Leading In the Navy, Business, Education, and Beyond: Bob Roncska ’22DBA

Leading In the Navy, Business, Education, and Beyond: Bob Roncska ’22DBA

Dr. Robert “Navy Bob” Roncska has a diverse and decorated background, serving in significant leadership roles across military and civilian sectors, including a 28-year tenure in the U.S. Navy where he commanded nuclear submarines and served as Naval Aide to President George W. Bush. After retiring as a Navy Captain, he transitioned to the healthcare industry, applying his nuclear Navy experiences to enhance patient safety and reliability at AdventHealth, and now runs his own LLC, Navy Bob, focusing on improving mental well-being in the workplace by teaching how to lead with love. Additionally, Bob contributes to academic fields as an adjunct professor at the University of Central Florida, teaching graduate courses in global health management and informatics.

Bob has always been passionate about higher education and was attracted to the Crummer Executive DBA program: “The EDBA program exposed me to the world of research, which was previously unfamiliar to me. This experience steered me towards embracing practical applications supported by statistically validated findings, significantly enhancing outcomes across various industries.” His dissertation, “Utilizing Workplace Social Media: A Silver Bullet for Reducing Burnout and Turnover?” and his research on how burnout affects safety helped improve the healthcare industry. Bob was influenced by Dr. Greg Marshall, the Charles Harwood Professor of Marketing and Strategy, when he suggested that Bob study leader member exchange. “I was astonished. It’s exactly what I used to improve outcomes and create a culture of love when I was in the Navy. Crummer has given me the world of scholarly research to measure what love is, so I am not just preaching methods.” 

For the past five years, Bob has been working on his book “Beyond the Sea: Leading with Love (From the Nuclear Navy to the White House and Healthcare)” that is releasing June 11. In it he explores the transformative power of positive leadership, detailing how he turned the struggling USS Texas from the lowest-ranked to the top-performing submarine in the Pacific Fleet, offering a universally applicable leadership roadmap for fostering trust and excellence in any organization. “Going to Crummer made the book so much better. It gave me real data, a full world of what’s proven and what’s not about leadership. I wrote this to help others, to help the world be a better place. Life is for service like Mr. Rogers said.” 

Bob is also an avid runner. He completed two Ironmans, giving this advice: “To excel in an Ironman or leadership, you must follow a structured training regimen and maintain discipline. Achieving greatness as a leader, establishing trust, nurturing high standards, and fostering purpose, all rooted in care and love, isn’t accidental or immediate. It requires ongoing, intentional dedication.” We are exceedingly proud of Bob and what he is accomplishing with his leadership and wish him well on all his future endeavors. To learn more about Bob and his book, visit www.navybob.com.