it happened. The it to which I am referring is the reintroduction to the idea that Actors and Advisors live on different planes. They think differently, they approach problems differently, and they have different expectations of each other. Actors act, […]
Expectations of a Mentor (Guest Post)
ENS Zaki Rucker is an Information Warfare Officer. After enlisting in the Navy and attending boot camp in 2004, Zaki attended the Modern Standard Arabic course at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA. He then spent six years at Fort Gordon as a Cryptologic Technician Interpretive before being selected […]
Chiefly Expectations: A JO’s Perspective (Guest Post)
LT Ryan Haag is an Information Warfare Officer. After graduating from the University of Michigan, he served onboard the USS Hampton (SSN-767) as the Electrical Officer and Assistant Weapons Officer, at U.S. Second Fleet as a TLAM Senior Mission Planner and Flag Aide. After obtaining a lateral transfer, he is […]
New and Improved?
Last week, I made my final post on Connecting the Dots (CTD) 1.0 and have migrated to this forum, which I affectionately refer to as CTD 2.0. There is no doubt I will have the need to make incremental tweaks to the site. So many, in fact, that I will […]
Lidless Leadership
Though I don’t always agree with John Maxwell, I remain a big fan of his teachings. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership is my favorite of his books and though I believe in each of the laws contained therein, the one that captured much of my attention over the last […]
Sharing The OODA Loop
Anyone who has served in the military understands “The OODA Loop”, and a growing percentage of business leaders in corporate America have studied or even used the same. For those who have not, it’s a four stage decision cycle that results in ACTION: Observe Orient Decide Act In the Cryptologic […]