A leader I would like to meet

By Mike DeGrosky

I am borrowing a page from the National Wildfire Coordinating Group, Wildland Fire Leadership Development Program to introduce Wildfire readers to a leader I would like to meet.

Dr. Eleanor Concepcion “Connie” Mariano is a woman of firsts. The first Filipino-American to become a rear admiral in the U.S. Navy, Mariano also was the first military woman to serve as the White House physician to the president and the first female director of the White House Medical Unit. As the White House doctor, Mariano served as the personal physician for three presidents. However, she also cared for the presidents' families, visiting dignitaries and the entire presidential entourage when they were on the road.

She was born with the U.S. Navy in her blood. Her father, retired Master Chief Petty Officer Angel Mariano, served for 29 years. Like many military children, Mariano grew up on a series of bases; one must wonder how her early life experiences shaped her and prepared her to succeed and lead. While we've long since put the “born vs. made” leadership question to bed, I think most people who understand leadership agree that people's formative experiences contribute to their leadership capacity.

Interestingly, Mariano is not the privileged daughter of an officer. Master Chief Mariano served in the Navy's steward corps. As a steward, Mariano's father likely worked his way up from serving food and shining shoes; for many years he served as an admiral's valet. In her newly released book, The White House Doctor, Mariano recalls visiting the homes of the six admirals that Master Chief Mariano served — never by the front door, but always through the garage, the back door or kitchen.

So Connie Mariano, daughter of the admiral's valet, becomes the first Filipino-American appointed to the rank of rear admiral — that's pretty cool. Mariano began to succeed early; she was, after all, the valedictorian of her high school class and graduated from college with high honors. OK, so she's smart. However, it wasn't her smarts or her accomplishments that impressed me in a recent interview, but her philosophy. That's why Mariano is a leader I would like to meet.

I admire leaders with wisdom. Wisdom is how we use our knowledge and experience in our daily lives, and Mariano is a wise person. In that interview, she was asked how she was able to accomplish what she did in the Navy. From her response, I took away the following lessons learned:

Never forget where you came from. We all started somewhere on our rise to success. Over my career in fire, I've been repeatedly astounded by the permanents who forgot they had been seasonal, the supervisors who forgot about being a grunt, the line officers who forgot how to treat an IC with respect, and the ops chiefs who forgot about being on foot in tough terrain. I love that when Mariano got to the White House, the person who would be the president's doctor identified with the president's valets — four Filipino Navy master chiefs — with whom she could connect because they were men like her father.

Be humble and never think you're good enough. Obviously, remembering where you came from means staying grounded, but Mariano goes further. First, she believes that staying humble contributed to her success. In his recent book, Leading at a Higher Level, noted leadership author Ken Blanchard calls humility an “ego antidote.” The ability to recognize that leadership is not about the leader, but about the followers and their needs, he says. Obviously, people knew early on that Connie Mariano was exceptional and had the right stuff. However, she continued to drive and strive. In Good to Great, author Jim Collins describes great leaders as possessing both will and humility. By those measures, Mariano stacks up.

Maintain appropriate relationships with your subordinates, but respect them. One must always remember where they came from and stay humble. However, the cold facts of organizational life also demand that one maintain appropriate relationships with their subordinates, and failing to do so causes many a supervisory leader heartburn. As surprising as those who forget where they came from, I am equally amazed by people who forget that they are no longer there. Respecting your hotshot superintendent doesn't require acting like you are a 50-year-old GS-13 hotshot. In Mariano's career, she knew that the military essentially creates a caste system — officers and enlisted personnel don't mix. Mariano's advice is to not mingle with one's subordinates, but make darned sure they know you respect them for their knowledge and experience.

Defer to your subordinates' expertise. Mariano learned this lesson as a young Navy lieutenant, when she worked with senior chiefs and master chiefs whom she outranked but who had been in the Navy for 30 years.

Have a servant mentality. Approach your work from a service orientation, play down your ego and focus on the interests of others. Help people achieve their goals.

Don't be afraid, don't let anybody tell you no and don't ever underestimate yourself. Blanchard calls this “living your vision” — staying focused on your vision and showing the courage of commitment.

Finally, I read somewhere that Mariano has four Filipino godfathers, all of whom were Navy stewards and worked their way up to master chief like her father. To them, Mariano says, “Thank you for reminding me daily that I owe my presence here to people like you and my father who paved the way. Thank you for never letting me forget about the qualities of kindness, silent service, loyalty and humility.” When I think of leaders I would respect and follow, those are the characteristics that would prove tough to beat.

If I had a daughter, I'd want her to meet Mariano and consider her as a role model. If I were advising an ambitious person who was considering a demanding job or a deploying soldier who was worried about the effect of deployment on his or her family, I'd guide them to the doctor's life lessons. Come to think of it, I'd direct most fire people who are concerned about how their job affects their family to learn from Mariano's experience. Dr. Connie Mariano is a leader I would like to meet, and I will be reading her book.

Mike DeGrosky is chief executive officer of the Guidance Group, a consulting organization specializing in the human and organizational aspects of the fire service, and an adjunct instructor in leadership studies for Fort Hays State University. Follow him on Twitter @guidegroup or via LinkedIn.