Navy Leadership
Top leaders inspire their teams to perform at or near their theoretical limits. By making their teams stronger, they relentlessly chase “best ever” performance. They study every text, try every method, seize every moment, and expend every effort to outfox their competition. They ceaselessly communicate, train, test, and challenge their teams. They are toughest on themselves; they routinely seek out feedback, and are ready to be shown their errors in the interest of learning and getting better. When they win, they are grateful, humble, and spent from their effort. By doing all these things, great leaders bring their teams to a deeply shared commitment to each other in the pursuit of victory.
- excerpt from Navy Leader Development Framework, version 2.0 April 2018
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Historical Leadership
- Secretaries of the Navy
- Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Manpower and Reserve Affairs)
- Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research Development and Acquisition)
- Chiefs of Naval Operations
- Vice Chiefs of Naval Operations
- Master Chief Petty Officers of the Navy
- Commander, Naval Education and Training Command
- Directors of Naval Reserve
- Directors of Naval Intelligence
- Office of Naval Material
- Office of Information
- Chiefs of Chaplains
- Aeronautics
- Medicine and Surgery
- Personnel
- Ships
- Supplies and Accounts
- Equipment and Recruitment
- Steam Engineering
- Yards and Docks
- Naval Air Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet
- Amphibious Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet
- Historical Figures
Further Reading
- Lessons in Leadership: Stephen Decatur
- MCPON William H. Plackett: A Focus on Leadership
- The Legacy of African American Leadership
- Dear Diary: Insights on the Burden of Leadership from the Man Who Won the War in the Pacific
- Dec. 22, 1775: The Beginning of Naval Leadership and Trust
- 5 Tips to Develop a Solid Leadership Foundation
- Refining Leadership for the Navy the Nation Needs
- 100 Years of Deckplate Leadership by Female Navy Chiefs
- Department of the Navy Leadership Reinforces Importance of Core Values
- Stephen Decatur and the Impact of Consequential Leadership
- 50 Years of Leadership: MCPON Rank Turns 50
- The Road to Anchors: Advice from a World War II-Era Chief
- Brilliant on the Basics
Books
- The Autobiography of Rear Admiral John A. Dahlgren
- Officers of Peculiar Skill: Petty and Forward Officers of the U.S. Navy 1797–1860
- Needs and Opportunities in the Modern History of the U.S. Navy
- Winning a Future War: War Gaming and Victory in the Pacific War
- Nimitz: Gray Book
Bibliographies
Additional Resources
- U.S. Navy History Lessons Learned
- Personal Papers
- Commander Naval Forces Vietnam
- Action Reports
- Command Operations Reports
- Manuscripts
- One Hundred Years of Leadership
- Edward Preble’s Leadership Qualities Analysis
- The World Cruise of the Great White Fleet leadership
- The Navy’s World War II-era Fleet Admirals
- U.S. Naval War College
- United States Naval Academy
Selected Imagery
Vice Admiral John S. McCain, USN, (center) with his son, Commander John S. McCain, Jr., onboard a U.S. Navy ship (probably USS Proteus (AS-19) in Tokyo Bay, circa 2 September 1945. Admiral McCain died a few days after this photo was taken. Note Japanese submarine in background, just to left of Admiral McCain. Collection of Admiral John S. McCain, Jr. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command photograph. (NH 92607)
Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr., USN, chief of naval operations (center background) participates in a question and answer session with U.S. Navy advisors at the Rach Soi Naval Base, Republic of Vietnam, in May 1971. Photographed by PH1 H.P. Shiplett. Note berets worn by Admiral Zumwalt and many of the others present. (NH 97203)
Stephen Decatur at Tripoli, during the boarding of a Tripolitan gunboat on 3 August 1803. Oil on canvas, 29 by 39, by William A.K. Martin (1817-1867), signed and dated by the artist, 1851. It depicts Lieutenant Stephen Decatur in hand-to-hand combat with a Tripolitan. Painting in the U.S. Naval Academy Museum collection. Gift of friends of the U.S. Navy, 1941. Official U.S. Navy photograph color. (KN-2587)
Rear Admiral William S. Sims, USN, is best known for commanding American naval forces in Europe during World War I. Sims played a crucial role in the implementation of a convoy system to protect Allied shipping from German U-boats. He is credited with helping to establish harmonious relations between the U.S. and British navies during the war. (NH 2839)
From left to right, Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, USN, Commander Fifth Fleet; Admiral Ernest J. King, USN, Chief of Naval Operations and Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet; Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, USN, Commander in Chief Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas; and Brigadier General Sanderford Jarman, U.S. Army. Aircraft in the background is a B-24/PB4Y-1 type. (80-G-307861)
Ensign Rosemary Mariner Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia Beach, Virginia, makes pre-flight checks of the main gear of a fleet composite squadron two, VC-2, S-2 tracker antisubmarine aircraft. She is a member of the squadron. She would go on to be the first woman to command an operational naval aviation squadron during Operation Desert Storm. (USN 1160872)