Harnessing the Transformative Tsunami: Fleet-wide 360-degree Feedback Revisited
Abstract
Since 1775, the success of the U.S. Navy has been borne of its strong, capable leadership. For generations, seafaring warriors have been cultivated from within, hand-selected, and groomed to fit the roles their fleet demanded of them. Unfortunately, the recent firings of a few marquee officers suggest some tarnished organizational practices in need of polish. This thesis highlights obstacles that impact leadership development within the modern United States Navy. It also reflects upon various strategic, cultural, and technological trends that have shaped the Twenty-First Century naval workplace, as well as key organizational attempts to develop leaders of robust character. Using evidence from scholarly literature, the report champions one specific personnel development system called "360-degree feedback" with which the U.S. Navy has enjoyed a storied past. By comparing the force-wide 360-degree feedback trials initiated by the Navy and Army in the mid-2000s, the thesis argues that the abandonment of the initiative by the Navy was a hasty misstep. The thesis advocates reintroducing Navy-wide 360-degree feedback because of its unique and timely benefits to today's fleet, and concludes by coining a revised implementation strategy dubbed the "Transformative Tsunami" so as to remediate those weaknesses that befell its predecessor.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2012
- Accession Number
- ADA563630
Entities
People
- Daniel C. Rolnick
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School