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What inspires you to do the work you do?
I enjoy the satisfaction I get from accomplishing goals in teamwork with other folks, and in succeeding as a team. I sincerely believe that one of the most satisfying accomplishments for any leader is to earn the respect of the people who work for them. It’s often easy to fool your Boss and at times even your peers, particularly if you are making your sales quotas or performance numbers, or even if you are a lot of fun to be around. But the people who work for you (and who live with you too) know who you really are, and they are the toughest judges you have. If you win their respect, you will also then have the personal authority you need to be effective as a leader. It may be satisfying to be “liked,” but if you want to be effective as a leader and manager, strive to be respected.
How do you define success? Please tell us about one success of which you are particularly proud.
It may sound corny, but my most rewarding successes are family successes; watching my children become good people. In my experience, being a good parent is one of the hardest and potentially most rewarding challenges in life. When you invest yourself in that, and then they become adults you are proud of, I don’t think any work related success is any better.
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As a boss, you can be demanding, you can even be overbearing, and you can still get people to respond positively if you are doing other things correctly. But if you take away an individual’s dignity you’ll always lose their loyalty, and it may never be recoverable. Holding people properly accountable for their actions is critical to developing and sustaining a positive organizational culture, but accountability should never be confused with belittling or shaming someone.
Experience:
Rear Admiral, USN (Ret.)
CASY MSCCN Board Member
DOD Account Executive, IBM
Rear Admiral Marc Purcell, USN (Retired)