Matt Baker
Commander, U.S. Coast Guard

I’ve served as an officer in the Coast Guard for 18 years. My experiences have informed my philosophy of leadership.

Like all Coast Guard officers, I’ve had two careers in parallel. The first is leading Coast Guard operations. I’ve spent years at sea and ashore leading people to accomplish search and rescue, maritime law enforcement, port security and marine environmental protection missions. Like the other branches of the military, the Coast Guard has continuously challenged me to take greater responsibility. I started my career responsible for 4 people. In my most recent operational assignment I did my best to lead a team of more than 350.

My second career has focused on leadership development. As a junior officer I was lucky enough to join a cohort of U.S. Army officers in the Organizational Psychology program at Columbia University. It was a life changing experience. I’ve been thinking about people and the way we all interact with each other ever since. Twice the Coast Guard has assigned me to work in leadership development. I spent three years on the staff at the Coast Guard Academy, minding the leadership and character development of cadets. I think I influenced some of them, but I know I learned even more about myself. Later in my career I worked at the Coast Guard’s Leadership Development Center, leading a team of 40 people to deliver career-point leadership training to 4,000 Coast Guard students year. It was an amazing time traveling the country, sharing leadership ideas with others and hearing what everyone else had to say.

I write this blog to share my leadership thoughts and experiences with others. By doing so, I hope to continue to grow and develop as a leader myself.