ORLANDO, Fla. – Robert Ronscka, PhD spent 28 years in the Navy leading men and women while being in charge of 10 Los Angeles class nuclear submarines, but now he’s on a new mission as an author and speaker.
Ronscka, also known as “Navy Bob” – we’ll get to that in a bit – wanted to be a pilot after watching the movie “Top Gun” while in high school. While his vision wasn’t good enough to be a pilot, he traded the idea of flying high to cruising the depths of the world’s oceans.
Another movie, “The Hunt For Red October,” piqued Ronscka’s interest, and he had the chance to visit a nuclear submarine and learn about its mission.
Not convinced he would join the Navy, he visited a carrier and a nuclear sub at Navy Station Norfolk. The aircraft carrier, while interesting, was too large.
The officer leading the submarine tour spoke about covert operations and the camaraderie of the ship and the sense of family the crew felt.
With the blessing of his wife, Stephanie, he started his journey in the United States Navy.
“I thought I was only going to do it for five years, and I ended up doing it for 28 years,” Ronscka said.
Ronscka later became the captain of the USS Texas nuclear fast-attack, Virginia-class submarine, the first to certify that vessel for Arctic operations to take it under the North Pole..
Eventually, Ronscka was named Commodore in charge of 10 nuclear fast-attack submarines.
As if all of those accomplishments weren’t enough, Ronscka became the Naval Aide to President George W. Bush from 2006-2008.
Ronscka got the nickname “Navy Bob” from Bush early in his days working for the president. Ronscka volunteered to help maintain some mountain bike trails because he knew the president liked to bike. During a phone call with the president, Bush’s personal aide described what they were doing and who helped them, which is when Bush asked, “Bob who?”
The aide replied, “Well, you know, Navy Bob,” and the name stuck from that point on.
After leaving the Navy, Ronscka was recruited by a former White House doctor and friend, Dr. Jeffrey Kuhlman, to come work for AdventHealth despite not having any healthcare experience.
“I said, ‘Doc, I have no clinical background.’ He says, ‘Your high-reliability background,’” Ronscka said. “‘Healthcare can definitely use your assistance in improving the safety of our patients and also your leadership.’”
He served as the Radiation Safety and High-Reliability Executive Director at AdventHealth before becoming the Senior Vice President at the Florida Chamber Health Council.
“There at AdventHealth, it really showed me: Leading with love is a universal topic that can improve outcomes. It can improve safety, and it can improve wellbeing in the workplace.”
But that leading with love philosophy started during his leadership in the Navy, Ronscka said.
“I took one of the worst performing submarines, the USS Texas at the time. We were ranked last in the squadron. Almost failed a major engineering inspection. And the crew morale was just abysmal,” Ronscka said. “And what I found out was the reason why we had so many problems is because the crew did not care for the ship because the ship did not care for them. Once we started this journey of leading with love, intrinsically caring for the crew... You saw a profound change in performance.”
Ronscka said the USS Texas jumped to the top ship in a squadron of 10 and had the highest retention in the Pacific Fleet for two years in a row.
While at AdventHealth, Ronscka also had the opportunity to earn his doctorate at the the Rollins College Crummer Graduate School of Business which just reinforced his practice of leading with love. He was introduced to a theory called Leader-Member Exchange, which has been around for 50 years.
“It explains exactly what I encountered on board the Texas and in my career in the Navy,” Ronscka said. “If leaders concentrate on building the relationships – authentic relationships – the outcomes, the safety outcomes, the productivity everything. Through meta analysis is proving with empirical evidence, your outcomes and how you are seen as a leader will significantly improve,” Ronscka said. “You will be on your road to become a legendary leader.”
About five years ago, Ronscka started writing down his stories, knowing that he wanted to write a book.
That book, a collection of his experiences in the Navy and in life, published on June 11.
There are plenty of more layers to Ronscka’s story. You can read more about his career and life by purchasing his book “Beyond the Sea: Leading with Love from the Nuclear Navy to the White House and Healthcare” at his website here or on Amazon. You can also see Ronscka’s future speaking engagements and appearances by clicking here.
All photos courtesy of Robert Ronscka.