Leadership, Unity in Crisis Theme Of ‘Lessons of History’ Event

CAPE MAY – Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen’s favorite definition of leadership is the “ability to reconcile opportunity and competence.” It’s this ability he’ll explore further when he presents the sixth annual Lessons of History lecture sponsored by the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts and Humanities (MAC) this fall.
Entitled, “Always Ready: Stories of American Leadership and Unity During Crisis,” Allen will talk about his years as the 23rd Commandant of the Coast Guard and two assignments he received which are examples of the Guard’s motto “Semper Paratus” (Always Ready).  
In 2005, President Bush placed Allen in charge of Hurricane Katrina onsite search-and-rescue and recovery efforts. Given his reputation for successfully dealing with a national crisis, in 2010, President Obama assigned Allen as National Incident Commander to take charge of the total federal government response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
“I believe you have to have unity of effort in addressing a crisis,” Allen said. “You have to get everyone to focus on a goal, of how to fix the problem.”
Allen said one of the ways he tries to achieve unity of effort is by having discussions with as many people as possible, “to consider alternatives and alternative points of view. You have to establish mutual trust, and then agree on a set of goals. I try to create transparency by engaging in diverse discussions to get all points of view.”
According to the Coast Guard’s official biography of him, Allen assumed the duties as commandant in 2006. 
“During his tenure as the top officer of the nation’s oldest continuous sea service, he led the effort to reform and modernize all aspects of the Coast Guard, thereby improving and sustaining Mission Execution,” according to the website.
“As admiral, Allen continually stated his ultimate aim was to make the Coast Guard a change-centric organization capable of quickly and efficiently adapting to meet the growing and ever-changing demands of the future. 
“Additionally, he was the first high-ranking member of the federal government to embrace social media, pioneering the effort to connect to his audience through all manners of digital technology.”
Although his modernization program was an important aspect of what Allen accomplished during his tenure, he also led the service during a time when it responded to a number of significant national and international incidents, including hurricanes, floods, search-and-rescue cases, oil spills and other environmental incidents. 
He led the effort to explore the changing Arctic, solidified the Coast Guard’s relationships with the nation’s other armed services and federal partners, and reached out to the private sector to gain their input and trust. 
During his final months in office, Allen led the Coast Guard’s response to the earthquake in Haiti and then, first as commandant and concurrently as the National Incident Commander, he led the nation’s response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, holding the latter post well after his tenure as commandant ended.
Allen, who retired from the service in 2010 after 39 years, is an executive vice president at Booz Allen Hamilton, Virginia.
He served as commander of Coast Guard Atlantic City from 1979-82; his wife taught in Mays Landing.
Throughout his career, Allen said he has found there is “little disagreement (among people) about the basics of preservation of life, property, and the environment. The problem today is the level of complexity in the world.
“Technology happens so fast that people can’t keep up,” he continued. “Information and technology are global in nature, so no single person can solve a problem. It’s a complex world with diverse perceptions and thoughts. It causes a complexity to problems that you really need to have unity of effort to solve things.”
Allen believes there are two characteristics leaders need to possess: the ability to learn rapidly, especially technology, and emotional intelligence. (Emotional intelligence is the capability of individuals to recognize their own and other people’s emotions, discern between different feelings and label them appropriately, use emotional information to guide thinking and behavior, and manage and adjust emotions to adapt to environments or achieve one’s goal(s).)
“The traditional perspective is that leaders are born or made,” he noted, “but I don’t subscribe to either. I think you need to continually acquire the tools to help you become a good leader. It’s a life-long process.
“I think of it in terms of a life-long tool box that you are continually adding to,” Allen said. “My favorite definition of leadership is the ability to reconcile opportunity and competence.”
The toughest situations, according to Allen, are when “fixing a problem intersects with policy and politics.”
He recounted efforts during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill when he encountered both while trying to get that problem cleaned up.
“There is a structure in place that calls for someone to be legally required to pay for and do the cleanup,” he said, “with the government overseeing the work. There was a perception that British Petroleum (BP) was calling the shots, but they weren’t. I had to manage BP and keep the president informed of what was going on.
“How did I manage it?” he asked. “Carefully. I had to keep the conversation going with the president, BP’s chairman, and senior advisors. There was a lot of tension, but we worked through it.”
His presentation will take place 4 p.m. Oct. 8 at Cape May Convention Hall. Ticket information is available here: https://www.capemaymac.org/lessons-of-history.