JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. –
With the recent expiration of black boots, I want to share an example of how for years I took care of my boots and still continue to take care of our Airmen today. Now you may be asking yourself where I am going with this, but come with me for a couple of minutes and I will explain.
When I received my first pair of boots in basic training, I immediately went to work shining them (one of the measures of success was how well your boots were shined). What I very quickly found out was that one boot would take the wax and with little effort, shine very well. The other one, well let's just say this one was a little more of a challenge. I would put more work into that second boot but for all my efforts, it just would not match the shine of my other boot. This was confusing to me because they came from the same place; they probably were made from the same piece of leather and most likely went through the same quality control checks. At this point, I had a decision to make about the efforts I would apply to the less shiny one and I began to learn a leadership lesson that would pay great dividends for the rest of my career.
As I became a new supervisor, I would in-process new Airmen and just like my boots, one of those Airmen would be really shiny: need little supervision, possess the ability to act with little guidance and immediately became an asset to the unit. The other however, would need lots of guidance and mentoring causing me to once again reflect on how I managed those boots. Again, our process is the same, basic training and tech school should deliver pretty consistent Airmen and just like those boots, had most likely met the same quality control standards. The most important thing to remember here is that they both shine, however they do not shine the same. This is a critical part you must understand as a leader, mentor and supervisor. You cannot just focus on the easy thing to do; I have found through many years of experience, the great benefits of putting your efforts into something. As a leader, your efforts in those individuals will ultimately determine how well they shine, if they ever get a chance to shine at all.
Now let's transition to modern day and our easy to maintain, no shining required green boots. I was in the gym one day and heard someone comment that they loved their new boots. Since I was holding on to my black boots until the last day, this conversation piqued my interest. It went something like this: "Man I really love these new boots; I just have to wear them, brush them off once in a while and when they are worn out, throw them away."
As I walked back to my office, it dawned on me that in a non-intentional way maybe our Airmen were feeling like this. The data is pretty well substantiated with regard to many years of consistent deployments, challenging budget cuts, consolidation of many support functions, etc., that our Airmen need more personal attention. We have many resiliency programs such as Comprehensive Airman Fitness and Leadership Pathways, but are still challenged with trying to find that one thing to truly make a difference.
I submit to you my earlier comments on how to shine boots. Unless you truly get to know your Airmen and get personal with them, you will never feel the awesome responsibility of being entrusted with someone's professional and personal development. The great thing here is that we do not have to come up with the next great thing to make this happen, we already have it. It lies within the role of supervision and understanding the requirement to know your people. A simple brushing off and sending them on their way is sometimes just not good enough to understand their needs. Our renewed focus on front line supervision drives home the point that constant and personal attention goes a long way towards preventing and correcting problems. Ultimately, it is your hands-on leadership that will make a lasting difference and will lead to the success and shine of your Airmen, your unit and our great Air Force.