Key points to good leadership
Leaders earn respect
Praise in public, punish in private
Make sure you know the pulse of your team
Listen to and acknowledge feedback – reject it at your peril
Equip your developing leaders with the leadership skills they need.
Topic: Capt Holly Graf is reported to have been stripped of her role as Captain of the USS Cowpens an multi billion dollar warship on active service in the US Navy. An inspector generals report reflected reasons as “cruelty and maltreatment” of the some 40 crew/staff. The report refers mainly to how Capt Graf spoke to and treated her crew including senior officers in from of others.
Graf told the IG she had "no recollection" of making such comments, and the report says she "appeared incredulous at the accusations." She "repeatedly" emphasized her "very high standards for [her] crew" and "repeatedly" spoke of a "group think mentality" aboard her vessel.
Some Criteria: Operational leadership (especially in a military context) requires deep trust between Leader and Subordinates. Trust is built around mutual respect and though hierarchal rank will facilitate trust building, it certainly is not the only element. Leaders must therefore avoid confusing positional power vs leadership.
Capt Graf made a point about group think that implies she was not happy with the team dynamic and saw a need for change. However her actions and the results as we read it did indicates that she did not understand how to create her “case for change story” or implement it.
Our Coach’s angle: The pressures of Military leadership, with often dire consequences for poor decisions or execution thereof require that any team or unit needs to be a cohesive, like minded and mutually trusting group. Whilst strict hierarchal structure gives order to command structure it cannot replace the need for subordinates to respect all aspects of a leaders conduct. The use of strong language can be rationalized in occasional extreme cases, but when it becomes the norm, or is used in an abusive or demeaning manner subordinates often start to live in fear of being next, or become defensive to the collective team members in a tightly knit team. If this comes from the top level a rift and position of mistrust can build which creates a high risk situation of potential failure for the team.
Her earlier roles highlighted some leadership deficiencies – but what actions did her line managers take to address these. Key role of a leader is to help subordinates recognize deficiencies and then to provide resources to help them address these.