Elite and True: Leadership Lessons Inspired by the US Navy

Begin your journey to increased personal and professional productivity and strengthened workforce morale as you apply elite leadership lessons

​Inspiring, educational, and entertaining, Elite and True translates James Barnhart's real-life experiences in the US Navy's Officer Candidate School, Nuclear Power School, and submarine service into deeper leadership insights than most people will ever experience in their entire careers.

Barnhart deftly transforms his own military experiences into a broad format that readers can apply to general leadership situations in their own lives.

Many people seem to confuse leadership and management, or to incorrectly use the two terms interchangeably. As one officer succinctly stated to distinguish leadership from management, "You lead people, while you manage things." Never confuse management of assets, budgets, projects, or any inanimate object with leadership of cognizant, sentient, emotional human beings. To lead is to inspire people to perform. To manage is to measure and prioritize actions.

The skills necessary for management differ markedly from those of leadership. Whenever you're unsure of an answer, there is no better response than, "I do not know, but I will find out." This is the universal right answer. To hazard an unqualified guess can mislead the inquirer, and the basic "I don't know" is insufficient. The key is to honestly admit to not knowing, then to make real efforts to seek out and return the answer at the soonest opportunity.

Beneficiaries of hard-won and valuable lessons from the author's own life in the US Navy and as a manager in the corporate world, readers will learn how to develop leadership capabilities in four clear phases: unsure follower, determined follower, positional leader, and true leader. The true leader is the authentic leader, true to oneself and to others.

When readers finish Elite and True, they will feel motivated and energized--and know that they can accomplish more personally--and with their teams--than they could previously. This unique book is for those who aspire to lead, are presently leading, or who hold a management position in government or the private sector.

James L. Barnhart, a Distinguished Naval Graduate of the US Navy's Officer Candidate School, served as a naval engineering officer leading nuclear controls and instrumentation divisions aboard submarines. Jim built upon his foundational nuclear Navy experience in the corporate business arena to enable business customer delight through flexible and industry leading services and operational excellence during hypergrowth periods for start-ups and established companies.

Recognized for his distinguished C-suite career developing winning teams, advancing global growth, delivering record financial performance, and earning best-in-class customer satisfaction with superior operational performance, Jim is pursued as a speaker and advisor.

Jim holds a BS in electrical engineering from Washington State University and an MBA from Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley.