thedrifter
07-16-03, 05:55 AM
07-11-2003 <br />
<br />
Lessons Learned from a Military Leadership Failure <br />
<br />
By Matthew Dodd <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Two weeks ago, I provided a detailed summary of the Navy Inspector General’s investigation report that...
thedrifter
07-16-03, 05:57 AM
Obviously, Naughton did not suddenly become a tyrannical leader when he took over the academy. His leadership style was honed, nurtured, and rewarded all throughout his 35-year career. That fact alone leads to many simple questions with uneasy answers:
* Why was his behavior and leadership style tolerated for so long by so many seniors?
* What happened to accomplishing the mission and taking care of the troops – the “twin pillars” of traditional military leadership?
* How much damage has Naughton, and his enabling senior officers, done throughout his career to individuals (destroyed morale, voluntarily and involuntarily shortened careers) and the institution he served (missed opportunities, stifled subordinate initiative)?
* Is Naughton the “poster boy” for performance evaluation and personnel assignment management systems reform? Should the military go to a “360-degree” performance review system that includes performance assessment inputs from seniors, peers, and subordinates?
Despite all the negativity inherent in my analysis of the Naughton case, I am optimistic that the Navy is taking positive steps to turn things around at the academy, beginning with the presidential nomination of Rear Adm. Rodney P. Rempt to succeed Naughton as superintendent.
According to the July 8 article in The Washington Post, Rempt, the head of the Naval War College, is described in sharp contrast to Naughton as:
“[A] level-headed intellectual who treated subordinates well – qualities that made him the Navy's first choice to take over the academy ... [cited for his] ‘strong leadership and forward thinking’ … ‘He was a terrific leader of the War College, and I think he will be a terrific leader at Annapolis,’ said Alberto R. Coll, the dean of the college’s Center for Naval Warfare Studies. ‘He's a great team builder …. He does that by setting the example himself’ … Former subordinates at the War College said Rempt exercised a more friendly kind of leadership without simply aiming to be popular. ‘He is not a screamer; he is a very courteous, gentlemanly officer with a strong personality .… He's not interested in making enemies. There are some naval officers who look forward to it, even enjoy it, but he's just the opposite.”
Do not let Navy senior leadership silence about the Naughton case deceive you into downplaying the seriousness of senior military leadership failures. Do not think that Naughton is alone as a perverse distortion of effective military leadership, but also do not be misled into thinking that there is a significant percentage of Naughtonesque leaders infecting our military.
My perspective is that even one Naughton in the military is too many because of the potential lives at stake.
Lt. Col. Matthew Dodd USMC is a Senior Editor of DefenseWatch. He can be reached at mattdodd1775@hotmail.com.
Leadership Failure Article....
http://www.sftt.org/cgi-bin/csNews/csNews.cgi?database=DefenseWatch%
20Archive.db&command=viewone&op=t&id=148&rnd=12.9993678
3542549
http://www.sftt.org/cgi-bin/csNews/csNews.cgi?database=DefenseWatch.db&command=viewone&op=t&id=133&rnd=621.9423686591302
Sempers,
Roger
:marine: