From a little revenue fleet to today's far-ranging, diversified Service. The leaven that binds. This notion of a Long Blue Line is much more than a motivational tool. Bread without leavening would be nothing more than flour, meal, and water. Likewise, an organization without effective leadership is little more than a large group of people moving in random and often opposing directions.
Leaders are the leaven that bind an organization together.
They lend vitality to the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard's relationship with our external environment is crucial. TQM, with its customer alignment component, was a principal means chosen by recent Commandants to get us in touch with the external environment and keep us there. The leader is the focal point of this exchange process accomplishing the practical goals of representing the organization and negotiating on its behalf as well as the large goal of continually re-imagining what the organization is and what it could be in the future. Bound by their shared commitment to our core values and guided by the traditions of those who preceded them, each Commandant has helped sustain and strengthen the Coast Guard by modifying it, helping the Service to better align with and complement its external environment.