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excella.com | @Honer_CUT
Long Walks, Horseshoes,
and Train Rides: Leadership
Lessons from Admiral Nimitz
Trent Hone
excella.com | @Honer_CUT
 In a complex system?
 When the relationship between cause and effect
is delayed and non-linear?
 When direct action is less fruitful than influence?
What does leadership mean?
excella.com | @Honer_CUT
Introductions
Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz
 Commander-in-Chief, Pacific
Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas
Trent Hone
 Fellow at Excella
 Agile (all forms) Enthusiast
 Award-Winning Naval Historian
excella.com | @Honer_CUT
A New Role
excella.com | @Honer_CUT
Go to the Pacific
excella.com | @Honer_CUT
B&O to Chicago
Photo: Roger Puta - https://www.flickr.com/photos/129679309@N05/27419555100/
excella.com | @Honer_CUT
Santa Fe to Los Angeles
1949 Brochure - http://old.atsfrr.org/resources/Haben/Super%20Chief/Super%20Chief%201949/index.htm
excella.com | @Honer_CUT
Nimitz takes the train in order to:
 Segment his work (out of old role and into new one)
 Review available information
 Prepare for the next challenge
Effective Use of Slack
excella.com | @Honer_CUT
 Creativity requires slack;
it is essential for change
 David Woods calls this
adaptive capacity
 The more highly
specialized (efficient) we
become, the less
adaptable we will be
Using
Slack
excella.com | @Honer_CUT
It could have happened to anyone
excella.com | @Honer_CUT
Diversity of Experience
excella.com | @Honer_CUT
No Stranger to Mistakes
excella.com | @Honer_CUT
Keep the Entire Staff
excella.com | @Honer_CUT
Nimitz keeps the whole staff because:
 Morale is critical  he wants to redeem them
 Their knowledge and expertise is valuable
 He wants to give them a chance to succeed
Commitment to Growth
excella.com | @Honer_CUT
 Learning environments
are often wicked
 New contexts break
established lessons
 Diversity of
experience/perspective
essential for creative
problem-solving
Broad
Experience
excella.com | @Honer_CUT
A Culture of Learning
excella.com | @Honer_CUT
Organizing the Staff
excella.com | @Honer_CUT
Organizing the Fleet
excella.com | @Honer_CUT
Task Forces and Type Commands
Task Force 11 Task Force 16 Task Force 8
Carrier Carrier Carrier
Cruiser Cruiser
Cruiser Cruiser
Cruiser Cruiser
Cruiser
Cruiser CruiserCruiser
Cruiser Cruiser
Destroyers Destroyers Destroyers
CarrierCarrier Type
Cruiser Type
Destroyer
Type
excella.com | @Honer_CUT
Nimitz arranged the staff so that:
 He could gain a diverse set of perspectives
 People were in roles that resonated with their
abilities and dispositions
 He could delegate effectively
Networks for Learning  Staff
excella.com | @Honer_CUT
Nimitz arranged the fleet so that it could learn!
 Operational network (execute plans and tasks)
 Continual improvement network (always get better)
 Social network (connect, collaborate, and learn)
Networks for Learning  Fleet
excella.com | @Honer_CUT
 Behavior does not spread
virally
 Networks can be
structured to accelerate
change
 Clustered networks with
wide bridges spread
change the fastest
Learning
Networks
excella.com | @Honer_CUT
Setting the Stage
excella.com | @Honer_CUT
Inviting Participation
Nimitzs Questions:
 Is success likely?
 What are the
consequences of failure?
 Is it practicable?
excella.com | @Honer_CUT
Two Types of Failure
Unanticipated
 Reveal new lessons
 Celebrate learning
Attributable
 Avoid if possible
 Sanction if they occur
excella.com | @Honer_CUT
Nimitz deliberately created psychological safety:
 Regular framing  what are we doing and why?
 Encouraging participation  what are your ideas?
 Dual approach to failure  celebrate learning and
sanction violations
Building Psychological Safety
excella.com | @Honer_CUT
 Frame the work and
emphasize purpose
 Demonstrate situational
humility, practice inquiry,
and establish reinforcing
stuctures
 Express appreciation,
destigmatize failure,
sanction violations
Fearless
Leadership
excella.com | @Honer_CUT
More Slack Horseshoes
excella.com | @Honer_CUT
Swimming & Walking
excella.com | @Honer_CUT
Recreation
excella.com | @Honer_CUT
Nimitz made space for regular recreation:
 Create distance from problems
 Allow subordinates time to work
 Bonding outside of work
Effective Use of Slack
excella.com | @Honer_CUT
 Use downtime
 Access depth of
experience
 Reconfigure networks
 Identify lessons
 Deliberately foster safety
Slack is the
Glue
excella.com | @Honer_CUT
Summary
Create a virtuous cycle
 Create room for slack, downtime, and
recreation
 Collaboratively leverage your range
 Be deliberate about networks for
learning
 Actively increase psychological safety

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Leadership Lessons from Admiral Nimitz - Lean Agile US 2020

Editor's Notes

  • #13: Decatur
  • #16: Cognitive entrenchment
  • #23: Emphasize and leverage social connections
  • #31: Beach party on Guam May 1945