Focused leadership essential to misssion Published Oct. 30, 2015 By Lt. Col. Michael Newsom 60th Communications Squadron TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- How many people have heard the phrase "stay focused?" The ability to stay focused is an art, a skill that is learned over time and essential in order to be an effective leader and critical to the success of our Air Force mission. Staying focused is more important today than ever before because of our high operations tempo and limited resources (people/time) to accomplish the mission. Every Airman or civilian is a leader to some extent, but what is a focused leader? A focused leader is someone who has the ability to see the "big picture," i.e. someone who can see the forest for the trees. They are the leaders who can separate the "nice to do's" from the "must do's" in order to accomplish the mission. They are also the leaders who can articulate mission priorities, empower their Airmen to be innovative and streamline processes to accomplish those tasks that lead to mission success. A good start for developing focused leadership is by observing your leaders. A focused leader sees the mission similar to the lens of a camera. They are able to open the aperture to see the big picture, but then they are also able to narrow the lens to see those essential tasks required to get the mission done. Focused leadership requires your ability to tie our leaders priorities to tasks required to meet mission objectives. I've had the opportunity to see many leaders and reflect on their process for making certain decisions. Their approach always included getting thoughts from others and especially those who are affected by the issue. In almost every situation, they stayed focused on the key objective and that's what we must do every day as Airmen. For me, it starts with understanding the mission and aligning it with what you do every day. Our Air Force's mission is to fly, fight and win. The 60th Air Mobility Wing's mission is to organize, train and equip to meet the needs of the Air Force. As the 60th Communications Squadron commander, I must ensure my squadron provides focused operational capabilities and active support to the warfighter. The alignment of these missions keeps our Airmen focused. Anything that distracts from this mission alignment needs to be reevaluated or eliminated. Why does this matter to you? Our expanding global military presence abroad and increasing mission tasks at home demand that we do things different. All of this, combined with budgetary constraints and force reduction initiatives, make staying focused as a leader more important than ever. Business as usual is a thing of the past, what we do is not just a "job" and we must find new and innovative ways to meet the mission. Staying focused improves our ability to accomplish the mission and directly correlates to the morale and effectiveness of our Airmen. Bottom line: Focused leadership begins with leaders. It's an art rather than a science and it can be learned. Focused leadership breeds well-rounded Airmen who lead more effectively to efficiently accomplish the mission. When you don't understand leadership's priorities, ask for clarification. It will keep you and our Airmen focused on the must do's.