MEMS - Metropolitan Emergency Medical Services’ Post

Off-sites that Kick ass Is team cohesion more critical than ever to you? Your top lieutenants must work together for your business to succeed, but they rarely meet face-to-face. I only do 6 per year Contact me at chris@chriskolenda.com to schedule an event for your organization or join the one open enrollment opportunity per year. What if you’d like a different battlefield or historical venue? That’s no problem. I’ve facilitated offsites at many American and European battlefields and national parks. We’ll pick the one that works best for you. #CEO #leadershiplessons #organizationalexcellence

Opportunity

It was no coincidence that Ayrissa Schmidt, Anna Vargas, and Sam Bascom presided over my going away festivities when I relinquished command of USS PINCKNEY (DDG 91) in December 2020. These three outstanding young leaders “fleeted up” onboard the ship, meaning they completed both their junior officer tours on the same ship. Everyone onboard benefited from their energy, professionalism, and devotion to mission – especially me, the Captain!  Talent Management comes in many forms – in this case it was “hiring” from within. Organizations are strengthened when there is an internal path for growth and retention. At the same time, it’s important that healthy, achievable paths exist for “outsiders” to join the team and provide diversity in thought and perspective. In other words, I think we need to have our cake and eat it too! (Note: Baggs the Beaver was unable to pass the “which squares show bicycles” authentication test so sadly is not available for a LinkedIn connection.) #ProudtoServe #TalentManagement

Trigger Alert! I'm going to defend DEI. I dislike almost everything about DEI because it disregards performance, and I have never witnessed it work as advertised in my corporate America experience. However, DEI is an attempt to right the unspoken, always denied, truth that exists in corporations, and likely in all private and public institutions. That unspoken truth is that managers promote people based off likeability rather than performance. Insert the word cronyism for likeability if you like. I've never seen anything different...EVER in my corporate America experience. Veterans don't fall in the DEI bucket, yet I've watched dozen of top performing Veterans, for some reason including several Navy Captains, passed over for middle of the packers. I've watched top performing minorities passed over for mid-packers as their poor performing bosses were also promoted. I don't hear anyone on the idiot box complaining about cronyism in government or corporations, but say DEI and peoples hair catches fire. Do you think more people are promoted every day from DEI or cronyism? Was VP Kamala Harris a DEI pick? If so, why is that any different from George Bush picking his families buddy Dick Cheney for VP. Remember Iraq WMD hoax got to rebuild Afghanistan Dick Cheney? If you're really concerned about businesses picking the best managers, or government picking the best government official, consider putting your energy into choosing among the top performers, instead of worrying so much about DEI. #leadership #veteranshelpingveterans #marines #veterans

Black History is World History

A veteran asked me the difference in my Marine Corps peers and corporate peers. Read to the end because their is a twist. The picture below is of what is known as Hamburger Hill during the Vietnam War, and is an encapsulation of the will of a group of men to overcome tremendous adversity. These heroes overcome for many reasons but, teamwork is one of the major reasons for their success. Every American on that hill supported each other and wanted the man beside them to succeed. In corporate America, everyone is a 1099/individual contractor. If the company mission is to sell XX number of widgets and each salesman is given a sales goal, each 1099 that meets goal benefits for each 1099 that misses the goal. There is no incentive to help anyone. It's beneficial to withhold information that could help someone achieve their sales goal. It's beneficial to bad mouth the other 1099's to the boss. It's beneficial to pit your team against the other teams. It's beneficial to criticize the other salesmen to their team. The goal for each salesman is to make it to the top of the hill alone, and pushing others back down the hill as ascending. Here's the twist. My experience is the best performing salesman doesn't get the promotion. The person most liked will get the promotion. If you get to the top with your integrity completely in line, I've only seen the one's half way up the hill, but well liked, get promoted because they were throwing spears at your back as you were ascending the hill and you likely never knew you were bleeding. When I was an active duty Marine, I had many disagreements with my peers, but I can't recall one EVER bad-mouthing me to my boss, and intentionally sabotaging my team's success. In corporate America, when my peers worked in separate locations, I was aware of at least half bad mouthing others to our boss. When my peers and I worked in the same location, everyone of them was bad mouthing the other to the boss and/or to each others team. That's the difference in Marine Corps peers and corporate peers. #veterans #veteranshelpingveterans #marines #leadership

Should be interesting.

How #MightyIKE’s CAPT Chris “Chowdah” Hill Used Cookies and Tacos (and Bombs) to Fight the Houthis In this interview with Ward Carroll (Mooch), CAPT Chris “Chowdah” Hill, commanding officer of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, describes how he used both traditional and innovative leadership methods, including social media, to boost morale during a uniquely challenging deployment. His approach combined daily communication, recognition of sailors, and fostering a sense of mission purpose. He became known for using #socialmedia platforms to engage the public and sailors’ families, sharing updates on life aboard the ship and events like #TacoTuesday. His leadership philosophy, outlined in, "The Way of the Warrior Sailor," emphasized the critical role of morale and communication in maintaining operational success and sailor well-being. Some gems on #leadership that resonated particularly: ✅️ "Morale isn’t always about cookies and dogs… It’s about feeling valued, being part of the mission, and having a sense of purpose." – Reflecting on how true morale stems from recognition and mission clarity rather than superficial incentives. ✅️ "Leadership is about setting up the game so that everyone can win. You’re both coach and umpire, creating a rigged game in your sailors' favor." – Emphasizing the leader’s role in creating opportunities for success and motivation. ✅️ "It’s part of my philosophy to love and value sailors. These are terms we are not afraid to use." – Highlighting his commitment to openly appreciating his team and fostering a family-like atmosphere. ✅️ "If you want to retain a sailor in the Navy, ask them: ‘Hey, would you like to reenlist?’ That’s a power we can use on other people." – The power of direct, personal communication and making people feel wanted as a retention tool. ✅️ "Mission and purpose are almost a gift. It’s the essence of what drives people to do things they otherwise wouldn’t." – Underscoring the importance of providing a clear and meaningful mission to inspire dedication. Watch here > https://lnkd.in/gi_eDNGv #MightyIKE #CVN69 #BestDamnShipInTheNavy #WarriorLeadership

Anytime, anywhere.

Arguments x Leadership Over the weekend, I had the distinct honor of swearing in Gaither Keener as the Department of North Carolina’s Judge Advocate. I think it’s important I share, here, what I shared to our membership. Since my first meeting in The American Legion, Gaither has been my mentor. For the first four years, I think that was a relatively easy role. Over the past 12 months, though, I don’t doubt I have been a significant thorn in his side. I have used my platform to share my mind and fight for the change I believe our members deserve. And while I think it’s been largely appreciated, my Department (State) has received substantial backlash as a result of my comments. It would have been easy to excommunicate me from the Department. When National requested I resign my appointments, it would’ve been simple to pull my appointments at the State level, as well. Heck, I think most of the powers-that-be requested that. But Gaither didn’t take the easy route. He kept me in my positions at the state level. When I announced my candidacy for District Commander, he supported me. And when it came time to swear him in, he asked me to do it. We don’t always see eye to eye. We’ve brawled on different issues. And sometimes we have to agree to disagree. But with all that said, we respect one another, because we both realize we care for the Legionnaires, above all the politics. That’s a leader. Semper Fidelis. _____________ 📸: shoes are Sam Edelman #marinecorps #semperfi #veteransstrengtheningamerica #betheone #ncd3 #nc #veteransaffairs