Nuclear Leadership
James O. Ellis, Jr.
Admiral, USN (Ret)
Annenberg Distinguished Visiting Fellow
The Hoover Institution, Stanford University
President and CEO, INPO (Ret)
joellisjr@comcast.net
August 26, 2014
Nuclear Leadership
• Creating A Culture for the Future: A
Leaders Role
• Leadership in Crisis: Resilience and
Responsibility
• Leadership Lessons: Observations of a
Fellow Traveler
Creating a Culture for the
Future: A Leader’s Role
• Defining Culture: practices, values, shared experience and leadership
• Assessing Culture: a bit of a mystery but not a puzzle; resides “in the
•
•
•
hearts and in the soul”
Industry (and NRC) definition: “An organizations values and
behaviors – modeled by its leaders and internalized by its members –
that serve to make nuclear safety the overriding priority.”
There may be many different cultures within a single large
organization; the nuclear safety culture is a subset of the corporate
culture.
A good corporate culture does not guarantee a solid nuclear safety
culture but it IS a requirement!
Creating a Culture for the
Future: A Leader’s Role
•
How does one shape an organizational culture?
Through six “embedding mechanisms” according to Dr.
Schein
1. What do you systematically pay attention to?
2. How do you respond in time of crisis? (more later!)
3. What signals are sent, unintentionally or not during
the budgeting process?
4. How does what you say compare to what you do?
5. What behaviors do you reward and punish?
6. Who do you recruit, promote and fire; what does
that say about the organization’s values?
Creating a Culture for the Future: A
Leader’s Role
• Is the culture “Just”?
• How do we shape a culture and to what end?
•
- Organizational: no carbon copies; must enable, motivate and
inspire
- Industry: bedrock foundation must be an unwavering
commitment to nuclear safety
What, after all, IS our role?
- What only the LEADER can do
- Setting of standards and expectations: THIS is who we are!
- Like it or not, you are an elite and the price of greatness is
responsibility.
Leadership In Time of Crisis:
Resilience and Responsibility
•
Here, too, you have an essential role and a number
of specific responsibilities:
- Manage anxiety, don’t create it.
- Always be brutally honest…and confident in a
good outcome.
- Be a closer; get things DONE!
- Do not confuse management with leadership
(more on this later!)
Nuclear Leadership
James O. Ellis, Jr.
Admiral, USN (Ret)
President and CEO, INPO (Ret)
joellisjr@comcast.net
August 26, 2014
Leadership Lessons:
“Observations of a Fellow
Traveler”
Leadership
• 7 Observations
• 7 Characteristics
Leadership Observations
• Leadership is not management
• It’s a (full) contact sport (and you are
•
•
•
•
•
already in the game!)
There is no single style
It’s always situational
It’s either good or bad
You never stop learning
You can lead by serving
“The Seven C’s”
“The Seven C’s”
• Commitment
“The Seven C’s”
• Commitment
• Competence
“The Seven C’s”
• Commitment
• Competence
• Credibility
“The Seven C’s”
•
•
•
•
Commitment
Competence
Credibility
Communication
“The Seven C’s”
•
•
•
•
•
Commitment
Competence
Credibility
Communication
Compassion
“The Seven C’s”
•
•
•
•
•
•
Commitment
Competence
Credibility
Communication
Compassion
Courage
“The Seven C’s”
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Commitment
Competence
Credibility
Communication
Compassion
Courage
Closer
How am I doing?
How will I really know?
Date of Presentation
INLEP Module 1
19
“Out of intense complexities,
intense simplicities emerge.”
Sir Winston Churchill
“There are simple answers.
There are just no easy
answers.”
Ronald Reagan
When all else fails:
“Do the right thing and do it now.”
Jim Ellis
Date of Presentation
INLEP Module 1
21
THANK YOU!
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?
Date of Presentation
INLEP Module 1
22
Nuclear Leadership
James O. Ellis, Jr.
Admiral, USN (Ret)
President and CEO, INPO (Ret)
joellisjr@comcast.net
August 26, 2014