The subject is leadership. This is the first of series of leadership profiles, presented to assist hospital staff with what it takes to get ahead, get promoted and achieve success.

Intuitively, a lieutenant junior grade wouldn't be the first choice in seeking tips and advice for being successful. A lieutenant junior grade who has achieved the rank of chief hospital corpsman is another story. And that's exactly why we're talking to Lt. j.g. Tanjji White, staff nurse on the Naval Hospital Twentynine Palms Multi-Service Ward.

When Lt. j.g. White came aboard NHTP, she noted it felt like she's been in the Navy her "whole bloomin' life." She credits her success "with the people who mentored and guided me." Lt. j.g. White was a career counselor at Great Lakes in her last assignment prior to becoming an officer. She is impeccably credentialed to offer advice on success.

"You have to listen to people and take in their advice. If you're first coming in or you're going up the ranks, you can't think that you know everything," White said.

Colin Powell, retired four-star general and former Secretary of State said: "Never receive counsel from unproductive people." Lt. j.g. White reinforces that view. "Be careful to not listen to people who aren't going anywhere with their career and who are angry and/or bitter. You have to listen to people who are motivated and who are making a difference and being successful," she said.

White said that when she came into the Navy she was an impressionable Seaman Apprentice who respected authority. "My first chief made me go to college," White recounted. "I didn't know any better, so I just said, yes, Chief." She said she'll never forget him, Chief Hospital Corpsman James Harrold. "He was my mentor but he was also a father figure to me," White said. "I was young and my parents weren't there."

Mentoring. White is a strong advocate for attaining a mentor. "If you don't have a mentor, you end up feeling frustrated," White said. "You don't have the benefit of someone taking you under their wing, to show you how to do things, to help you figure how to structure your career. Don't come in thinking you can do it all on your own because that's not possible," she said.

White also recommends taking advantage of any available training. "Take classes, because the more you know, the more effective you can be and the more competitive you are," she said. "When workshops are offered for your NECs [Navy Enlisted Classification] take advantage of them." White recommends applying for sea schools, and suggests, "Any certifications that you can get as a hospital corpsman, such as phlebotomy, take them; and be patient."

Patience. "Be patient," White advises. "Everything will come to you in good time. But you have to be patient and you have to have the stamina to stick with what you're doing. Even when you fail at something, take a step back, reevaluate, and then give it another try. But you have to have to be patient and you have to be willing to work hard for your goal. Don't listen to the nay-sayers, ignore all of the negative people and know that within yourself you can do it," she said.

Stormy seas. White knows that not all seas are calm. Periods of turbulence should be expected. "We all get those episodes when you feel negative," White said. "Sometimes when you're junior, it feels even worse because you have so many people who out-rank you and you may think your opinion doesn't matter," she noted. "It's up to those of us in senior positions to always help junior Sailors to remember they do matter; their words matter," she said. "We have to actually listen to junior Sailors because it's beneficial for us to understand their concerns and it benefits them to have leaders who listen."

Lt. j.g. White was asked, what's one thing that can help a Sailor achieve success? "Be humble," she replied.

And Colin Powell? He said: "The simple but true fact of life is that you become like those with whom you closely associate - for the good and the bad."

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