October 2010 Commander's Comments

Shipmates,

This month you will be selecting your Flotilla leadership for 2011. Developing leaders is the most important factor in the long term success of a Flotilla. Ideally this development is underway well before a member stands for election to Flotilla Commander or Vice Flotilla Commander. There are a number of avenues to build leadership and management skills available to our members. Many members come to the Auxiliary with rich leadership and/or management experience from their civilian and military careers as well as prior volunteer experience. Once in the Auxiliary members can avail themselves of staff roles to learn the peculiarities of the Auxiliary.

Read the manual: Basic familiarity with the Auxiliary Manual is critical for elected and staff leaders. It isn't necessary to know all the policies but it is important to understand the basic structure of the policies under which we operate. I strongly recommend downloading the PDF version to use as a reference since searching is much easier in the electronic version. As editions age there are numerous policy changes which become somewhat cumbersome. Luckily we expect a new Auxiliary Manual in the next few months. Staff should also be conversant with the policy manuals for their program areas.

Attend Flotilla and Division meetings: The manual contains the policies but the implementation and execution is discussed at our meetings and fellowship events.

Formal leadership training: The Auxiliary has a continuum of leadership training. Locally we conduct a leadership and management training session. All members are invited and encouraged to attend this course which is a mix of leadership training and the nuts and bolts of managing our Auxiliary units. This course will be conducted on 09 October 2010 on the Training Deck at MSU Portland - 0830. Even if you don't see elected leadership in your future I encourage you to this training - it will help you understand how our organization works and how to get the most out of the time you invest in the Auxiliary.

In addition there are a number of courses offered, please note that the last three listed here are limited to certain office holders.

• Flotilla Leadership Course (FLC) - this includes online and classroom versions and is similar to our leadership training 
• Auxiliary Leadership and Management (AUXLAMS). 
• Auxiliary Mid-Level Officers Course (AMLOC). 
• Auxiliary District Captain Course (ADCC) 
• Auxiliary Senior Officers Course (ASOC) 

Read, listen, and watch: There is an incredible variety of leadership books available, my library is packed with examples and I'd be happy to make recommendations. One of the advantages of the rise of the internet is that there has been a huge increase the accessibility of knowledge through the availability of podcasts, videos, and blog posts on leadership. These are shorter and easier to digest than the average leadership book. I have dozens of examples I consume regularly, here are a few to get started:

• TED Talks on Leadership: The TED conference covers a huge variety of topics with great speakers talking no more than 18 minutes - there are a number of talks on leadership - http://www.ted.com/talks/tags/id/231
• Weekly Leader site and podcast: Peter Mello is a friend of the Coast Guard and got started in the leadership field with tall ship education - http://weeklyleader.net/
• Seth Godin: Seth's posts are a mix of leadership and marketing thinking - http://sethgodin.typepad.com/
• Tom Peter's Blog: Tom has been writing on leadership for decades and always seems to be asking the right questions - http://www.tompeters.com
• Harvard Business Review IdeaCast: Some of the best of HBR - http://blogs.hbr.org/ideacast/
• The Invisible Hand podcast: Interviews with authors of recent leadership, management and strategy books - http://www.heronandcrane.com/TIH-2010.html

Jump into the fray: There is a point at which the best way to learn is to start. The Auxiliary is a great place to learn to lead. We've the benefit of motivated members who want to be here -- don't discount what a huge difference this fact makes. I've learned more about myself and about how to lead in the last few years than all my previous education and experience -- I've taken to calling the Auxiliary my leadership lab. I invite you to join me in the lab.

Thank you for your service. 

Be safe out there and look to the safety of your shipmates,

Daren