Leaders should be fit, be fair, be firm

  • Published
  • By Chief Master Sgt. Chris Dobbins
  • 11th Air Force Command Chief Master Sergeant
-- "Chief, I've got a question..."

These five words have become a very common introductory remark as I traverse the many shops, offices and flightlines of our great Aerospace Force.

While many of the questions concern deployments, pay, assignments and quality of life issues, more and more I'm getting, "Do you have any advice for today's young supervisors?"

I must admit that I didn't blow away the recruiting office with my ASVAB scores, MIT never offered me a scholarship, and I'm fairly confident the Air Force Academy will never select me for a permanent professor position. But this, to me, is one of the easier questions I've ever had to answer.

I simply call it the "3-F" approach: be fit, be fair and be firm.

Be fit! It's called a "profession of arms" for a reason. At anytime, we could be called upon to do our nation's will. Granted, some jobs require greater levels of fitness than others, but everybody who serves in our Air Force has a responsibility to maintain his or her personal fitness so we may answer that call.

News flash! Some of the locations we are asked to serve don't have rental cars, a Holiday Inn Express or McDonald's. In fact, the number one method of transportation in many of these areas is shoe leather; number one living accommodation, tents; number one eating establishment ... Well, you get the point.

What do you suppose is the common denominator for successful mission accomplishment in these austere areas? It is a fit force.

It is one thing to carry one of our wounded warriors off the battlefield. We shouldn't have to carry them to the region because of their poor fitness. Unfortunately, we have some who don't understand this important personal responsibility.

Supervisors, here are a couple of things to remember. The gym doesn't require an "open area #7" on your restricted area badge for access -- use it! There are 24 hours in the day. Spend one of them improving your fitness. Twenty-three hours should be plenty to accomplish most everything else.

If you are not maintaining your own fitness, how can you expect it of your troops? Lead by example. Be fit.

Be Fair! There is nothing more divisive to a shop, office, flight or organization than double standards and preferential treatment, perceived or otherwise. As a supervisor, you simply cannot afford to allow an unfair environment to exist.

So why has this become the Achilles heel of so many supervisors? Human nature, personal likes and dislikes, prejudices, age differences, cultural barriers -- it could even be something as simple as sports or music interests. The list is endless.

To some degree, we've all experienced the work environment where "the boss" has his favorites, and gives the great shifts to "Airman Do No Wrong" while giving "Airman What's His Name" weekend duty so "the gang" can go skiing, camping or the like.

This is not a successful formula for unit harmony or mission accomplishment. Call me crazy, but I don't subscribe to the belief that everyone is "created" equal. If that were the case, you would see the name "Dobbins" next to "Woods" every week at the top of the PGA leader board. However, I do believe that everyone should be "treated" equal, and that is where you, the supervisor, come in. Be fair.

Be Firm! Everyone has his or her own personal comfort level when it comes to implementing and enforcing standards, but being firm can sometimes be the most difficult for supervisors, both new and experienced, to practice.

Being firm equates to being honest in many instances, and sometimes we as supervisors have to step up and make the tough calls.

Contrary to popular belief, not everybody is a "5" on his or her Enlisted Performance Report. Not everybody is "my #1." Not everybody is a "definite promote" and not everybody deserves a permanent change of station decoration.

Even in our great Air Force, we have people who need to improve, who need to put forth a little more effort, who need to know their jobs a little better, who don't deserve a "firewall 5" EPR, and who don't deserve a decoration for every 90-day deployment or 24-month PCS move.

I cannot tell you the number of times I have heard, "Sorry Smitty, I put you in for a Meritorious Service Medal, but 'they' disapproved it at headquarters ... something about level of responsibility of a staff sergeant not being commensurate with the level of the decoration."

Ever since I became a pronoun -- they -- I've gotten a chuckle out of these comments, especially since I know if the supervisor would have been honest in the first place, the submission would have never left the organization.

One of the most difficult tasks you will ever have as a supervisor is being honest with subordinates who are not meeting standards. The answer is simple, but many times the action is not. Be firm.

That is the 3-F approach. By applying these practices across your supervisory spectrum you will be promoting a profession of arms environment that your people will understand, appreciate and ultimately, with time, emulate.