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Leadership Lessons inHistory and in Practice

Nearly three years ago I reported to theNaval Academy to fulfill a dream of

becoming a company officer. After earninga Masters of Professional Studies inLeadership Education and Development(LEAD) degree from the University of

Maryland as part of the USNA LEADMasters Program, I assumed duty as the14th Company Officer.

What awaited me was an incrediblejourney of personal and professionaldevelopment that was completely

By Lieutenant Jonathan “Shank” Lushenko ’05, USN

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unpredictable.The moral, mental and physical developmentmidshipmen receive during their four years is similar to thedevelopment that Navy and Marine Corps junior officersreceive while on staff. My recent tour at the Naval Academy is a testament to the education and training midshipmenreceive and demonstrates the spirit and promise of our nextgeneration of naval leaders. Our Brigade is as strong as it has ever been. Nowhere is this spirit stronger than duringPlebe Summer.

The challenge of leading 80 new and inexperienced midshipmen was my reward after taking over 14th Companyin April 2012. As the Plebe Summer 2012 Golf CompanyOfficer one question guided my actions: how can 80 of theyoungest and newest members of the Navy come together toform a successful team? This question also extended to the

first- and second-class detailers who were charged withpreparing our plebes to join the Brigade of Midshipmen; their development was also paramount.

Drawing on the education received during the LEAD program, I began constructing a comprehensive strategydesigned to ensure all members of Golf Company—plebes anddetailers alike—understood and appreciated the mission andvision of our company.This was accomplished through smallgroup meetings, one-on-one interactions and company-widediscussions primarily conducted at the conclusion of dailytraining. Three overarching goals led our company: 1) Approacheach day with a positive attitude; 2) always give 100 percenteffort; and 3) Never let fear get in the way of opportunity.

Together with Golf Company Senior Enlisted Leader,Chief Migual Tater, we gave our detailers the tools and knowledgeof fleet experience to appropriately direct and temper theirwell-intended enthusiasm for leadership and discipline. Welargely provided guidance and instruction when requested and when inexperience necessitated our input.

Ultimately, because of the relationship of mutual trust and respect we built with our detailers, and because of theexceptional talent of our fourth-class midshipmen, GolfCompany earned Color Company honors as the number one of 15 companies during Plebe Summer 2012.

Prior to the USNA LEAD program, my understanding ofcommand and leadership was underdeveloped. My knowledgeand appreciation for the heavy responsibility of command wasgreatly advanced while attending the University of Marylandand as a company officer. One of the most indispensable elements of command is a command philosophy. Before taking over as the 14th Company Officer, it was apparent that our company lacked a shared vision and organizationalvalues. To correct this deficiency, substantial time and effort was devoted to developing a commander’s intent: ExcellenceThrough Courage.

In addition, our company set several goals and identifiedkeys to success. The goals of 14th Company were: 1) Have fun;2) No major conduct or honor offenses; 3) No PRT failures;and 4) No academic failures. Our keys to success were: trust,respect, teamwork, compassion, discipline and accountability.

After publishing this intent, I took a deep breath, entrusted14th Company to the capable leadership of our company staffand was completely amazed by the performance of our company.

We went from being the 14th ranked company the previoustwo semesters to earning Color Company honors. In all

Class of 2017 Plebe Summer. Photo by Barbara Hendricks

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As author Ira Chaleff wrote in the Courageous Follower,“The rewards of the balanced leader-follower relationship are the rewards of all healthy relationships—honest struggle,growth, mutual admiration and even love.” Moreover, “thesooner we … [get] comfortable with the idea of powerfulfollowers and powerful leaders, the sooner we can fully developand test models for dynamic, self-responsible, synergistic relationships in our organizations.”2 Put differently, leaders are only as good as their followers.

But, how did we create this environment? Creating a successful organization where the leader-follower

relationship is paramount is a deliberate and thoughtful processthat depends upon shared vision and goals within an environmentwhere morality and ethical behavior is omnipresent. Followersmust know that their leaders have their and their organization’sbest interests in mind while maintaining convictions and concerns outside of the bottom line. Likewise, leaders mustknow that their followers are willing to lead from below byholding them accountable through well-intended conversationsand interactions. If leaders have created an environment ofmutual trust and respect, followers will have the courage to

hold leaders accountable, both ethicallyand professionally.

During my time as a company officer I came to realize that the formulafor creating this type of environment isnot under lock and key—we are allcapable of creating these types of organizations. The roadmap to success isstanding for something and creating ashared vision accessible from the top tothe bottom of an organization. Tellingstories, creating mantras, communicatingorganizational goals and using teachablemoments are all ways to reinforce organizational values. For example, 14th Company celebrated individualbirthdays, rewarded exceptional performance with a company coin and other incentives and took pride in all aspects of our performance—moral, mental and physical.

These actions took forethought andbuilt trust. Jim Collins offers the followingways to build and maintain trust in an

other major categories, we were ranked in the top 10. Most importantly, we were a team. Every member of ourcompany understood our organizational values, and we took great effort to ensure that positive contributions wererecognized within our company.

The immense value of transformational leadership washighlighted during the LEAD program in organizationalbehavior and student leadership development theory courses.Defined as leaders “appealing to followers’ values and theirsense of higher purpose [in a] moral exercise [which] raises the standard of human conduct,”1 transformational leadershiprequires leaders with refined emotional intelligence, values-oriented character and keen appreciation for mentorship. All ofthis rests upon an organization that elevates the leader-followerrelationship. Those of us who have been in an organizationwith a high degree of mutual trust and admiration between aleader and his or her followers understand the magic that existsin such a team. The climate and culture of the team overflowswith enthusiasm and purpose, as well as an unspoken contractof accountability—accountability between both the leader anda follower. This was 14th Company.

The 2012 Concordia Summit in New York City. From left to right: Capt Bill Woodward, USMC, 19th CompanyOfficer; LT Jon Lushenko ‘05, USN, 14th Company Officer; ENS Chloe Staab ’13, USN; former President BillClinton; ENS Charlotte Hauser ’13, USN; and ENS George Bowman ’13, USN. Photo courtesy of LT Lushenko

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organization: 1) Lead with questions, not answers; 2) Engage in dialogue and debate, not coercion; 3) Conduct autopsieswithout blame; and 4) Build “red” flag mechanisms.3 Or, asGeneral George S. Patton said, “Never tell people how to dothings. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you withtheir ingenuity.”

The beauty of exceptional leadership is that it transcendsall professions and walks of life. Generally, successful leadershippractices in the corporate world are equally effective in themilitary.The power of human relationships does not change ordiminish from one profession to the next. Rather, human capitaland other successful leadership practices—leading by exampleand with action; communicating regularly and with clarity;and sacrificing for those with whom you serve, to name afew—are woven into the fabric of all successful organizations.

My time as the 14th Company Officer prepared me wellto serve as the executive assistant to the Commandant ofMidshipmen. Although less accessible on a daily basis, I madetime to mentor many midshipmen and focused on leadersfrom our history who represent the essence of transformationalleadership, because, as Churchill noted, “the farther backwardyou look, the farther forward you are likely to see.” One morallycourageous leader who best illustrates the servant leadershipmidshipmen should emulate led our nation during a criticaltime in the early 20th century—World War I—was the 28thPresident of the United States, President Woodrow Wilson.

President Wilson lived a life dedicated to public service that was built upon an incorruptible moral foundation. His service to our nation still resonates today in many ways. As the president of Princeton University he stood firmbehind, and implemented, many progressive reforms and innovations despite heavy resistance. In some respects, he is the father of higher education.

As President of the United States, Wilson promoted his“New Freedom” program which fought monopoly powersand corruption. He was more interested in standing on the side of right than he was of popular opinion becauseeverything he did had the best interest of our nation in mind.He was fond of saying that he “would rather lose in a causethat will someday win, than win in a cause that will somedaylose,” and “absolute identity with one’s cause is the first andgreat condition of successful leadership.”4

Most important was Wilson’s understanding of the leader-follower relationship. Leadership theorist JamesMacGregor Burns thought of Wilson as a leadership pioneer

Private Support Plays Critical Rolein Midshipman LeadershipEducation and Development

The LEAD Masters Program that had such a dramaticimpact on Lieutenant Jonathan Lushenko ’05, USN’s,emerging career is a thriving partnership between theNaval Academy’s Leadership Education andDevelopment division and the University of Maryland.Masters courses taught on theYard by Academy facultyinclude “The Nature and History of Command” byLieutenant Colonel Joseph J. Thomas, USMC (Ret.), the Class of 1961 Chair and Distinguished Professor ofLeadership Education, and “Moral Reasoning for theCompany Officer”, by Captain James A. Campbell ’73,USN (Ret.), the Class of 1972 Distinguished MilitaryProfessor of Character Education—two professorswhose positions are made possible through philanthropy.

In addition to their work with the LEAD Masters program,Thomas and Campbell also engage directly with midshipmen in a variety of ways including teaching courses in the Leadership Education and Developmentdivision, participation in Plebe Summer education andthe First Class Capstone Seminar, mentoring those withhonor violations, leading domestic and internationalimmersion experiences and working with the NationalOutdoor Leadership School. In these efforts, they arejoined by several other distinguished faculty memberswhose positions are supported by individual donors,class giving programs and corporate contributions.

“When it comes to providing our midshipmen with the foundation in character, ethics and leadership thatwill help them succeed as officers, there is no substitutefor the insights, perspectives and real-world context of someone who has been in that position him or herself,” said Commander Wes Huey ’87, USN,Permanent Military Professor and director of theLeadership Education and Development division. “We are fortunate to have been able to bring severalrecently retired military officers with exceptionalcareers and experiences into our division, and areimmensely grateful to those whose generosity hasmade these critical faculty additions possible.”

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who “called for leaders who, by boldly interpreting the nation’sconscience, could lift a people out of their everyday selves.That people can be lifted into their better selves is the secret of transforming leadership.”

In 1916, President Wilson delivered an impromptu speechduring the graduation and commissioning ceremony at theUnited States Naval Academy that centered upon duty. He said, “You cannot forget your duty for a moment, becausethere might come a time when that weak spot in you shouldaffect you ... and then the whole history of the world might bechanged by what you did not do or did wrong.”5 As a rewardfor following duty,Wilson promised midshipmen affectionfrom mankind.

The reward for embracing my duty to develop midshipmeninto leaders was mutual respect and affection. Nearly 100 yearslater, President Wilson would be proud.

Lieutenant Jonathan Lushenko ’05, USN, served as the executiveassistant to the Commandant of Midshipmen and the 14th CompanyOfficer at the Naval Academy. He is an MH-60R pilot currentlydeployed with Carrier Strike Group Two in support of OperationEnduring Freedom and Maritime Security and Presence Operations in 5th Fleet. He is assigned to Destroyer Squadron 22 as the Air and Future Operations Officer and is embarked on GEORGE H.W.BUSH (CVN 77).

1 Richard L. Hughes, Robert C. Ginnett, and Gordon J. Curphy, Leadership: Enhancing the Lessons of Experience (New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2012), p. 577.

2 Ira Charleff, The Courageous Follower: Standing Up to & for Our Leaders (San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2009), p. 3, p. 235.

3 Jim Collins, Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap … and Others Don’t(New York: HarperBusiness, 2001), p. 88.

4 Izquotes. “James MacGregor Burns Quote.” http://izquotes.com/quote/27799.5 President Woodrow Wilson, “Responding to the New Call of Duty,” in Lend Me Your Ears: Great Speeches in History, ed. William Safire. (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2004), p. 1076.