I received another one. Every week since I started working with NAVAIR (Naval Air Systems Command), we received an inspiring message from the acting Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV), Thomas B. Modly on the Navy’s public blog site where he posts communication to the Sailors, Marines and civilians working for the Navy (https://navylive.dodlive.mil/2020/01/02/secnav-vectors/). These messages were called “Vectors”. The name struck me for some reason, so much so that I wanted to find out why he called it this. I dug into his blog, found out why he called them Vectors and uncovered the reason. As I did, I found it amazing how the name fits perfectly for current leaders and the world during this time of challenge with the COVID-19 pandemic.
The SECNAV communicated the Navy’s broad institutional priorities and he reminded us that they “were developed over the space and experience of years, not days”. He then went on to explain how this is where the name for his blog came from. He said, “In fact, the importance of those priorities is the main reason why I named these weekly messages as “Vectors” — implying a future course and speed towards an intended objective, rather than taking a “bearing” to fix our current location, or gazing “astern” at the wake we create — a wake that only leads in the direction from where we came.” (Secretary of the Navy, Thomas B. Modly (Acting) in his SECNAV VECTOR 17 memorandum provided weekly dtd March 27, 2020.)
Those last words stuck with me just like the title of the blog did as I think they are words that a true leader uses to inspire those around him or her during normal times and especially during times of challenge. Sadly, there are often times when key members of your team are lost and as the leader, the team needs you to keep them focused on the vectors at hand and the vectors that come as a result of a member being lost. In these times it is critical to be “setting the vectors” to keep the team focused on the requirements and end goal. Setting vectors is important in times when you go through a heavy argument with your spouse and you need to lead your kids because, in this day and age, they may be wondering if you are going to get a divorce. They will need reassurance that you and your spouse still have your course set and vectors in place. Other times when your son or daughter is being bullied at school and begins to think about whether living life is worth it and they need you to help them see the vectors that ARE worth pursuing. We, as leaders, need to keep our eyes and ears open during times like these and remember that true leaders step up and inspire during those times; not step back and get quiet…not by taking the easy path and hoping everything will be okay.
At home, my wife and I have a small group that we get together with each week and this past week we talked about that even in times of challenge, God has a great work for us to do; he calls us to use our gifts, passions, and talents to fill this earth with his beauty, goodness, love and truth. What an amazing and inspiring vector this is and it comes directly from the book of Ephesians that was written thousands of years ago. The Apostle Paul wrote, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10). Pretty clear vectors in that passage; do good works for others and do that good every step of every day of our lives. This is easy to say and very hard to do as sinful natured people, but if we have set our vectors, we are more likely to stay on our course to do good.
It is especially challenging to stay the course right now with everything that is out of our control, but we also need to see what IS in our control and know that we can control it. Chris Bailey stated in a Ted Talk (How to Get Your Brain to Focus), that overstimulus is the enemy of focus. He said that “We need to rediscover boredom to help us increase our attention span, have more ideas and have plans. When we are looking at a computer with our phones near by, we focus on average 40 seconds before we lose it. Our brains are so overstimulated that they “yern” for distraction, like an addiction.” This is especially true right now as so many are telecommuting. How many distractions do you have in a 15 minuted period? Seriously? Chris made a comment at the end of his talk and I thought is was something that we should reflect on to help us in setting our own vectors. He said, “The state of our attention is what determines the state of our lives.”.
““Not all those who wander are lost””
What is the state of your attention? How distracted are you from your current work or, even more importantly, your family. Are your vectors in place? As the SECNAV once stated, do you have a future speed and course to help you reach those important objectives. Even in times of challenge when we feel lost or just a little razzled, we need to use those times more than ever to help us and our teams stay the course; to set our vectors.
If you don’t think we are cloudy and our time obscured, just listen to this funny, but true understanding about what rules we should be following to overcome this pandemic (play the video below). You answer the question. After watching that video, how well have our leaders done setting the vectors? Perception is reality and you can see from the video that many people’s perception is that there is a lot of confusion and not much clear direction. I hope the video put a smile on your face, but also reminded you of how true leaders are fully aware of the importance of setting their vectors and staying the course. Do you have you and your team’s vectors set? Ask you team, your wife, your fellow non-profit board members, your kids. If you have them set, they would be the ones to know it. If you don’t have them it is about time. Ready…set your vectors…go!!
Edited by: Luke M. Perrin
Picture from Reddit:(https://www.reddit.com/r/WarshipPorn/comments/bt36h6/us_navy_ships_of_carrier_strike_group_2_sailing/)
