Leadership – A balancing act

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Allen J. Kidd
  • 436th MDOS commander
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  In my years in the Air Force, I've watched many leaders - officers, chiefs, NCOs and Airmen - take their units to the highest levels of excellence. Like many of you, I've continuously tried to emulate those who I felt were great leaders and provide advice, when I could, to leaders who appeared to be struggling. Looking back on my career, I can clearly see that I've grown and learned from the many great (and some not-so-great) leaders I've worked with. As your career progresses, if you pay close attention to the leaders around you, you'll soon develop skills and a style that works best for you.

Of the many traits that I've observed over the years and that could be described as essential to good leadership, several come to mind as being particularly important - traits such as integrity, fairness, willingness to work hard, technical expertise, are all essential elements of leadership success. But in the few months I've served here as a squadron commander, I've found one aspect of leadership that has become increasingly relevant - the importance of proper balance between work and other activities of life.

Balance, not only between the mission and the needs of our Airmen and their families, but also in the daily activities I participate in, has become an especially important factor in my ability to execute my job. In our fast-paced environment of never-ending inspections (to include our Health Services Inspection less than a month away) and the normal daily mission movement, it's apparent I could easily work 18 hours per day and most weekends. While that may be occasionally necessary, I've also found that without balancing my work with other essential activities, my effectiveness in that work greatly diminishes. Getting the proper amount of rest, physical activity, recreation and taking time to develop my spiritual life, I believe, are critical in making me as effective as possible during my working hours. I don't know about you, but when I come to work refreshed from a good night's sleep and time away from the job, I tend to accomplish a lot more in a shorter amount of time than I would otherwise.

I freely admit that I'm constantly tempted to forego the essential non-work activities in order to make more time for work, but I battle this tendency with perhaps another essential leadership trait - discipline. By forcing myself to leave the office and recharge the batteries, I believe I'm a good deal more effective when I get to work. My challenge to all the fine leaders at Dover Air Force Base is to not only work hard at performing the mission and making your organization the best it can be, but take time to take care of you!