How to
Better Enable Leadership
I have often said leadership is a 24/7 job
because I believe that leaders live in a fishbowl on-duty especially, but
off-duty as well. It is not a paranoia
issue. It is that people want to know if their leader is all talk or if they actually walk the walk. The majority of the time I walked the
walk. For the same reason, I expected my
people to follow my lead. I always heard
leadership by example was the best way to quickly earn my subordinates respect.
I had to ask myself if these to activities
were enough for me to say I had enabled leadership. The answer came without hesitation. They gave me partial credit but they were not
enough to claim victory on their own merit.
I was
unable to interview superiors and subordinates from my organization as I have
been retired for over three years now. However,
I understood the intent of the prompt instructions. I reviewed the reading material for the week
and called it a pseudo-interview with Obolensky (2014) and ran an internet search
for ‘enable leadership’ - the search produced 34,400,000 results. I did not look at every result, but all of the
ones that I did review supported what Obolensky (2014) implied…for me to better
enable leadership today I needed to have better developed my subordinates
starting from my first days as a leader and continuing through to my last. The realization that it is too late for me to
better enable leaders did not sit well with me.
It also caused me to second guess my performance over the years. I learned a long time ago that if I am
digging into the past, I need to be looking for something I can put to good use,
either in the present or the future.
I came
across a web page that says it clearly, if not bluntly. “A true leader enables others to lead….You
must understand that the overarching goal of leadership is to develop leaders
to their fullest potential. This allows
you to enable leaders knowing that the immediate goals might be deferred”
(Canterucci, 2017). Enabling leaders may
be the leader’s hardest, yet, most important task.
Canterucci
(2017) concluded by making sure the message was clear. “In other words you have to have done your
leadership job. You have to have
prepared to enable others whether they are labeled a leader or not. Therefore, your ability to enable others
successfully is a great measure of your effectiveness”(p. 1).
My
previous organization is United States Air Force. “The Air Force operates in a dynamic global
context across multiple domains requiring leadership skills at a variety of levels.. The Air Force categorizes these leadership levels
as the tactical expertise, operational competence, and strategic vision levels. The leadership level at which an Airman operates
determines the institutional competencies required to lead Airmen in mission
accomplishment” (U.S.Air Force Doctrine,2015). I have thought through this many times. I have
never been shown this document. It is
very specific about what the Airman is exposed to, who provides each piece of the training puzzle, and
what the minimum requirements are to move to the next level. The document would have made working with
each Airman much easier. However, I
looked at each training task that the leader is charged with support and I went
through each task with each Airman I trained.
One of the areas I feel like I did not give the full attention it
deserved. I was required to expose the
Airman to diversity of perspective and background. Back in the mid1980s, I was not aware of the
value of diversity in the work center, on teams, or groups. I completed the task, but I did not discuss
it like I did the others or repeat it as often as the other tasks. Today, I know how significant diversity of
perspective and background is to group dynamics and so would the Airman.
At
the Operational Competence Leadership Level, I covered every task thoroughly. My trainees were all motivated, knew what I
was supposed to help them with, and they hounded me until I took care of
them. I was far from unmotivated, they were
just on fire.
I did not go through any of the Strategic Vision Leadership Level tasks with a trainee. I did complete them myself…a few years ago now.
I did not go through any of the Strategic Vision Leadership Level tasks with a trainee. I did complete them myself…a few years ago now.
The
entire training lifecycle is detailed in the reference document. The tasks are separated into three
categories: personal, people/team, and organizational. The first level is primarily focused on
personal and people/team. A breakdown
here would set the Airman back a bit, but most of the tasks address adjusting to
the Air Force, so, missing one would not cause readiness issues. It is still not something one would want to
see happen.
Operational
Competence is where wars are fought. Skills
across the spectrum are taught to and possessed by Airmen in this
category. A breakdown in this area would
have a significant effect on operations. If the problem was local, it could be isolated
and corrected. However, if a mistake was
made in the core document, that would be an Air Force level issue. If it went
undetected, Airmen throughout the Air Force could be deficient and no one know until
it was too late. This could cause an Air
Force-wide readiness issue. This is the
worst possible scenario. From an
organizational perspective it would likely drive a doctrine review that could
take months at best. If the Air Force lost
confidence in the integrity of the document then from my perspective, as
painful as it sounds, it would be the right call. But, we are talking about a ‘what if’
scenario. My review found records and
files that are being impeccably maintained, knowledgeable personnel assigned,
and ease of access. What frustrated me
was me. I had no idea the document
existed, I recommend that the information be part of the review or sign out
process. Then I would be able to verify
the checklist matches the current document minimally.
An
organization where everyone knows and understands their training program based
on the doctrine, is a better organization.
Before I retired, the training program was the most neglected and out of
date program in the entire group. People
honestly could not see how important it is to keep records in accordance with
policy. I am guessing it has to be fixed
by now. If not, they will figure it out
when the deployment orders start flowing.
~Pete
References:
Canterucci,
J., (2017), Enable leadership [Web page
article]. Retrieved from: http://jimcanterucci.com/enable-leadership/
Obolensky, N. (2014). Complex
adaptive leadership. (2nd
edition.). London, UK: Gower/Ashgate
U.S. Air
Force Doctrine (2015). Air Force Core Doctrine, Vol 2, Leadership, Chp2, Levels of Air
Force Leadership. Accessed: 2017 December 9. Retrieved from: http://www.doctrine.af.mil/Portals/61/documents/Volume_2/V2-D10-Levels-Leadership.pdf?ver=2017-09-17-123835-833
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