Effective leadership requires competence, knowing when to take action

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Thomas McCaleb
  • 52nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany (USAFENS) --  Later this month, I pin on my captain bars. With this milestone around the corner, I have been thinking about my Air Force journey as a lieutenant.

In a nutshell, lieutenants get all the breaks.

Lieutenants get comfortable chairs, usually, and often their own offices. Lieutenants get special care from customer service agencies, and lieutenants get the attention and counsel of senior NCOs who know that commanders share one trait -- they were lieutenants once.

The list of indulgences granted to lieutenants lacks one entry -- credibility. When a sergeant in my first flight learned my age, she thought I was pulling her leg.

“That’s too young,” she said, “for such an important job.” I assured her that although I was young, I meant to learn quickly.

Four years at the Air Force Academy taught me the importance of integrity and of being a true wingman -- keeping your buddy out of trouble in the first place, not covering for him once he lands in hot water.

As a lieutenant, I learned three more lessons that bolstered my credibility as a leader. Young NCOs may benefit from these maxims, and green lieutenants will find them essential.

Know your stuff

I work in aircraft maintenance, a field fraught with a huge array of acronyms and regulations – like most specialties in our Air Force. Every day of my tenure as a lieutenant, my effectiveness as a leader suffered from my ignorance about a part or a program. Until you have knowledge, neither superiors nor subordinates will have faith in your judgment.

Don’t coddle

It is no secret that a few Airmen do not make the grade for our Air Force -- they must, as the saying goes, shape up or ship out. It is less often noted, but no less correct, that the same holds true for all ranks. If a subordinate displays unsatisfactory behavior, demand correction; if you don’t insist on change, it won’t happen.

Make decisions

When working together toward a common goal, people crave leadership. In spite of the bar on your collar, you will forfeit this privilege if you do not make decisions.

Realize -- and learn to live with the fact -- that hindsight will prove some decisions mistaken. Listen to your trusted advisors and weigh options carefully, but don’t hesitate to act until events, or your bosses, make decisions for you.

When I first arrived here, I didn’t speak the language of aircraft maintenance; I didn’t set high standards for all subordinates; and consequently, I didn’t have confidence or credibility to make decisions and spearhead their execution.

In April, two-thirds of our A-10 aircraft and maintainers traveled to England for three weeks, and my boss traveled with them. Throughout those weeks, I set the priorities for the folks left behind, guided the weekly scheduling process and represented the unit at daily briefings to the group and wing commanders.

I felt a growing regard for my competence, as I showed that I knew a few things, expected stellar performance and could make a decision.

I still struggle to put my precepts into practice, but the more I -- and you -- guide our actions by them, the more our troops will trust us to chart our units’ courses.