Architect of future leaders: An NCO's blueprint to build 'dream' Airmen

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- For seven years, I was in the professional military education career field and was fortunate to have the opportunity to make a positive difference in the management and leadership skills of several thousand members of our great Air Force. I truly enjoyed then, as I do now, seeing Airmen's eyes light up when understanding takes place. Many PME instructors provided lessons for that opportunity, but a few were more successful than others. One such lesson covered standards.

I would walk into the classroom and start off with, "By a show of hands, how many of you want to do a bad job today? How many of you wanted to do a bad job yesterday ... last month ... last year?"

Stop for a second or two and think about that yourself. Do you want to do a bad job today?

What would you guess their response was? I would bet that it was the same as yours. Class after class after class, for seven years not one student raised their hand or said they wanted to do a bad job. In fact, 100 percent of them, wanted to do a good job.

So why then do we have troops getting into trouble?

The answers to this question are complex, varied and many. But something that stands out amongst the others is the supervisor's ability to define and enforce the standards.

Imagine that you have decided to build your dream home. Full of anticipation, you hire an architect and explain that you want a 4-bedroom, 3-bathroom, 2-stall garage on one acre of land. You are extremely excited when the architect informs you that the job is right up his or her alley. Nearly the same conversation happens when we take on new subordinates. We pull them in, spell out some broad strokes and are happy to hear that they are willing to execute them. But are we giving them enough direction to be successful - to do a good job?

If you were to leave the architect alone at this point, do you think you would get the house you imagined? Not likely, right? The Jacuzzi tub, ceiling fans, oak floors, fireplace and air conditioner could all be missing. It works the same with troops.

The homeowner needs to relay many more desires or standards to the architect to get the house they envision, so too do supervisors with his or her subordinates. We must continually broaden their understanding of the standards. It would not be fair to paint the broad strokes of our desires for the architect and only return once, 12-months later, to find a house we did not want. This is unfair to subordinates as well. We must support our troops with the same kind of dedication and enthusiasm we would visit the build-site of our new home to take pictures and point out the nuances of change since we last visited 17-hours ago. But it doesn't stop there either.

The architect may be particularly skilled at designing and delivering huge, beautiful kitchens with lots of modern cooking gadgets crying out to be used. He or she may believe the kitchen is the lifeblood of the home and everything should revolve around it. However, if you don't cook, you will not see it the same way. Additionally, you may believe a large family room should be the focus. Caught in the initial phases the architect can easily correct this. However, once the process has started, larger issues may arise and a change may incur a cost. For the architect this may mean money, but for the troop it will likely mean some disgruntlement and a temporary set back in motivation. Keep in mind though this is your dream home; you need to see it through!

If education is their central theme and community involvement is yours, neither of you are "wrong" - work it out equitably based on the standards. If done correctly, you could be rewarded with that dream home or a dream troop.

Ask your subordinates if they want to do a bad job. I'll bet they don't.

Build a strong, secure, and showpiece house. Bring your troops along for the ride. They will thank you later.