Cmdrs. Gary Montalvo and Ken Kleinschnittger have a lot in common. They joined the Navy to give back and went to the Naval Academy. They've led commands in tight-knit communities. And they're recipients of the fleet's top leadership award.
More than anything else, what the Stockdale award winners share is an unsparing ability to assess themselves and a self-depreciating manner, which helps them relate to and inspire the most junior enlisted and officers in their charge.
Two days after they were notified of the award, both were still reeling from the announcement that they'd won the Navy's most prestigious leadership award -- one that has been earned by many senior leaders before them, including two consecutive chiefs of naval operations.
"It's very humbling," Montalvo, the commanding officer of the attack submarine North Carolina, told Navy Times in an Aug. 31 interview. "I'll be completely honest – I had zero idea that I was even considered for this award."
Kleinschnittger, former CO of Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 12, said the credit belongs to his EOD techs.
"I'm almost feeling the weight of something like this," he said. "I'm not really deserving of this. This is about what the folks at Mobile Unit 12 did."
The award is given annually to two O-5 or below skippers at fleet commands, who embody the values of the late Vice Adm. James Stockdale, who received the Medal of Honor for leading the resistance against his Vietnamese captors during seven and a half years as a prisoner of war.
In the interviews, Montalvo and Kleinschnittger shared tips on successful leadership and how to motivate millennials.
"It's a great ship, don't get me wrong," Montalvo said of North Carolina. "But it does sink to the bottom of the ocean if it isn't for the crew, and that is not lost on me."
1. 'Give me a kick'
When he describes himself, the first thing Kleinschnittger says is that he's an introvert. But command requires a lot of talking and a lot of face time with your people, so he worked to be the CO his sailors needed him to be.
"There are introverts like us that can still perform well in roles like this," he said, a lesson he learned in a Newport, R.I., classroom. "If we're aware of it and we understand that sometimes, you go the public side of yourself and that can feel uncomfortable, but not necessarily false."
And as a back-up, he let his command triad know that they should feel free to confront him.
"I said, 'Hey, I can be a little on the quiet side, so if I'm being too quiet, come on over and give me a kick and point me in the right direction,' " he recalled. " 'If there's something I'm not doing, help me out, because we're a team on this and I can't do it alone. ' "
2. Get on their level
The generational divide between junior sailors and their leaders is older than sail canvas or fluked anchors, but leading the millennial generation isn't different than the Baby Boomers who had to lead him, Montalvo said.
"I don't subscribe to the notion that they're terrible," he said. "When I was a junior officer, they'd say, "These Gen X guys, they're a problem.' "
Leading millennials is easy if you take the time to meet them where they are.
"This will shock you. I talk to my guys daily, and sometimes we're talking about video games. That's how we communicate," he said. "And from there, you say, 'Hey, you've got your qualifications coming up. How's that going?' "
Kleinschnittger developed a similar command climate.
"If they wanted to come in and get a clarification of intent from me or tap into me as one of the oldest people at the unit, at least among officers, I saw myself as a senior reference library for the team," he said. "Or if they wanted to just tell me a funny story or that their kid pitched a no-hitter in little league. I was very open to it, because I draw a lot of energy from that type of interaction."
3. Let the crew lead
Innovation has become a Navy buzzword, and both COs said they inspired sailors to try out their ideas. The best would improve the command, the worst would be a chance to learn.
"I certainly never dreamed that I would have a lock on good ideas," Kleinschnittger recalled. "I would try to set conditions where the folks I worked with could really be the best version of themselves."
Montalvo described it as "sharing command."
"Sometimes I’m a little nervous and I’m like, ‘Oh man, I wouldn’t make that decision,’ but it turns out great," he said.
One of those ideas ended up helping the North Carolina on the fly. During their last deployment, the sub had a material issue that in most cases would've required pulling into port for repairs.
"And that’s kind of what I was thinking in my mind, but the guys really came through to do things out of the box to fix it on their own," he said. "I was not able to think out of the box enough to keep the ship going."
He enjoys the council of rivals, he said, that comes with allowing your crew to tell you when you're wrong.
"I get energized by that," he said. "I definitely agree that disagreement does not equal disrespect."
Montalvo and Kleinschnittger will receive their awards at a ceremony later this year.
Meghann Myers is the Pentagon bureau chief at Military Times. She covers operations, policy, personnel, leadership and other issues affecting service members.
