Leadership is flight plan for success Published Sept. 20, 2007 By Lt. Col. Richard Pues 436th AW director of staff DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- What can you do to stand out from your peers and make a difference in your organization? What skill sets will get you noticed by your boss and your commander? What can you do to improve your leadership traits? Today's Air Force is very competitive. Personnel cuts have significantly downsized the force in order to pay for the capitalization of resources. Many excellent officers and enlisted have been asked to leave the Air Force to meet end-strength requirements. I want to pass on to you my experiences, observations and lessons learned over the course of my near 25 years of service to increase your leadership abilities and make you a more effective leader. Before starting to discuss leadership, first I'll define it. A simple definition of leadership is: a process by which a person influences others to accomplish an objective and directs the organization in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent. Here are some the best leadership traits and behaviors I have noticed in my Air Force career - the list is in no particular order. · Leaders set a vision for their unit and help Airmen understand the unit's overall strategy. They help Airmen understand how they contribute to achieving the vision. Finally, they share information with members on how the unit is doing. · Leaders set expectations and convey guiding principles to their Airmen in order to shape and focus their efforts toward a common goal. · Leaders are standard bearers and must set the example of behavior they want Airmen to emulate. The standards may range from uniform wear, ethical behavior, timeliness or work ethic. The list is endless. In simple terms, set the example then ... walk the talk! · Leaders publicly recognize their Airmen for their efforts and accomplishments. They make concerted efforts to thank and publicize efforts that exceed the norm. This behavior helps instill pride in the unit and increases unit productivity. · Leaders are motivators. They inspire Airmen to reach new highs of productivity and propel the unit toward their goal. · Leaders are great communicators. Their verbal and writings skills are simply exemplary. They use these skills to deliver their message to all audiences. · Leaders take care of their people. Some examples are: moving people to the right job at the right time, promotions, decorations or awards, access to higher education and training. All these items make people smarter, more efficient and motivate them to excel. Think of this as training your own replacement! · Leaders capitalize on the full capabilities of their people and resources. Think of leaders as conductors of orchestras. They have all the musical instruments at their disposal but it is up to the conductor to blend them together to create great music. Likewise, a leader must assess what resources he has at his disposal and capitalize on all the strengths while minimizing the weaknesses. · Leaders have absolute integrity and honesty. They never compromise these values or ask their followers to, ever!