A521.3.4.RB_BorutyAlan_Personal Reflection

Personal Reflection

Just the title of this Blog entry incited rebellious, if not riotous thoughts to run from within my mind throughout my body and finally slam into my gut with a sickening thud.  And there it remains.  I do not completely understand the feeling which is near fight or flight intensity.  What I do know is even the thought of sharing personal glimpses into my life is quite uncomfortable.  I am not the only person to react in this manner.  There are barriers that prevent some people from self-disclosing information.  Many people consider it socially unacceptable to share personal feelings and needs outside of the family environment.  Fear is another primary reason people avoid self-disclosure (McKay, Davis, & Fanning, 2009).  Rejection, punishment being talked about, being taken advantage of, being judged negatively are all real concerns.  In my opinion, each of these fears fall in to one broader category, and that is fear of what other people will think.  I am far too old to be worried about what others think about me and it really is not any business of mine.  Therefore, I will get on with the work at hand and ignore that feeling in my gut.

I am told that I was a very good kid.  I had no problems in school, I was respectful, I was well behaved, and I minded my parents.  In other words I was a good boy.  I liked baseball…no…I was obsessed with baseball.  I played every year from the summer of 1968 until my first year of high school in the fall of 1976.  Back then Little League coaches played an active role not only in teaching baseball, but in raising us as well.  In my third year playing, I did not get the team I wanted and I was disappointed.  I did not hide it very well when I first met the coach and teammates.  I expressed my disappointment in not getting what I wanted, as a nine year old would.  Coach Wilkerson looked at me and said until now, I thought I had gotten the team I wanted.  Then he invited me to leave.  I was shocked.  He eventually let me off the hook, but he took advantage of the opportunity I provided for the rest of the season.  It was my first lesson in “it is not all about me”, and “how words that you say cannot be unsaid”.  He also explained how one team is always better than nine great players.  I learned a lot of things I still use today and all of them from one insensitive fit I threw when I was nine.  Even today I check my attitude to ensure my words are not based on my selfish reasons and that they are not hurtful before opening my mouth.  Coach Wilkerson got his money out of the opportunity I provided, but nowhere near what I got out of it.  From team work to interpersonal skills, I think of Coach Wilkerson often.  I do not remember the name of any of my other coaches.

I turned fourteen in August of 1975.  We had just moved I was about to start high school as the new guy.  I missed my friends, and even though I understood the opportunity this was for my father, I was angry about having to move.  I could not get past it.  I met a few people unlike any other people I had ever met and we became fast friends.  The good boy everyone knew for my first fourteen years changed and just like flipping a switch the old me was gone.  The new me was having fun with his new, wild friends.

 

For the next six years I did exactly what I wanted.  No one could convince me otherwise.  Of course, this drastic change in my attitude and behavior did not go unnoticed by my parents.  My father was okay to write it off as boys will be boys, but it was too much for my mother. She did not say anything to me at first; she was observing and taking notes. We had a few disagreements but nothing serious.  She did not like what she saw and she let me know she was worried but again it passed and things went right back to where they were.  When I turned sixteen I got a car and things went from bad to worse. I would stay away for the entire weekend and sometimes longer.  Mom just told me o let them know when I was not coming home so she did not have to worry all night.  When I began to avoid contact with my parents, I had reached Mom’s limit.  She sat me down and said she had given me time to see things on my own, but that was not enough.  I was to be at home by 9 am every Sunday morning without fail and without exception. At 9 am she and I would have breakfast and talk.  It was her time and she would not be denied.  I had never seen my mother like she was that day.  I said, yes ma’am. 

For the next four years we met and had coffee and toast at the dining room table.  No one interrupted us.  She talked to me for an hour every Sunday about whatever she wanted.  She never ran out of things to talk about and we never stopped early.  I can only remember missing one Sunday. She talked to me about the company I allowed in my life and some of the consequences, the lifestyle I was living, goals and dreams, education and career.  The first several times we met, she did not want to hear anything I had to say.  Every week the message was different but the theme was always the same.  If you do not take care of yourself, you will simply not be taken care of.  It is not important to anyone else.  Do not let the fun of today keep you from planning tomorrow. Stand on your own feet and make your own decisions.  If you are going to suffer the consequences, it should have been your decision.  Mom finally let me join the conversation during the third meeting.  Over time, I began to look forward to our conversations, in fact, I cherished them.  We, covered every subject possible.  Just before my nineteenth birthday I decided to enlist in the US Air Force.  I entered the Air Force in February of 1982 and immediately missed our Sunday morning conversations.  After I settled into my first permanent duty station, I called my mother.  That was on a Sunday morning we talked every Sunday until her passing in 2011. I learned about living life, being true to myself, how to be a husband, and how to be a responsible adult.  She taught me all of these things while providing the perfect example of how to be a great parent.  To say that the talks had a formative effect in my life is an understatement.  I remember those talks nearly word for word.  I refer to them often and live by those lessons daily.

Reference: 

McKay, M., Davis, M., & Fanning, P.  (2009).  Messages the communication skills book.

Oakland, CA:  New Harbinger Publications, Inc

A521.2.3.RB_BorutyAlan_The Danger of a Single Story

The Danger of a Single Story

Chimamanda Adichie captivated me from the first word and held me until her final word.  In between those she used her words in a way that created an eighteen minute ‘aha’ moment for me.  I find it interesting that I have known the word stereotype for as long as I can remember, but this is the first time I have been told the single-story concept.  This concept goes a long way to explain where stereotypes originate.  Of course I have been told not to judge a book by its cover, do not judge until you know everything and then do not judge, and I have even been reminded that there is always more than one side to every story.  But, at the risk of proving my own ignorance, I always interpreted those guidelines as moral restrictions on judgement…sins.  Then from out of nowhere and some 45 years later, a young woman from Nigeria that I have never heard of before provides me with an academic theory that could at least begin to explain the why of stereotyping, hatred, and full-on racism that plagues American communities from coast to coast today.  That academic theory is called the single story.  I am not trying to minimize these issues at all; they are extremely complex.  However, people are dying horrific deaths in alarming numbers at the hands of people who may not truly understand why they are doing it.  In this case, ‘because it has always been this way’ is even worse than it normally is in justifying inappropriate/criminal behavior.  This ends my rant on the sub-topic, back to Ms. Adichie’s presentation on the single story.

Anything that can make a person question their equality in humanity, I will concede is powerful.  Adichie (2009) introduces power as inseparable to the discussion of the single story.  She describes power using an Igbo word ‘ntali’ or “to be greater than another” and explains that principle of ntali defines the stories told in the same way it defines the economic and political worlds.  Those with power are greater than others and are therefore inherently better qualified to control those things.  Having control of the story gives those with power the ability to definitively tell another person’s story which gives them fundamental control of who that person is or is not.  The consequence of this single story is that it robs people of their dignity and ultimately, their humanity (Adichie, 2009).

The single stories that Ms. Adichie discusses are all focused on people (individuals and groups) and /or places and things.  We are of course focused on the organizational springboard story in Module two.  In Module 1, we discussed the true power of the right story told the right way.  In this module we specifically focused on the eight elements of a good springboard story.  Of the eight elements, Denning (2011) singled out having a clear and worthwhile change idea, authentically true, positive tone, and told in a minimalist fashion as the four most important elements to get right in a springboard story.  It did not occur to me earlier and the reading did not specify, but these specific elements would indirectly serve to reduce the power of the storyteller and the story to cause harm to anyone or anything in the story.  Although Ms. Adichie’s presentation was not focused on an organizational audience, it did not contradict any of the material that Module 2 presented.  I did question how the springboard story is created.  The organizational springboard story is essentially a single story but only by design, not effect.  The difference is in the four elements Denning considers to be the most important.  I believe if those elements are properly utilized, they will protect the springboard story from becoming a single story.

Chimamanda Adichie told this difficult story brilliantly.  It was difficult because it was the story of stereotyping, prejudice, racism, repression and intolerance.  These are behaviors of ignorance fueled by the single story.  It was brilliant because she told her story without a hint of resentment, anger, or racism in her words or her tone.  She chose instead to educate her audience on the importance of the story, warn us of the dangers of the single story and encourage us not to base our conclusions on single story information.

Throughout the presentation Adichie (2009) remained faithful to stories stating “Stories matter.  Many stories matter.  Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign, but stories can also be used to empower and to humanize.  Stories can break the dignity of a people, but stories can also repair that broken dignity” (min. 17:35).

 ~Pete

References:

Adichi C. N., (2009). The danger of a single story. TED Global (July 2009). Retrieved from: http://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story?language=en (2016 August, 19)

Denning, S. (2011). The Leader's Guide to Storytelling: Mastering the Art and Discipline of Business Narrative. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

A521.1.4.RB_BorutyAlan_Stories in Your Organization

Organizational Stories

I retired from the USAF eleven years ago (so it is possible that things have changed), but at that time I do not recall storytelling being used as a leadership tool.  If used properly, I can understand how it is a powerful and effective way to influence employees in a positive manner.  But, I never performed a storytelling session like Stephen Denning describes in his book, “The Leader’s Guide to Storytelling: Mastering the Art and Discipline of Business Narrative”.  He explains that not only is it important to tell the right story, but the story must be told right.  To help improve storytelling skills Denning suggested that consideration be given to style, truth, preparation, and delivery for each story (Denning, 2011).   The purpose of leadership is not only to get people to change, it is to get people to want to change.  Why would one choose storytelling to do that?  According to Denning in a TEDx Talk, it is the only thing that works (2012).   A bold statement indeed.  I cannot say I agree that it is the only thing that works, but it could be the most effective.   Until this class I was unaware that storytelling was even an option for leaders.  Looking back now, I can see examples of good leaders using storytelling effectively; it just was not called storytelling at the time.

There are always stories being told in a large organizations and the Air Force is no different.  Some stories are as individual as the teller.  They are important and they serve a purpose (normally to entertain), but they do not linger and they leave no mark.  There are also stories of legend.  They are passed on from storyteller to storyteller and they make up the history of the organization to include important people and their contributions and the evolution of the organization including name changes, mission statement changes and significant accomplishments along the way.  The specific details of these stories are rarely questioned, but the major points are never altered.  These stories are the history, the heritage, and the source of unit pride for everyone assigned.  Then there are stories captured during ordinary operations when, without warning, the extraordinary becomes the requirement.  These stories define an organization.  That is exactly what happened to the 552 Air Control Wing, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma on September 11, 2001. 

That morning terrorists executed simultaneous attacks on multiple targets in the United States.  Each attack involved hijacked civilian aircraft.  America was in shock.  Almost immediately, every scheduled flight in the United States was cancelled.  Every flight that was airborne was ordered to land at the nearest airfield; those that did not land immediately were escorted by military fighter aircraft.  With few exceptions, the only aircraft allowed in American airspace was Air Force One, fighter escorts, and E-3 (AWACS) surveillance aircraft.  The 552 ACW was tasked to provide 24-hour surveillance of all U. S. airspace to enforce no-fly orders and exercise command and control of every authorized flight, a monumental tasking by every account. Many said it was physically impossible to do with the available resources and many agreed.  At the time of the tasking, AWACS was deployed in support of operations in three different theaters around the world.  Those aircraft could not be brought back to support homeland defense tasks.  Tinker is the major repair facility for the E3; many of the aircraft were undergoing repairs and scheduled inspections.  Simple math concluded that there were not enough available aircraft to sustain the mission for more than a day or two, if at all.  The situation was bleak and getting worse as Airmen began to understand that failure was likely.

The 552 ACW Commander was already arranging large assemblies where he spoke to most of his Airmen about the situation and the importance of their role.in the operation.  Twenty minutes later different people left the auditorium energized to accomplish what could not be done.  And that is exactly what they did.  In less than four hours, they achieved total airspace coverage.  They sustained that full coverage without a break in coverage for over a month with the resources they had.  Schedules had to be accelerated, parts had to be shared between aircraft.  Flight crews had to endure extended flights awaiting an aircraft to relieve them, but the attitude was now ‘whatever it takes’.  Everyone in the organization had to sacrifice to make it all happen.  There were no complaints; cooperation was the norm.  It would not have worked any other way.  Eventually help arrived. Canadian crews flew missions and aircraft returning from deployment added much needed assets.  But the significance of their accomplishment is forever recorded and recognized.  It speaks to the determination, integrity, and selfless sacrifice for the greater good. These traits are in line the organizational values expected of all its members.

During all of this, I was stationed at RAF Lakenheath, England.  I witnessed none of it.  I do not know what the commander said during his talks with his people, but it had to have been the right story told the right way.  The effect was powerful.  It inspired people that had accepted failure as the likely outcome, to succeed beyond all expectations.  The story is told wholly or in part, frequently. The numbers and statistics recorded are amazing and will not likely be repeated any time soon and will hopefully never need to be.

This story defines the 552 ACW.  It is pride, accomplishment, never quit attitude, and innovation bundled in a way that, at the time, created magic and continues to instill those values in newly assigned Airmen today.  I returned to Tinker in March of 2002.  Continuous 24-hour coverage had just ended.  Presidential escort missions flown by crews residing in alert facilities on dedicated aircraft in alert configuration were still on going when I retired in August of 2005.

References:

Denning, S. (2011). The Leader's Guide to Storytelling: Mastering the Art and Discipline of Business Narrative. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Denning, S, (2012) TEDx Talks. Storytelling -- The Secret Key to Leadership. Accessed 2016, August 13 from http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2012/01/12/tedx-storytelling-the-secret-key-to-leadership/#6fbde3de4a4c