Talking Leadership With the Head of the Maritime Administration

Paul "Chip" Jaenichen leads the Maritime Administration, where he's responsible for overseeing the Department of Transportation's efforts to promote water transportation and the viability of the U.S. Merchant Marine. Jaenichen, who spent 30 years in the Navy, mostly in submarines, spoke with Tom Fox about bringing his military leadership style to the civilian sector, motivating employees and what he learned from Attila the Hun.

Fox is a guest writer for On Leadership and a vice president at the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service. He is also head of the organization's Center for Government Leadership. The interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Q. What is your leadership style?

A. People are people, whether they are in the military or civilians. Identifying their needs and focusing on their professional development, and then making sure you can motivate them to achieve the organization's mission, is my focus. I also want to keep the organization moving forward. As a result, I typically make decisions very quickly, and I make those decisions based on recommendations from staff. Sometimes there is pressure when you're working with imprecise data or without all the facts. So sometimes I have to reel myself back to make sure that I'm not trying to drive my organization too hard.

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This post was originally featured on the Washington Post's website.