Leadership Philosophy For Coast Guard

1. I define leadership as one’s ability to unite a diverse team of individuals to achieve a shared goal or mission. I find my leadership style to be backed by three main tenants; these include compassion, commitment, and trust. The foundation of my philosophy is to care for those who work for and with me and to have a genuine investment in their well-being. I believe a good leader should want to get to know their people beyond just their job title. I want to know what motivated them to choose a life of service in the Coast Guard, their future goals, and to learn about their background and families. Prioritizing their needs will yield trust, which is essential to accomplish a shared goal through teamwork and collaboration.

a. I strive to be

Throughout my 11 years in the Coast Guard, my leadership philosophy has been molded by both positive and negative experiences surrounding leadership. Some of the most impactful and negative leadership experiences stem from my first unit at a small boat station. Upon reporting at the age of 23, I felt immediately stereotyped because I was a female. One of my supervisors, a second-class petty officer, often made negative jokes and comments to other members of the duty station regarding his opinion of females in the Coast Guard. Hearing the things that were said by this individual made me feel hurt and extremely frustrated. I have always valued my strong work ethic and when I reported to my first unit, I was ready to hit the ground running and go above and beyond for my unit and shipmates. This person did not know me or my background and was making unfair, stereotypical assumptions of my character and work ethic based upon my gender. His actions often created an uncomfortable work environment where I felt the need to prove myself while in his presence. As undesirable as this experience was, my takeaway was clear; I never wanted to project that type of negativity on others. All members of the Coast Guard should be provided a strong sense of belonging. They should feel valued, inspired, and motivated by those who lead them. I did not need that experience to teach me to be a kind and respectful person, but it did instill the importance of an inclusive work climate where

During my time at Officer Candidate School (OCS), I have witnessed 94 exceptional people from all different walks of life come together as a team and form a bond that is sure to last throughout our years in the Coast Guard. I have learned that everyone has their own set of strengths and weaknesses, but when committed to working together, you can accomplish almost anything. It takes effort and humility to identify your own weaknesses and work towards improving upon them. My biggest weakness is that I need to instill stronger confidence in myself and be more vulnerable without fear of failure or judgement. This is something that I have always struggled with but challenged myself to progress through while at OCS. As Henry Ford once stated, “There is no disgrace in honest failure. There is disgrace in fearing to fail.” I have learned that my growth and success is dependent upon my ability to push myself out of my comfort zone. The most successful leaders are the ones who strive for continuous learning and maintain their curiosity by finding new ways to better improve themselves and grow as