By Dan "TL" Tindall
Editors Note: This article is written by a guest author. This is the first article in a series titled "Things I Wish Every 13M Knew" written from a civilian's perspective. We hope you actively engage with the article as you continue to develop at all levels of Leadership as a 13M.
This is the first in what I hope will be a series of posts from my perspective as a civilian on the AOF staff. I have had the opportunity to work with several OSS Commanders and 13M’s in my 30+ year career. A large portion has been at Shaw (since 1995), and some of those commanders and 13Ms were more successful than others. However, I learned from them all in one manner or another. Some were positive, and some were negative. On the positive side of the equation, ensuring the members of the organization understand you care about them and their families goes a long way. Another is understanding that not every situation requires a complex and new solution; sometimes, the best answer is the simple answer. On the negative side of the equation, decisions from anger are never helpful. Additionally, those that focus on their own career to the exclusion of all else do not lead the team well.
For the last several years, I have served in various capacities on the AOF staff and spend most of my time these days in a quasi AOF/DO or AOF/SO role. I say quasi because the current structure of the organization, as defined in the 13-204 or manpower standard do not have a civilian position for those roles at a mixed military/civilian location. Yet due to deployments, PCS, and other duties, here I am in this seat.
There are many things I try to relay to 13Ms when they come into the job. One is the importance of leadership and vision. Generally speaking, the members of the AO Enterprise are highly motivated, high functioning individuals. As such, they do not need nor do they want a lot of technical oversight, but they do need your leadership. The success and failure of an AOF is most likely not the result of a failure in the ATC procedures, technical aspects of repairing an ATCALS or mismanagement of an airfield project. They are most likely a failure of leadership and vision. How many times have I heard or read the phrase “my leadership didn’t support me” or “I cannot trust my leadership to do …”? Leadership is always on the list of things to be improved when you review any survey given to the general population of a unit. Left to our own thoughts and aspirations, a group of highly motivated, high functioning people will go off in the same number of directions as you have people. No vision or leadership will result in self-centered workers or even chaos. I heard a joke once about a young lieutenant that saw a group of soldiers walking through the woods. He remarked, “Hey, there goes some of my soldiers…I must find out where they are going so I can lead them.” This lieutenant had no leadership and no vision.
So what are leadership and vision? First, let us discuss leadership. I have attended several seminars and courses on leadership over the years. One thing I know for sure is a simple definition of leadership that captures all that leadership involves is hard to find. One definition that I have come to rely on is this:
“Leadership is a process of social influence, which maximized the efforts of others, towards the achievement of a goal.”[1]
To continue to paraphrase from this article, leadership is not authority or power. It does require others, although they do not need to be direct subordinates. The definition does not include a title, style, attribute, or personality trait/type. It does specifically mention a goal to be achieved, and it says explicitly that a leader is to maximize the efforts of others.[2] (We will return to the goal portion in just a moment.)
A primary reason this definition was so compelling to me is the import of influence and maximizing the efforts of others. Notice influence is the method used, and it is meant as a positive aspect. It is not directing or commanding; it is not deciding or managing. Influence requires that one has an impact on the character, development, or behavior of another person. Influence requires a good leader to trust those they lead. Influence seeks to develop others and, in so doing, improve the organization’s ability to meet the goals. Influence aims to bring the other person around to a new way of thinking about a problem or process. If you find yourself yelling, losing your temper, commanding, domineering, then your influence is negative. Leadership that derives from that influence will also be negative and ineffective.
The other aspect of the definition is maximizing the efforts of others. A good leader realizes to reach the goal, one will need the efforts of others. It cannot be a “one-man show” where the leader makes all of the decisions and manages every aspect of the organization. The members of the organization must be allowed to grow, learn, develop, thrive, and even make mistakes. Good leaders recognize this and work to create an environment that will help everyone succeed. If you find yourself in a position requiring you to make all of the decisions, you have stopped being a leader and are now a manager, and likely, a micro-manager.
Closely coupled with the leadership aspect is vision. Simply defined, vision is the ability to think about or plan the future with imagination or wisdom. Vision and mission are NOT the same things. Vision is focused on tomorrow and what you want the organization to become while mission focuses on today and how you plan to achieve your vision. Mission seeks to answer what you do, whom you serve, and how you serve them. The vision gives the organization a direction and seeks to answer questions like: What type of organization we want to become? What problems can we solve? How can we be better at our core functions? Where can we inspire change? Vision promotes growth internally and externally and helps the organization focus on what matters most. A good vision invites innovation, effective and efficient processes, and promotes a purpose-driven outlook. It helps an organization understand what success means for the organization.
Conversely, a lack of vision is a road to nowhere, stagnation, outdated processes, moving with no purpose, and uninspired people.[3] If you find yourself sitting in your office and thinking things like “What are we doing here? We are stuck in the mud and going nowhere!” or any number of thoughts like that, then I submit your organization lacks a proper vision.
How does this all relate to a 13M and the AO Enterprise? Glad you asked! At the most basic level, the most successful 13Ms and OSS Commanders I have worked with understood these two principals and have used them with great skill and effect. They understood and had a vision for the organization and worked to instill that vision in its members. Sometimes it was an actual written vision statement that was vast and far-reaching. Sometimes it was more subtle geared towards getting the organization to move together to a common goal. However, the vision pushed the organization into the future, rather mired in the everyday aspects of the mission. Common among the visions was an underlying desire to leave the organization in better shape than when they took over. Sometimes that involved implementation of new innovations or technologies. Other times, it involved the elimination of those things that were inefficient or antiquated. It ALWAYS included a desire to move forward without waiting for some higher authority to say it was okay.
These successful 13Ms and OSS commanders remained calm and were deliberate in decision making. That is not to say they were slow but very deliberate. They insisted on decisions happening at the appropriate level. A select few decisions were actually made at the AOF (or Squadron) level. They understood that sometimes the hardest decision was to not make the decision, but instead provide guidance and support. I observed that they did this in several ways. One was to look at the various issues or problems coming to their attention and avoid the temptation to react. Instead, they asked the most important question any leader can ask; “Is this something that only I can decide?” If the answer was “no,” then they would work to provide guidance and support. This was usually by asking what seemed like a never-ending series of questions. This technique guided the person to think through the problem to arrive at a solution on their own. They would then send the person back into the organization to make and implement the proper decision at his/her level. They empowered and trusted the staff and held them to account. They were more concerned with the success of others than their own careers. They enjoyed coming to work and made you want to come to work as well.
On the other hand, those 13Ms and OSS commanders that were not as successful were almost always self-absorbed and were collectively referred to as micro-managers. They were, to a person, stuck in the minutia of everyday life and had no idea of where the organization was going. Routinely they did not trust their staff and consistently tried to do it all themselves. Occasionally, they would suffer from what could chartable be called “analysis paralysis,” and you could not get a decision or direction from them regardless of effort. More often than not, conversations and decisions were made from a position of fear (“I’m going to get fired”). Working with or for these people was incredibly frustrating, and coming to work each day was a form of torture. When this type of person led the squadron or flight, the morale in the unit fell to the basement. Retention rates fell, discipline issues were higher, training times extended and, in some cases, complaints to the IG or EEO were increased. There were no innovative ideas, and the underlying thought most civilians had was to just “wait it out.” Secure in the understanding that in about two or three years, the bad leader would be gone. One would think that these were the young lieutenants or junior captains, and occasionally it was. However, more often than not, it was the senior captain or major.
I now come to the point of how this all relates to 13Ms and their role leading the AO Enterprise. It is the lack of vision and lack of leadership that directly relate to the failure or success of the very task before the 13Ms. As mentioned earlier, the AOF (and broader the OSS) is comprised of 3 very challenging and different career fields. Within those specific career fields, there are even more divisions. It does not take much imagination to realize that the various components of the flight will all go their own direction left to their own devices. To get these high functioning individuals to all strive towards the same goal is challenging in the best of times. In the current climate of stagnating budgets, poor retention rates, and difficult sessions, it is all the more important for the AOF to demonstrate authentic leadership and vision.[4]
My ultimate goal would be to enjoy a day where AOF members readily identify themselves as a member of Airfield Operations first rather than an air traffic controller, airfield manager, or ATCALS technician. This shared vision sees the value of the airfield manager equal with the ATCALS NCOIC and equal with a Chief Controller. A shared vision where the different work centers in the flight do not fight and argue over resources, but rather work together to meet the common goals of the organization. A shared vision is the start of this process. Still, it must be coupled with the understanding of one’s daily activities and interactions with the members, and the facilities must be designed to help your team achieve this vision. To improve overall retention rates, I believe the members of the flight must feel valued. Each person must understand their role in the organization and how they contribute to achieving the vision. I long for a shared vision that supports empowered members to be innovative, take well-reasoned risks, make decisions at the lowest possible level, and provide them with the support to learn and grow.[5]
A good leader understands what leadership truly is, will be able to gain the trust of their people. Having a solid vision is essential to get the AO Enterprise beyond the daily grind and moving towards a better, more productive future. It is essential to achieving the best effort each person can bring to execute the mission and fulfill the vision. It is essential to developing a strategy of proactive leadership versus reactive management. Great leaders set up their organization for success beyond their own tenure and even their own lifetime. They create an environment where the members of the organization can meet the deep-seated human needs to feel safe, to contribute to something bigger than oneself, and to provide for ourselves and our families.[6]
How would you classify your leadership, and what is your vision?
Mr. Dan "TL" Tindall is currently serving on the Airfield Operations Flight staff at Shaw AFB, SC. He has over 32 years experience as both active duty and as civilian within various roles in the Airfield Operations Enterprise to include air traffic controller, Airfield Operations Automation Manager (AOAM), 13M Trainer, and AOF/DO/SO. He has a B.A. in Aeronautics and M.A. in Religion (ordained Baptist Minister). He is also a seasoned commercial pilot and flight instructor with over 2,000 hours. He remains active in his community with his wife, 3 children and 6 grandchildren.
[1] (Kruse 2013)
[2] Paraphrased from (Kruse 2013)
[3] Paraphrased from (Skrabanek 2020)
[4] I truly believe this same leadership and vision combination could be applied to the DoD as a whole, but decided to limit my comments to the AO Enterprise.
[5] These are the ways the AO Enterprise can stop doing stupid things just because they have always been done that way. It also allows for the more effective and efficient use of resources.
[6] (Sinek 2019)
Bibliography
Kruse, Kevin. Forbes.com. April 9, 2013. https://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinkruse/2013/04/09/what-is-leadership/#736bbe675b90.
Sinek, Simeon. The Infinite Game. Portfolio, 2019.
Skrabanek, Britt. ClearVoice. Feb 14, 2020. https://www.clearvoice.com/blog/difference-between-mission-vision-statement-examples/ (accessed Jul 24, 2020).
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