Into the Storm (ft. Sandy Stosz)

Into the Storm (ft. Sandy Stosz)

From breaking through ice (and glass ceilings) to defending her nation, Sandy Stosz shares lessons in leadership

OPENING QUOTE:

“Being true to yourself, believing in yourself, gave you that power to demonstrate moral courage. Those three principles of leadership all melded together, for me, to be the leader I needed to be to get the most out of that Coast Guard Academy, to best serve its people.”

—Sandy Stosz

GUEST BIO:

Vice Admiral Sandy Stosz began her career in the U.S. Coast Guard as a young ensign, serving on polar icebreakers and conducting national security missions from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Over the course of her 40-year career, she’s served for 12 years at sea, commanding two ships— including being the first woman to command an icebreaker on the Great Lakes— and running security checks in the area around New York in the tense period following 9/11.

Stosz is also the first woman to be superintendent at the Coast Guard Academy, during which time she was named as one of the 150 Women Who Shake the World. She then became deputy commandant for Mission Support, directing one of the Coast Guard's largest enterprises in her final land-based role.

CORE TOPICS + DETAILS:

[14:55] - Overcoming Adversity— and Antagonism

A hostile environment can’t stop you

When Stosz first entered the Coast Guard Academy, she faced hostility from men who felt she didn’t belong there. Rather than give into feelings of inadequacy, she embraced her stubbornness and refused to let someone tell her she didn’t belong. She relied on her own power, rather than falling into feelings of victimhood, and the result was her unprecedented career.

[23:52] - Core Values & Coast Guard Values

Bringing personal values to an organization

Stosz reflects on how she built upon her personal core values through training in the Coast Guard. To her, leadership begins with core values. Leaders cultivate environments that reflect their core values, and make those values integral to the organization they serve.

[30:37] - From Outsider to Leader

Stepping into established teams as a newcomer

It’s always difficult to step into a leadership role in an environment with an already-established culture. But Stosz doesn’t see this as a liability— she sees it as a superpower. When you’re the ‘outsider,’ you can bring new perspectives that shake up long-held beliefs and traditions in order to revitalize an organization. Embrace your other-ness, rather than running from it.

[46:17] - When to Push & When to Release

The delicate balance of leadership

Sometimes it’s so easy to become “utterly focused on doing the job.” But sometimes, as a leader, you have a duty to care enough about your people to tell them they’ve done enough and it’s time to rest. This is even— and perhaps especially— important in high-pressure situations, such as the one Stosz faced commanding a security ship role in New York after 9/11.

[59:49] - The Importance of Accountability

Don’t turn your back on the standards that matter most

Setting standards is easy. But holding people accountable for those standards is much more difficult. But when you lead with moral courage, you’re empowered to hold yourself and others to a higher standard— and you’ll often find that your people rise to the challenge and beyond.

RESOURCES:

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Discover the secrets of success for you and your organization shared by the world’s leading thinkers, doers, and trailblazers. Join Chris Roebuck, Honorary Visiting Professor of transformational leadership, leader in military, business, and government, inspiring global keynote speaker, one of HR’s Most Influential Thinkers, bestselling author, and your host of Perspectives from the Top. The show reveals a treasure trove of insights from mega trends to practical strategies and actions to take your career up a gear. From government world shapers and business mold breakers to evidence driven academics and enthusiastic entrepreneurs, each episode shows you how you can immediately use these new ideas and actions to drive your success.

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CREDITS: