Developing leaders ... do you use water or gasoline?

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. David Bobb
  • 36th Medical Operations Squadron
ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam (AFPN) --  If you view yourself as a leader, take a moment to think about the people closest to you in your organization and what you are doing to develop those individuals.

I’m not talking about ensuring they complete their career development course or on-the-job training, but do you have a game plan for them? Are they growing and do they share your vision?

Most importantly, what are you doing to develop them into leaders? I mean real leaders, not just those who may be positional leaders. 

One of your most important duties and greatest opportunities is to develop the leaders around you. If you think about it, not only is this beneficial to our Air Force and the person you are developing, it’s equally important to you.

One thing I’ve seen repeatedly is that those closest to the leader will determine the success level of that leader. Likewise, they can determine the level of failure. With that in mind, consider the following.

First, what kind of leader are you? When there’s a problem in your unit, a “fire” so to speak, many times you, as the leader, are the first on scene. When you arrive, you have a bucket in each hand. In one bucket is water, and in the other gasoline.

The fire before you will either become a greater problem because you poured the gasoline on it, or it will be extinguished because you used the water. Which bucket do you think those closest to you see you using? More importantly, are you training them to use the bucket of gasoline or the bucket of water?

Now you may think it really doesn’t matter because even if you use the gasoline, the fire will eventually burn out. However, look at the time and resources consumed, as well as the toll on people it may take to get to that point. How do you think those closest to you feel when the gasoline is poured on every little spark?

It’s imperative you model the leadership traits you want to develop in others. You are the one they focus on and you are the one they will follow. If you put out fires with water, they will, too. They will become a leader in their own right who extinguishes fires with water, and over time, you will know you can depend on them to bring a second bucket of water instead of gasoline.

Second, lead with your vision and instill it in others. Some leaders forget to build and share a vision because they are too busy managing. It’s extremely easy to get caught up in meeting suspenses, writing reports and culling data without ever looking at the bigger picture. In other words, leaders need to ask, “Why are we doing this?” and “How does this fit into the goals and vision I have for this unit?”

If you don’t take time to create and share a vision, then anyone’s vision will do and everyone will have his own vision. An effective vision provides guidance and gives direction to a unit or organization.

This direction cannot come from Air Force instructions, policy manuals or organizational charts. It must be developed, shared and modeled by the leader. Subsequently, as you model and share your vision, those around you will embrace it, too. As you develop the leaders around you, they will note that an effective vision can transform your organization.

Lastly, be sure your vision is big enough. Leaders with small visions never accomplish truly great things. Oh, they may get a line on a performance report, but in time, that line becomes meaningless. Perhaps the best example of a man with a large vision goes something like this:

Once upon a time, a traveler paused to rest in a small town. He saw an old man sitting on a bench in front of the only store in town and decided to sit next to him. After exchanging pleasantries, the traveler asked the old man, “You look like you have lived here your entire life. Can you tell me something this town is noted for?” After a brief pause, the old man replied, “Oh, I don’t know, except it’s the starting point to the world. You can start here and go anywhere in the world you want.” Now that’s a man with a large vision!

One of our greatest challenges as leaders is to create a similar vision in both ourselves and our Airmen. This means a vision that is big, that may take some time to achieve, but has the power to transform lives.

People may be unaware they are in such an environment and fail to take advantage of it, but you can help them realize that wherever they are, it can be their starting point to the world. True leaders will recognize this and create opportunities for growth as they build the leaders around them.