Feeback is force multiplier Published May 30, 2008 By Col. Steven Arquiette 60th Air Mobility Wing commander TRAVIS AFB, Calif. -- Last Wednesday night ushered in the fun-filled Luau style Asian-Pacific American Heritage Banquet at the Delta Breeze Club, and what a great event! Talented performers, from our three Travis Icon contest finalists, the Chinese Dragon Dancers, the Samoa Fia Fia performers and the ever-energetic Filipino dancers (TFC) put on a marvelous show. In my closing comments I thanked the many, many people who worked hard to make this event so special, but I failed to highlight one very important contributor! Ms. Laverne Aldrich from our Equal Opportunity office hand-wove beautiful flower leis for guests at the head tables which added an extra warmth to the event; she's also working to restore a history board of this committees activities here at Travis that date back to the early 1980s. Laverne's extra efforts exemplify Team Travis' great spirit of making everything first-class, so a big Thank You or Mahalo goes to her! It's important to take a few moments and give positive feedback to those who you work with, work for, as well as those who you may supervise. Words really do matter, and how we say them matters even more so, especially when we rely on so many others in order to accomplish complex projects and tasks. It's especially true with how we praise those around us for the ways in which they contribute to accomplishing the overall mission. Positive feedback, or the lack of it, impacts the success of our important missions at Travis. As Airmen, we are continually faced with challenges that demand our attention. An aircraft breaks, and we have to fix it in order to fly a critical mission. A computer glitch disrupts the workstations of several hundred Airmen working throughout the base, and it has to be fixed or critical mission support tasks are left uncompleted. Or a simple task goes awry within our office, and we rush to fix the damage. Either way, faced with these challenges, our focus is on the task, often to the point where we don't consider the human side of the effort required to fix the problem. We fix it, we move on, and often forget to thank those whose efforts and talents fixed the problem. But this personal side of successful teamwork cannot be ignored. Positive feedback boosts morale which leads to increased productivity by increasing workers effectiveness, sooths interpersonal problems and fosters higher retention rates. These ultimately help the mission we are here to support. Indeed, interpersonal skills and relationship building are key skills for every Airman on Team Travis. Praising others for their efforts ultimately helps us accomplish our mission and indirectly energizes everyone around them to do their best everyday! Sure, we all face challenges. From the Airmen who have deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom to the Airmen who have to work in an understaffed unit -- all of us face challenging situations. The common thread that links us is how we face these daily scenarios. And what we learn is quite simple: · We rise and fall based on our attitude; · People respond to positive enthusiasm; · New situations breed new perspectives and solutions; · Never quit; · A positive mindset matters. Within each of these you'll find the common element of positive feedback or praise, of thanking each Airman for their contributions. Do it more often--it's an extremely effective and fun force multiplier! It'll help us stay Big, Proud & Strong!