FReeper Canteen ~ Sunday Chapel ~ Leadership and Listening ~ 08 November 2026

Serving The Best Troops and Veterans In The World ! | The Canteen Crew

[Kathy in Alaska]

 

 

 

LEADERSHIP AND LISTENING

"Listen to what I am saying," Job cried out to his "friends" in the biblical story. "That is all the comfort I ask from you. Give me a chance to speak, and then, when I am through, sneer if you like." Job didn't ask for much. But it was more than these colleagues were prepared to offer. Unfortunately, such encounters are far too frequent -- even among those we would expect to care about what we think or feel.

Back in 1989, Admiral Carlisle Trost (then Chief of Naval Operations) asked a group at the Navy's Senior Enlisted Academy, "What is it that makes a leader?" His answer: "Communication, effective communication." He went on to assert that "A leader's willingness to listen, and I mean SINCERELY listen, is probably the single most important factor in the morale of a ship, squadron or unit...."

Notice his emphasis on LISTENING rather than conveying information, or persuading, or even negotiating. Steven Covey, in his "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People," makes a similar point when he teaches, "Seek first to understand, then to be understood." Only when we are willing to be influenced, he says, do we give people room to release their fixed positions and consider alternatives.

But how hard that is to put into practice! Isn't our normal reaction to begin framing our response while someone else is still trying to make their point; to defend our own position rather than considering another?

When you consider all the OTHER barriers to communication -- such as differences in personality, temperament, background, training, culture, and sometimes even language -- it's amazing that we are able to communicate at all. Our perspectives are just so different.

Still, we can listen and explore the meaning behind the words. And we can ask questions rather than simply ask if our remarks are clear. We can ask our listeners to repeat back what we've said in their own words. And we can invite dialogue rather than settle for assumptions. I'm reminded of the old adage attributed to Zeno of Citium some 300 years before Christ: "The reason we have two ears and only one mouth is that we may listen the more and talk the less."

How different the world would be if we all learned the leadership (and relationship) secrets in really listening...and seeking to understand. If Covey is right, we would probably be much more effective. If Admiral Trost is right, we would probably be happier as well. Something to consider...

CAPT J. David Atwater, CHC, USN

---

TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; Free Republic
KEYWORDS: canteen; chapel; military; troopsupport

[radu]

Greetings to all at the Canteen!

To all our military men and women, past and present,

THANK YOU
for your service!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Please join us for Sunday Chapel ~ LEADERSHIP and LISTENING, and Liberty

Lt. Charles F. Suver, CHC, USN, 28th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division
"Mass at Iwo Jima"

Please stop in and say a prayer of protection for the military.
Prayers from all denominations are needed.



Sunday Liberty starts after the Guest Military Chaplain's Service!

[radu]

Howdy, Kathy.

Did you get a nice, long sleep? Kick back with a good book for a while this afternoon?

Looks cold up there. In some spots, the frost didn’t disappear.

Going to be cold here tonight and my heat isn’t working! I think the fan motor conked out. :-(

[left that other site]

Hi Everybody!

(((HUGS)))

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, radu, and a Blessed Lord’s Day to you and yours.

Did you a have a nice weather day? Any rain in sight?

Stayed cold here.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Dear God:
I ask that no Airman, Coast Guardsman,
Marine, Sailor, Soldier, Reservist, National Guardsman, or Merchant Marine
feel alone or forgotten.

O Israel, hope in the Lord;
For with the Lord there is loving kindness,
And with Him is abundant redemption.
And He will redeem Israel
From all his iniquities.

Psalm 130:7 & 8

[radu]

It was a little chilly here today, and breezy.

Might have a chance for rain Wed. night and Thurs. but chances aren’t high. Daytime temps won’t be bad but nights will be cold all week.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Oh no...anyone open on the weekend? Or space heaters to get by?

A couple extra hours that were nice. And some reading time. And it has stayed cold and frosty. Ducks hanging out in the creek, not the yard.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Hello Veterans, wherever you are!!

A Blessed Lord's Day and Shavua Tov to you.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, ML...((HUGS))...and a Blessed Lord’s Day and Shavua Tov to you and yours.

Are you and Blue still able to get out, or is it getting too cold?

[lightman]

Keep the Lord’s Day in the Lord’s way.

A blessed Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost (Western)/Twenty Third Sunday after Pentecost & Commemoration of the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel (Orthodox) to all!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Shavua Tov.
Wishing all our Jewish troops, veterans, families, allies, friends, and Canteeners
a peaceful and prosperous week.

[radu]

Gotta wait til Monday. I have a space heater here in the bedroom at least. I got a larger one out of the closet to put in the living room but it’s a 220v one, and there’s no outlet for it.

The sun will warm the house up during the day tomorrow but I have two nights to get through.

I hope it’s just the fan and that I don’t need to replace the unit. It’s old enough that it’s a possibility.

Sounds like you had a relaxing day. Good!
Your ducks have the creek. I wonder where the ducks that normally hang out at LH are these days. The lake’s iced over now.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Prayers for our troops, veterans, families, allies, friends, and Canteeners
for a safe and peaceful week ahead.

[luvie]

Ray Walker~Master The Tempest Is Raging
Congregational Singing

Cynthia Clawson & Others~Church In The Wildwood

The Trevecca Madragalians~It Is Well With My Soul

Statler Brothers~How Great Thou Art

St. Olaf Choir~When Peace Like A River

Providence~Farther Along

Vocal Majority~Deep River

Have a blessed Sunday
God bless our troops!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Extra prayers for Israel...

He Who blessed our forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - may He bless the fighters of the Israel Defense Force, who stand guard over our land and the cities of our G-d from the border of the Lebanon to the desert of Egypt, and from the Great Sea unto the approach of the Aravah, on the land, in the air, and on the sea.

May HASHEM cause the enemies who rise up against us to be struck down before them. May the Holy One, Blessed is He, preserve and rescue our fighting men from every trouble and distress and from every plague and illness, and may He send blessing and success in their every endeavor.

May He lead our enemies under their sway and may He grant them salvation and crown them with victory. And may there be fulfilled for them the verse: For it is Hashem, your G-d, Who goes with you to battle your enemies for you to save you.

G-d bless and keep your children safe, Alouette.

[radu]

Howdy, luvie.

Did you get any rain this morning? It was all barely past your area when I checked the radar this afternoon.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, lightman, and a Blessed Lord’s Day to you and yours.

And a “blessed Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost (Western)/Twenty Third Sunday after Pentecost & Commemoration of the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel (Orthodox)”.

Your wood stove ready to go?