It's all about TLG Published March 15, 2011 By Capt. Mike Perez 436th Medical Operations Squadron DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- When my deployment was all said and done, I had been deployed or TDY 19 out of the last 21 months. During that time, I worked on the staff at United States Forces-Afghanistan, attended Squadron Officer School, and served as the Dragon (U-2) Aircraft Maintenance Unit Officer in Charge at the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing. In that time I experienced many different leadership styles and learned much about how, and how not, to lead. For myself, I adopted a simple yet effective style focused on teamwork, leadership, and growth (TLG) to garner the support of my people to make the mission happen. Teamwork is the first tenet of TLG, it fosters an environment where informal communication allowed our team to achieve results. We focused on being sensitive to others; allowing their message to be heard up and down the chain. As leaders, we needed to constantly remind ourselves that our team members come from very diverse backgrounds, which means they communicate in different ways. We needed to be empathetic and respond positively to ensure the appropriate action was taken. More importantly get people to buy in. Our leadership team found in that environment being more persuasive than demanding was far more effective. Leadership is the second tenet of TLG. Built upon the principle that all members are empowered in the decision making process.. In our team-focused organization, we created a culture dedicated to productive collaboration and self-improvement. It allowed our senior noncommissioned officers, contract leads and I to act more as facilitators. It also allowed the team to find the best solution and allowed for a free exchange of ideas leading towards a common goal or vision. Growth is the final tenet of TLG. In our business we must be mindful that we are not only training and educating our Airmen, but rather future leaders of our military. With that in mind, we encouraged our people to pursue education and to learn other skills. The more knowledge team members are, the more beneficial to the mission, they are. In my aircraft maintenance unit we were lucky enough to rely on our contract partners to fill the role of teachers and mentors. This allowed us to reap the rewards of hands on knowledge and expertise garnered from a lifetime of experiences. TLG has worked for me in the more than seven years I have had the privilege to serve. My hope is that it also helped my team to realize it is up to them to provide hands on teamwork, leadership, and growth opportunities. They will take on the responsibilities of mentoring and motivating so our troops can do the nations business. TLG!!!