One of the hardest concepts for me to describe is the “how” being a U. S. Navy Chief Petty Officer transformed me. We have a saying, “Once a Chief, Always a Chief.”
While browsing my LinkedIn feed, I saw a link blog post with a curious title.
U.S. Naval Institute Blog (usni.org) – blog post link
The history of the Navy Chief (short for Chief Petty Officer) is rich. I don’t have enough time to cover all the bases, but it’s unrivaled by any other position in the U.S. armed forces.
The Link: Servant Leadership & Chiefs
The author, Tony Palmer, noted content from the letter that former MCPON (Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy) Mike Stevens wrote in 2014 which explains how I was transformed.
In his December 2014 “Letter to the Mess” MCPON Mike Stevens defined the chief petty officer rate by stating, “A Chief Petty Officer is a quiet, humble, servant leader. We have the responsibility to establish and maintain the conditions that provide all of our people the opportunity to be successful and accomplish whatever mission we have been given. And we do this while treating one another with dignity and respect.” Stevens went on to quote the British writer and lay theologian, C. S. Lewis. “Being humble is thinking less of yourself and thinking more about others.” His final sentence reflects the essence of his vision for a humble leader, “Being mindful that the more senior you become, the more people you serve.”
Tony Palmer (emphasis above is mine)
For me, Mike nailed the “how”. I saw servant leadership modeled by Chiefs.
As a result, I became the person I saw modeled. In the Agile product and service development space, we talk about servant leadership. I lived it before joining the Agile community.
