JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. –
Have you ever had a terrible supervisor? Or, have you ever had a really good supervisor? I bet you remember them. In today's high pace Air Force, how many of you can juggle the mission work load along with the supervisory workload? Being a good supervisor or a bad supervisor can be summed up in one short statement: "Do you take care of your people?"
All noncommissioned officers have been through Airman Leadership School, so you have been taught general leadership techniques to help you become a good supervisor. Are you practicing those techniques? One of those leadership traits would be performing proper feedbacks and not just asking your subordinate to sign the feedback form so you don't miss the suspense of completion. I'm talking about taking the time to sit down with your Airmen and discussing all the areas on the form, including the fact benefit sheet and finding out what is really going on with your Airmen.
Are you the supervisor who gets the routing information protocol saying one of your Airman is eligible for a medal, yet you take the easy way out and mark that you are not going to write it? When the time comes for your subordinates' enlisted performance report, do you take the time to make sure you get the report right or do you just find other reports and cut and paste? When your Airmen have issues, do they come to you or do you find out from your boss that your Airmen have issues? If you're learning about an Airman's issues from your supervisor, maybe you need to look at how you are leading.
Being a good supervisor will take more of your time but the rewards outweigh those sacrifices. This week, there are 57 new master sergeant selects from Joint Base Charleston going through the Senior Noncommissioned Professional Enhancement course. One lesson repeated more than any other, and the basis for everything else in the course, is this three-word phrase: "know your people."
All of us know the operations tempo is high and we are working more missions with less people, but if you don't take time to get to know your people and educate yourself on all the issues they are facing, then you are doing a discredit to them and the rank you hold. You took an oath as a supervisor to take care of your people. Find the time and become a good supervisor, your Airmen will appreciate it.
If you need help becoming a better leader, find a mentor to guide you and educate yourself. Talk with your people to find out what you can do for them. There are many good courses offered at JB CHS to help you become the leader that you want to be. To sign up for these courses, visit the JB CHS's Professional Enhancement Center's Community of Practice.