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  • Risk aversion a blueprint for disaster for Airmen

    To many, risk management is just another buzz phrase with no real effect.Airmen see leaders who either blindly signs off on any level of risk or leaders who are so risk averse they attempt to avoid it at all cost.However; in an era of diminishing resources and force reduction, effective risk

  • Find rhythm of success to keep up with life's pace

    When you study the daily routines of successful people, you see an undeniable trend. You see a rhythm. You don't typically attribute a single event to success, it's most often a repeated behavior or action which transforms over time. A rhythm is not an event. Take marriage for instance, you can have

  • Stop, listen, connect with fellow Airmen

    The end of the year is upon us.  This means many different things:  temperatures are finally getting cooler, kids soon will be out of school for their holiday break, their sports will be in full swing, the holidays are rapidly approaching with less than 50 shopping days until Christmas, you're

  • Live life as Airmen with great pride, enthusiasm

    "You are so ate up." "You don't have to bleed blue all the time, you know?" "You know you can't get step-promoted to chief. You know that right?" Comments such as these are often directed at Airmen who not only meet the expected standard, they strive to exceed the standard but why? Is it so wrong to

  • Tackle problems with unflinching leadership

    Many Airmen have heard the phrase, "Every Airman is a Leader."This saying speaks directly to our shared bond under the "clause of unlimited liability:" at a moment's notice, any of us might be required to go into harm's way to accomplish the mission. Because leadership is an art as well as a

  • Performance-based feedbacks will change game

    Our enlisted force sits at the preface of a sweeping overhaul of performance evaluations, a system that prioritizes job performance above all else. While we don't have 100 percent clarity on all the details just yet, it's important to understand the background and the importance of feedback in this

  • Service aims to boost Airmen resilience

    Recently, the word resilience started being used on installations across the Air Force.  Why was it introduced and how did it become such a hot topic? Many of you have participated in the Master Resiliency Training course as well as Wingman Days, but why did we start offering these courses and

  • Stand on shoulders of giants to see farther in career

    Sir Isaac Newton once said, "If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants."This is one of my favorite quotes and it directly applies to the type of leader or supervisor you can or should be. Looking back on your career, how many giants have shouldered you? I have been

  • Learn from nation's best: Rise to humility

    In January 2013, I had the distinct honor of attending the American Legion's Salute to Heroes Inaugural Gala in Washington, District of Columbia. Seated among us at the banquet were more than 30 Medal of Honor recipients, awarded during combat in Korea, Vietnam and Afghanistan.  In a strange shift

  • Emotional intelligence plays key role for leaders

    "Check your emotions at the door," is something that you may have heard throughout your career from different supervisors.  Not only is that unrealistic, it's impossible.Every day you wake up with some sort of emotion and those emotions are tied to the things that are happening in and around your