Leadership: Not just when it’s convenient

By CMSgt. Danny Prichard
692nd IG/CCM
Hickam AFB, Hawaii

Being a leader in today’s Air Force means total support for the programs in place. This doesn’t mean you support a program when it’s convenient — it means you support it all the time. If you don’t, you send mixed signals to your subordinates. When you do that, how can you expect them, in turn, to offer complete support for our Air Force programs?

For example, I know many senior NCOs who readily write their people up for quarterly awards, but don’t want to be written up themselves. If you fall into this category, you’re missing the boat. Supporting the program means supporting it all the way.

Grooming your people; nominating your people; accepting the honor of your supervisor’s nomination; standing proud at the competition/recognition ceremony...all this is part of providing total support to this particular program.

Speaking of ceremonies, when is the last time you attended a recognition ceremony, Professional Military Education or Community College of the Air Force graduation, even when you didn’t have a person from your shop participating? If the answer is “not lately,” perhaps you should attend one. That’s showing support!

There’s more to leadership than supporting recognition programs. Consider the leadership opportunities “on the job.” While it would be wonderful for us to give everyone the job they want, we can’t. But, you can make the best of the job you’ve been given. Your attitude towards your job will usually dictate how well you do it, and how much you like it. That, in turn, will impact how well your troops perform their jobs. And guess what? You have total, 100 percent control over your attitude. Be positive and upbeat about your opportunities, and I guarantee good things will happen.

For example, at Osan AB, Korea, we’re hurting for Korean linguists. We have master sergeants there pulling duty as front-line linguists. While many people would look at that situation negatively, the folks pulling duty are showing true leadership, by “walking the walk” in addition to “talking the talk.”

We even had a chief master sergeant who had to fill in during the Kosovo crisis performing duties that could only be classified as “highly technical.” This chief could have pouted that he was performing duties way below his pay grade. Instead, he chose to be upbeat — he was a leader and mentor under very trying circumstances.

We’ve got senior NCOs working as commanders’ executive officers because the actual “exec,” typically a company grade officer, is deployed. I recently talked to a master sergeant security forces member who was pulling gate guard duty because there weren’t enough junior troops to pull the duty. These are just a few examples I’ve seen of people showing true leadership. Their troops see leadership in action, and that leadership cascades thoughout the unit.

Even if direct leadership opportunities aren’t available in your current job, they are at every unit, wing and base if you take the time to seek them out. Have you helped arrange an NCO induction ceremony, or just pitched in to help set up chairs for the actual ceremony? Have you gone to the PME center and asked them face-to-face what you can do to help them out?

Have you signed up for and taught a block in the local Professional Development Course? Have you let one of your junior people “shadow” with you for a couple of days? Have you brought one of your junior people to the local Top-3 meeting with you to let them see what senior NCOs are accomplishing at your base? Have you gotten all your junior enlisted folks together and gone as a team to a quarterly awards breakfast, Airman Leadership School graduation or to a dining-in?

Have you encouraged your airmen to read books on the chief master sergeant of the Air Force’s recommended reading list, and then spearheaded discussion groups? Do you coach youth, unit- or base-level sports? Have you taken aside an airman and counseled them on the proper wear of the uniform, and then followed up to ensure that airman is “wired tight?” Have you shook an airman’s hand simply because he did a good job? Have you visited the dorm recently? Have you “walked the floor” during a mid-shift to let the folks know you care about them 24 hours a day, not just between the hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.?

We need good leaders in today’s Air Force more than ever. Look around you – leadership and mentorship opportunities are there, begging for you to grab them.

Meet the challenge head-on. Think beyond the traditional leadership roles, and get involved with making your unit and base a better place to live and work.

Be a leader 24 hours a day, every day – not just when it’s convenient. That’s what leadership is all about.