JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. –
In the Air Force Professional Development Guide, leadership is defined as the art of influencing and directing people to accomplish the mission.
When defining the word leader, the definition reads, "The leader is the inspiration and director of the action. He or she is the person in the group that possesses the combination of personality and skills that make others want to follow his or her direction."
In today's society, there are numerous books and seminars concerning leadership. There are so many opinions from many different experts concerning the topic it could make one's head swim.
I believe that due to the vast quantities of information we have about leadership, we have overcomplicated it. There are some very simple things we must realize and do when it comes to leadership. You don't have to be high ranking in the military or in management of a company to be a leader. Leadership isn't a rank or a position.
Whether you are the lowest ranking Airman or the lowest ranking Department of Defense civilian, you have the capability to lead right where you are. It is each individual who must take the initiative and exercise a few simple leadership principles. These three very simple principles have helped me immensely during my military career.
My first simple leadership principle is to be a good follower whether you agree with your superiors or not. A person who can't follow direction from those above them or follow procedures cannot be a good leader. If others see that you can't follow well, then they will probably not want to follow you either. You might be able to manage by exerting your authority, but you won't have buy-in from those around you.
Secondly, you, and I say again, you must be the example of excellence. Never expect something from someone that you are not willing to do yourself. If you want people to do the right thing, you need to do the right thing. If not, people will not respect you and they will only follow because they are forced to. An environment such as this breeds inefficiency and the tendency for subordinates to do enough to barely meet the standard.
Third, we need to love people. Yes, we need to love people. That may sound strange to us military types, but relationships are so very important. We must show each other that we care, and not just say it. I believe this is the most important thing we can do as leaders. My boss at my last base would always say, "Mission first, people always." He really meant it too, and it resulted in our unit being effective with very few people while at the same time being like a family.
If people know they are cared for, they will do what they can to help others. That is when we truly become a team. Those football teams that win the Super Bowl usually have the most close-knit locker rooms. If the relationships in your units, your businesses, or your homes are suffering, then the mission, the bottom line and the family as a whole will suffer as well.
To sum it all up, what is the true litmus test of a good leader? When the leader leaves, do the people really care? Don't you want to be that leader that has impacted people in a positive way?
I know I do.