Rewarding individual excellence ensures focus on team goals

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Scott Forest
  • E-3A Aircrew Training Squadron
We all know excellence is an important Air Force core value that we are each challenged to apply daily in our actions, our attitudes and in our planning and decision making. All Airmen have a responsibility to encourage, recognize and deliver individual excellence.

Rewarding excellence encourages it, and there are many ways to reward it. When rewarding or recognizing individual excellence in our teammates, Airmen must use a variety of methods, match them to the circumstances and keep individual recognition in the right context.

As we finish the Air Force’s “season” of annual awards banquets and ceremonies, it is a good time to reflect on how each of us encouraged and recognized excellence in our workplaces, our wingmen, our teammates, in our families and in ourselves in 2004. Did we achieve our goals? Did we help each other to reward or recognize individuals who achieved excellence? Did I achieve excellence and acknowledge it in others?

As I answered these questions and others in reflecting on my successes and failures this past year, I remembered a situation in December of 2003 that reinforced some lessons about recognizing and rewarding individual excellence. I had taken command of a squadron with members from 13 nations four months earlier and was surprised that I did not find a current or historical unit program to recognize outstanding performers. I set out to correct that.

To lay out a vision, I proposed to the international leadership in the squadron—several flight commanders, senior NCOs, and field grade officers—what I thought was a modest “crawl-walk-run” plan for nominating, selecting and rewarding outstanding performers. I was totally unprepared for their reaction.

Not only did they not want it, (“so much for consensus,” I thought) but they firmly asserted it would hurt the unit and be detrimental to good order, discipline and morale. They had a completely different perspective than mine. They felt strongly that recognition of individual excellence took away from the team concept. I, on the other hand, felt strongly that we would enhance and encourage team performance if individuals were striving for team goals and their performance was rewarded. After good discussion, I asked for hands in favor of the program … not even close. Only one went up. I relented.

I’m glad I did, because in this context they were right. Our squadron did not start and does not have an individual recognition program. But, we developed encouragement that is more appropriate and more effective-based on the background and culture of our personnel. On a personal level, I did not consider that experience a failure, but I did re-learn some things.

First, there are many effective ways to promote individual excellence in ourselves and others. Leaders, supervisors and teammates need to use all of them in appropriate places and times -- a kind word, a hand-written note, a handshake or a formal write-up -- Airmen and wingmen have a proud tradition of doing these things for each other.

Second, I realized I had been trained, immersed and coached in an Air Force culture that promoted and allowed recognition of individual excellence AND team excellence; a culture in which the two were not mutually exclusive; and a culture in which rewarding it encourages it. I had taken this for granted, and now I agree with it and appreciate it even more.

Third, our pursuit of individual excellence must be aligned with our team’s pursuit of excellence. To benefit our country, we must pursue our core value of excellence just as strongly for our teams and institutions as we do for ourselves.

So as I send my mess dress to the dry cleaners to prepare for the next set of award ceremonies, I am reminded to keep individual excellence and recognition in its context, the team context. We must encourage and reward individual excellence in formal and informal ways that keep us focused on the team goals. Our country deserves nothing less.