1. Leadership is the continued developmental growth of oneself to effect positive change amongst others. To be an effective leader, personal growth, learning from failures, and self-motivation must be applied. It is imperative as leaders to understand our strengths and weaknesses so we can develop and improve upon those subjects to better serve our people. The people we lead are some of the most talented, dedicated, and hardworking individuals. We must ensure our personnel have the support needed to thrive in our complex mission sets and that their personal and professional development is at the forefront of our minds.
2. One of the greatest leadership lessons I learned in the Coast Guard came from my biggest failures. As a supervisor,
…show more content…
Self-motivation and the ability to motivate others are vital traits in becoming a commissioned officer. The examples of fellow shipmates in the fleet, and OCS, that need motivation are endless. People join the Coast Guard with various backgrounds and issues, causing all sorts of personal stress, which can eventually spiral into causing problems at the workplace. In OCS, I’ve watched, particularly the new accessions, be placed in leadership positions during the first couple of weeks. Many of them were away from families, friends, husbands, and wives for the first time in their lives for an extended period. The responsibility of being in charge of close to 100 people, in addition to the stress of personal life issues, can be rough on anyone over the course of 17 weeks. Helping shipmates find their personal motivation to work through the problems, especially when times get hard, can be very stressful. Still, it will have long-lasting benefits after graduation and transitioning to the fleet. From a 21-year-old who just graduated college or a non-rate straight from the air station, each has taught me something about leadership. No matter your age or experience, if you have the motivation and dedication, you can achieve great success with whatever you want to …show more content…
The Coast Guard is comprised of hard-working, dedicated people with the incredible responsibility of protecting and defending the United States; to effectively accomplish this mission, the Coast Guard hires intelligent, selfless, and dedicated people. Our diverse workforce is what makes our military service so great, and as such, we must ensure our people are given a place where they feel included and taken care of. Communication, professional development, and mentorship are critical to my leadership