10 lessons from 14 years in the U.S. Air Force
After 14 years in the Air Force, here are 10 lessons I learned:
1/10:
Leadership creates the environment.
Whoever is the leader, is the one responsible for the culture team members experience. No exceptions.
If you’re the leader, it’s on you.
2/10:
You can’t lead people if you don’t know their story.
Everyone has a story. Their motivations, fears, hopes, peace, and goals, come from this story.
Learn their story.
3/10:
Don’t expect them to do it if you’re not already doing it.
Your actions create the picture of what your people should do.
Don’t tell them to do something, show them what to do. People are more observational in their learning than you think.
4/10:
Find balance between taking care of the mission and taking care of your people.
Your people take care of the mission unless you stop taking care of your people. So focus on marking sure they have what they need, and they’ll blow you away.
5/10:
Every person has a leadership voice.
Some are Nurturers.
Nurturers are in tune with people in the organization. They intuitively know how people will react to an idea.
Learn on them to learn the lifeblood of your people.
6/10:
Some people are Creatives.
These people love outside of the box thinking, and talking about the future vision.
Give them space to think and be creative, they’ll blow you away with their solutions.
7-10:
Other people are Guardians.
These are extremely capable of following instruction and keeping process tuned to perfection.
Lean on them keep the mission going everyday. Their diligence and commitment will keep the integrity of your team.
8/10:
Some are Connectors.
These people are amazing at keeping a high volume of relationships and always being able to know someone that can get something done.
Embrace their energy and superpower of connecting resources and people. They’ll help you get anything done.
9/10:
Others are Pioneers.
These folks are amazing at strategic thinking and aligning systems and processes.
You can always count on them to push harder and harder, no need to motivate them, they do it themselves, all you have to do is support them and give them the tools they need.
10/10:
Flexibly is the key to AirPower!
This one used to be cheesy when I was an Airman, but over the years became more and more truthful and important to success of the mission.
This flexibility is powerful in the military, in business and our personal lives.