United States Coast Guard Auxiliary 7th District Breeze - USCGAUX ...
United States Coast Guard Auxiliary 7th District Breeze - USCGAUX ...
United States Coast Guard Auxiliary 7th District Breeze - USCGAUX ...
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Volume LVIII Issue 1 Spring 2012 3<br />
John Tyson<br />
<strong>District</strong> Chief of Staff<br />
From the Bridge<br />
Is Our <strong>District</strong> Making Progress<br />
The answer to that question depends upon whom you<br />
ask. Most of us would like to believe that the Seventh<br />
<strong>District</strong> <strong>Auxiliary</strong> is making progress every day. After<br />
all, doesn’t the <strong>District</strong> Gold Side leadership tell us that<br />
we do an outstanding job of serving our two primary<br />
customers, the <strong>Coast</strong> <strong>Guard</strong> and the recreational<br />
boating public But do we really know we are “making<br />
progress”<br />
Commodore Jaskiewicz and members of the <strong>District</strong><br />
Executive Committee addressed that question early<br />
last year. After carefully reviewing Auxdata entries<br />
for missions during the previous several years, the<br />
Executive Committee concluded that our district is in<br />
danger of “standing still.” And as many of us know,<br />
organizations that “stand still” are really falling behind.<br />
Commodore Jaskiewicz responded quickly to that<br />
assessment, however, by forming an Organizational<br />
Performance Team (OPT) to consider ways to improve<br />
the district’s performance and to recommend specific<br />
actions for improvement.<br />
He also directed the use of the “Are We Making Progress<br />
as Leaders”(AWMPAL) survey tool to get input from<br />
district and division leaders. The AWMPAL survey<br />
is used by many organizations ons to measure workforce<br />
perception of criteria impacting the organization’s<br />
performance. Those criteria include leadership,<br />
strategic planning, customer focus, measurement,<br />
analysis, knowledge management, workforce focus,<br />
operations focus, and results achieved. The <strong>Coast</strong><br />
<strong>Guard</strong> uses the AWMPAL survey to ensure its resources<br />
are aligned correctly; to improve communication,<br />
productivity and effectiveness; to achieve strategic<br />
goals and to determine the winning units for the<br />
Alexander Hamilton Award. Like the Seventh <strong>District</strong><br />
<strong>Auxiliary</strong> Commodore’s Cup, the Hamilton Award<br />
recognizes the best performing <strong>Coast</strong> <strong>Guard</strong> units.<br />
The tabulation of data from the district’s AWMPAL<br />
survey confirmed the Executive Committee’s earlier<br />
assessment that <strong>District</strong> Seven was in danger of<br />
“standing still.” It also highlighted areas that require<br />
urgent attention, including training unit leaders in<br />
action planning skills, and greater use of measurement<br />
and analysis to help units<br />
evaluate progress against<br />
goals.<br />
To emphasize the<br />
importance of leadership<br />
practices in improving<br />
the district’s performance,<br />
Commodore Jaskiewicz is<br />
presently leading a series<br />
of workshops to help unit leaders develop skills in<br />
strategic and action planning, team building, and<br />
performance measurement. Workshops for officers in<br />
Divisions 1, 7, 11, 15 and 17<br />
were held in early February,<br />
and six more workshops are scheduled for the coming<br />
weeks. Although these workshops focus on the needs<br />
of flotilla and division officers, they are, when space<br />
permits, open to any members who aspire to hold<br />
an elected or staff office in the future. Any member<br />
who feels they can benefit from learning these skills<br />
should contact their Flotilla Commander or Division<br />
Commander for the date<br />
and location of the nearest<br />
workshop.<br />
Although data from future AWMPAL surveys,<br />
along with “dashboard data” provided to units in<br />
measurement charts will<br />
certainly help flotillas and<br />
divisions to achieve effectiveness, the Seventh <strong>District</strong><br />
<strong>Auxiliary</strong> has a long way to<br />
go to achieve a sustainable,<br />
high level of leadership practices. Like the active duty<br />
<strong>Coast</strong> <strong>Guard</strong>, our district’s objective is to ensure our<br />
sustained dedication to performance excellence in all<br />
our mission activities. So stay tuned; you will hear<br />
lots more about these matters in the months and years<br />
ahead. At the least, you will hear more about them<br />
until we can say without hesitation, “Our district is<br />
really making progress.”<br />
Semper Paratus Ω