Leadership

[Contract SRO]

Co60Slr,

In your last uncharacteristically taciturn post, you raised a very interesting distinction of leadership skill requirements.  My experience finds the degree of difficulty leading those in a manufacturing or factory environment versus what I had to deal with in the nuclear navy is markedly more difficult, requiring greater leadership savvy.  I feel qualified to make this anecdotal remark because, in addition to my current employment, I have also worked for Tyson Foods, Reynolds Metals Company, and Anheuser-Busch (as a weekend group maintenance manager because they brew 365 days a year)

Concerning diversity, both camps have their fair share; but, not all things are equal.  I'm sure you can imagine how bell curves “A” and “B” for employee intelligence (civilian factory or manufacturing worker versus nuclear navy sailor), for example, would look; the mean for the hourly factory or manufacturing worker is noticeably lower and the range much wider than you would find in the nuclear navy.  After all, there is no NFQT to make cigarettes, brew beer, roll aluminum foil, or process chicken.  Moreover, the control inherent in the military structure is not interwoven within the culture of the corporate environment, especially when a labor union is involved. 

You were spot on when you intimated there is a different level of leadership skills required of a leader to possess and employ on a daily basis when comparing manufacturing and nuclear environments.  The nuclear navy leader probably has little or no experience transforming the workplace of intellectually diverse and practically Teflon-coated employees (union representation) into an environment where everyone is expected to be personally involved, responsible, and accountable for their performance, decisions, and behavior while effecting measurable bottom-line results, including (a) new product launches, (b) decreasing time to market, (c) completing additional projects on or before schedule, and (d) obtaining a higher revenue and improved profitability to provide value to shareholders and other stakeholders.  These are my daily leadership challenges.  I've seen other ex-military leaders come and go because these challenges are outside their comfort zone.  None of those were of the ilk of some of those staunch nuclear leaders on this forum, those who are embedded in particular leadership styles or apparently stuck in their single-minded approaches.

Imagine the difficulties of the nuclear leader and their daily struggles; they are used to dealing with others of their own caliber, for the most part their contemporaries, and to the fewer tools required in the leadership toolbox that such unique conditions, such as the nuclear field, allow.  I cannot speak about the nuclear commercial environment, and I make no comparisons by proxy.  It was I who had be willing to be open to new ideas or perish in the corporate environment.

If you are willing to provide a rational discussion instead of a diatribe of insults, I will be willing to entertain any opposing views.

deltarho

Just one question and one comment.  Are you by chance a U.S. congressman or senator?  This sounds like the kind of BS in Washington that keeps this country from doing what is right for the nation (it's citizen), and keeps a bunch of talking heads rambling for days and saying nothing with content.

[Nuclear NASCAR]

OK, this one has degraded enough that if it were a building it would be condemned.  I'm going to lock this one and if y'all want to talk about leadership rather than seeing who can puff their chest bigger you can start a new thread.