One of the biggest mistakes that leaders make is expecting respect based on title alone, according to retired U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Sandy Stosz, the first woman to lead the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.<\/p>\n
\u201cToo often, people rely on their \u2018position power\u2019 instead of their personal power. They expect others to trust and respect them because of their place in the organization,\u2019\u2019 Stosz says.<\/p>\n
\u201cInstead, leaders should get out of their offices and walk around to look, listen, and learn from their people,\u2019\u2019 she says. \u201cComing to work every day with an attitude of servant leadership keeps a leader humble.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Stosz will speak with UConn alumni, students, and other guests in a presentation titled, “Leading with Character in Uncharted Waters” on Wednesday, Nov. 10. Her presentation, part of the Theodore R. Rosenberg \u201955 and Mary F. McVay Business Leadership Series, will be both in-person in Hartford and livestreamed.<\/p>\n
The Rosenberg-McVay Business Leadership Series was created through the generosity of Theodore “Ted” Rosenberg ’55 and his wife, Mary McVay. The program is designed to bring the nation’s leading executives to UConn to lecture on topics facing business leaders. Previous speakers have included alumnus Patrick Harris ’70, former VP and CFO of the NBA’s LA Lakers, and alumnus and former Walmart CEO Bill Simon ’81, ’88 MBA.<\/p>\n
The couple were longtime contributors to UConn and the School of Business, creating a scholarship fund, faculty fund, and a named classroom in Storrs. Rosenberg was the CEO of The Burney Co., a decorated U.S. Army colonel, a frequent contributor to PBS’ “The Nightly Business Report,” a member of the UConn Foundation Board, and adviser to the School of Business’ Student Managed Investment Fund prior to his passing in 2013.<\/p>\n
Commanding Icebreakers Is a High-Intensity Operation<\/strong><\/p>\n Stosz began her Coast Guard career as an ensign, serving aboard polar icebreakers and conducting national security missions from the Arctic to the Antarctic. During her 40-year career, she said, she learned to \u2018break ice and break glass\u2019 as the first woman to command an icebreaker on the Great Lakes and to lead a U.S. Armed Forces service academy. Prior to her retirement she became Deputy Commandant for Mission Support, responsible for the mission from human capital to IT, education to security.<\/p>\n She spent four years as superintendent (president) of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London from 2011 to 2015, responsible for developing and educating a corp of 1,000 cadets.<\/p>\n She and her crew patrolled off the coast of New York City, keeping the nation safe after the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. But it is her work on the Great Lakes that she recalls most vividly.<\/p>\n “When I was captain of the 140-foot icebreaker,\u00a0Katmai Bay<\/em>, stationed in Sault Ste Marie, Michigan, I knew it was going to be a cold day underway when mist was rising like wispy clouds off the parts of Lake Superior that were not yet frozen over. That meant the ice-cold water was warmer than the even more frigid air,\u2019\u2019 she says. \u201cWe would jokingly exclaim, \u2018Mother Nature is making ice today!\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe had to keep the waterways clear of ice so the iron ore carriers could navigate from the mines along the coast of Lake Superior down through the St. Mary\u2019s River to the steel factories in Indiana,\u2019\u2019 she says. \u201cThe 1,000-foot ships would get stuck in the narrow waters of the St. Mary\u2019s River and we\u2019d have to make passes \u2018close-aboard\u2019 down their sides to try to loosen up the ice and get them moving again.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cThat was really hard at night when it was sometimes below zero, and we had to use a spotlight to see,\u2019\u2019 she says. \u201cIf we got too close breaking the ice alongside of the big ships, we risked getting sucked in and colliding if the ice cracked a certain way, creating a pressure differential. So, it was a high intensity operation, with all hands on deck.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n Despite the peril, Stosz loved the job.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes on those cold, quiet nights, the northern lights would brighten the sky with a kaleidoscope of color and I\u2019d feel like the luckiest person alive,” she says.<\/p>\n There\u2019s Strength in Overcoming Adversity<\/strong><\/p>\n Stosz graduated from the Coast Guard Academy with a bachelor\u2019s degree in government and then earned an MBA from Northwestern University and a master of national security strategy from the National War College. She also completed an executive fellowship in national security through the MIT Seminar XXI program and completed the Navy\u2019s Executive Business Course at the University of North Carolina.<\/p>\n She has received multiple military awards including two Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medals, three Legion of Merit Medals, and four Meritorious Service Medals. She lectures on leadership development, strategic vision and planning, change management, training and education and leading in complex organizations.<\/p>\n Although the nature of work has changed significantly, due to the pandemic, Stosz sees opportunity in change.<\/p>\n \u201cThe past year has been stressful, and stress is hard on people and organizations. But, people grow and become stronger when they face and overcome stressful situations. As the pandemic eases and companies return to a \u2018new normal,\u2019 employees and employers should bring a positive attitude and reflect on how they\u2019ve grown and matured through the crisis. They\u2019ll discover there\u2019s strength in overcoming adversity. And, I believe they\u2019ll discover they\u2019re stronger together, as employees and employer, united by a common purpose, as opposed to each entity looking out for its own best interests.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n One of the themes of her presentation will be leading with character. That is also the theme of her recently released book, \u201cBreaking Ice and Breaking Glass: Leading in Uncharted Waters,\u2019\u2019 where she discusses her experience leading mostly all-male teams.<\/p>\n \u201cLeaders of character are grounded in core values that orient their moral compass, alert them to decisions warranting deliberate moral reflection, and govern their actions and behaviors,\u2019\u2019 she says. \u201cLeading with character is important because it means doing what\u2019s right, regardless of the consequences.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s rare, because moral courage isn\u2019t always rewarded in our society. Moral courage is doing the right thing, even when it\u2019s a difficult decision and the leader is in the spotlight, being criticized and judged,\u2019\u2019 she says.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n