Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Steven S. Giordano released the CPO 365 Guidance May 30 for fiscal year 2018.

CPO 365 is a year-long program designed to ensure the CPO Mess and First Class Petty Officers are continually and steadily developing to succeed in future leadership positions and affords command leadership the flexibility to conduct education and training in alignment with the Navy Ethos and Navy Core Values of honor, courage and commitment.

Giordano is keen on highlighting three core principles of being a confidently humble leader. Everywhere he goes he reminds Sailors to be authentic, competent and courageous, both personally and professionally, in every aspect of their life.

"By speaking from our own learned experiences and using history to reinforce our steely grit as a Navy, we gain a deeper trust from those we lead," Giordano said. "We understand the decisions we make require us to be risk takers and that it takes courage to lead from the front with conviction."

Giordano said the guidance for this year incorporates feedback from the fleet received during his travels and brought to him by the CPO community through the fleets. Since becoming the master chief petty officer of the Navy Sept. 2, 2016, Giordano has traveled to Norfolk, San Diego, Key West, Hawaii, Millington, Bahrain, Afghanistan, Djibouti, the Pacific Northwest, the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy and Greece speaking with Sailors in every community at every level.

"I've been traveling the fleet quite a bit for the past nine months, asking Sailors what they want out of this program," Giordano said. "I think the results of that input are well incorporated into this year's guidance."

This summer he is scheduled to visit 7th Fleet accomplishing his goal of touching each Navy area of responsibility within the first year since assuming office. He has spoken with Sailors from 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 10th fleet, various Flag officers and members of Congress and attended several formal Navy events and spoken at dozens of all hands calls, all while maintaining a home, being a husband and a father.

"Authentic people know who they are, they speak from their own experiences and know how to define these things," Giordano said. "At the end of the day, no words on paper are truly going to be able to have Sailors understand authenticity, competence and courageousness until you get up and have a conversation with them, face to face, eye to eye and they can look at you and understand where you are coming from."

The Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy is the senior enlisted person in the Navy and serves as the senior enlisted leader of the Navy, an advisor to the Chief of Naval Operations and to the Chief of Naval Personnel in matters dealing with enlisted personnel and their families. Giordano is the 14th MCPON.

More information on the CPO 365 guidance can be found on the MCPON's page at www.navy.mil/mcpon/index.asp.

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