Why Tone Matters – Even on a Nuclear Carrier

December 23, 2025 by Mike Manazir – (4-5 minutes)

Leadership is Contagious. The Question is: What are People Catching?

My call sign in the jet was Nasty. But on the bridge of the USS Nimitz, I was known as Old Salt—and I loved it. Every evening I’d grab the microphone for the shipwide announcing system and start the same way:
“Good evening, Nimitz warriors! This is Old Salt.” Five thousand sailors stopped for a moment to hear the tone their Captain was setting for the night.

Bliss at North Island

Kelly and I lived in a house overlooking the Pacific with runway 29 only yards from our front door. Aircraft landing and taking off shook the windows—and I loved every second of it.

When I stayed current in the Super Hornet, I’d ask the tower for a runway 29 departure “because of the winds.” The truth? I wanted to wave at Kelly who stood on our porch covering her ears as I lit the afterburners.

At the end of the runway, I’d yank the jet into a tight 90-degree turn, snap roll level, and rocket upward. Kelly hated it. Which, of course… made me laugh. Mission accomplished.

Taking Command

I took command of the Nimitz in March 2007, two weeks before deployment. Carrier command is unlike anything else—5,000 people, two reactors, seventy aircraft, your own runway, and an energy level that never turns off. You become the ship, and the ship becomes you.

I was ecstatic every morning. Deeply grateful. Never entitled. Never “look at me.” Command of this great warship was truly the greatest privilege of my life.

Why Tone Matters

My evening announcements were more than updates. I intended them to be for morale, culture, and connection.

I pictured a lonely sailor deep below decks—homesick, tired, maybe afraid of life at sea. That sailor was my target audience. So in those announcements, I brought energy. Humor. Hope. I bragged on sailors by name. I wanted them to know their Captain cared about them.

I went all-in with positivity. Energizer bunny level.

One night, after three straight days on the bridge—flight ops in the South China Sea, a 24-hour Strait of Malacca transit, prepping for night ops in the Bay of Bengal—I was spent. Exhausted. My voice on the announcement wasn’t upbeat. It wasn’t even close.

Later, walking down the passageway, a young sailor stopped me. Physically, hand in my chest, stopped me.

“Captain… are you okay?” Her face carried genuine concern. “Sure—why?”
“You sounded down tonight.”

It hit me like a jolt.

They weren’t listening to my words. They were listening to my tone.
And my tone was shaping 5,000 people.

From that night forward, no matter how depleted I felt, I set the tone intentionally. Because the crew mirrored it. When I was up, they were up. When I was flat, they felt it immediately.

Tone wasn’t a technique. It was the culture. Your team takes its emotional cues from you.

Your tone becomes the culture.
People hear your attitude before they hear your words.
Positivity is contagious—and so is negativity.
If you stay energized, hopeful, and steady, your team will too.
Leadership isn’t about speeches. It’s about atmosphere.

Set the tone, and the culture follows.

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P.S.

If this message stirred something in you—share it. Forward it to a friend, colleague, or your leadership team. Better yet—let’s talk.

Let’s raise up a generation of leaders who know how to Lead to Win.

Mike Manazir
Bestselling Author | Navy Admiral | Fighter Pilot | Leadership Coach

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