NAV EX 2nd QTR 2018 NavEx 2nd Qtr 2018 - FINAL | Page 8

LEADERSHIP IN A VOLU
Story by Commodore Larry King, Vice National Commodore
USCG Aux Photo by Lee Harrison
Mobile, AL - Commodore Larry King addresses a group of Serve and Be Ready for Emergencies (SABRE) students prior to a week long
training course that enables Auxiliarists to train and advance qualifications in the AUXAIR program.
A dictionary definition of “leader” is easy to
understand. Simply stated, it is a person or thing that
leads. Yet, the subject of leadership is so complex
that a review has disclosed that nearly ten thousand
new books on the subject of leadership have been
published within the past five years.
Anyone can be a leader, but certainly not everyone
can be considered a “good” leader. The definition of
“good leader” is variable depending on who you ask.
If a unit achieves some important assigned goal, the
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leader may be viewed as effective, therefore “good”.
But if that unit is made up of superb performers, the
leader may not be viewed as strong, rather, they may
just be viewed as the senior person in a very good
unit. This leads to a dilemma for many leaders and
creates the tendency to overuse the word “I”. While a
leader of a good unit may frequently verbalize praise
to unit members for their performance, that same
leader may tend to use the word “I” frequently when
briefing senior leadership. So, which leader are you?
NAVIGATO