I report to my boss, I work for my people

  • Published
  • By Maj. Theresa Humphrey
  • 355th Maintenance Operations Squadron commander
DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. (AFPN) --  I report to my boss, but I work for my people.

Before you think, “I wouldn’t have said that if I were her,” hear me out.

This phrase is about taking care of people and being a selfless leader. When I walk through my door every morning, I’m not thinking about what I can do to impress my boss but what I can do to help my people.

Does it mean my boss doesn’t matter? Of course not! I am still responsible to him, I still answer to him and I still need to keep him informed. However, I don’t exert all of my energy on him. I save it for my people. I take care of them, they take care of me and I can take care of my boss.

So what does it mean when I say “I work for my people”?

It means that whenever I do anything, it is to help them out. When I review enlisted performance reports and officer performance reports, I put an equal amount of time and effort into all of them no matter what the ratee’s rank. When I review award packages, I make sure it is the best submission possible and we are recognizing the right people.

When I discipline people, I make sure it is fair, equitable and appropriate. I set standards and expect my people to follow them. When people want to talk, I make time for them and listen to what they have to say. I speak my mind even if I don’t tell them what they want to hear.

I try to make things fun, even commander’s calls and staff meetings. I give people honest feedback and I take theirs in return. I let them know what I expect, when they’ve done well, when they haven’t quite hit the mark and what they need to do to improve. I let people do their jobs and trust them until they give me a reason not to.

Most importantly, I genuinely care about their well being and try to convey that in everything I do. The minute this seems phony, I lose credibility.

Now, about my boss. Don’t get me wrong; My boss is very important and I don’t mean to belittle him in any way. After all, he signs my report and if he really wanted to he could make my life miserable. My point is I do not show up to work every day trying to impress him.

The energy I spend doing that takes away from the energy I could be spending helping my people succeed. If I take care of my people, they will get the job done, and the more professionally satisfied they are, the better they will perform. The better they perform, the better I am fulfilling my responsibilities to my boss.

They are taking care of me by enabling me to take care of my boss. If my boss notices, that’s great! If not, my reward is in knowing my people are taken care of, motivated to show up to work every day and doing their best.

To me, all the recognition in the world is worthless if I am making my people miserable in the process.

Maybe it just boils down to priorities. I feel an effective leader thinks “people first,” not “me first.” Good leaders take care of their people because they know their people will take care of them. When their people take care of them, leaders can take care of their bosses. Good bosses will see this quality and in turn take care of the leader. Pretty neat how that all works out!

Selfless leadership has worked for me. Maybe it will work for you!