A521.9.4.RB_LarsonKurt, Reflections on Leadership

Leadership that Participates – Most especially in todays global society, leaders must be ready, willing and able to lead by example from the front lines with the individuals who will make the objective happen. The days of leadership by fear distance or from a position of unrelenting power are over.

·         My style of leadership will not change much with this style. I have always been hands’ on, down in the trenches type of leader. I believe that leadership by example, showing the troops you are there for them and with them, is the best style.

Leadership that Connects – Again I have always been hands’ on type of leader and have often given the leadership role to an up and coming airman who may need to take the reigns some time. I do not believe in a single point of failure or that any operation should rise and fall on one individual. 

Leadership that is like Conversation - Like Denning states, “The relationship between leaders and listener is symmetrical.” I prefer to lead in a manner that those responsible for the completion of a task make the critical decisions at the lowest point to the problem possible. That said, there are certain caveats that can never be overcome, however as a leader, I also like to point those out to inform and show that things might be beyond my control as well.   

Leadership that is Possible – Leadership that is possible is leadership that can enable individuals to thing out of the box and utilize critical thinking skills to problem solving and creative solutions to problems. The effective leader knows they do not poses all the skills or knowledge and to let go of the inhibitions that scotch creative thought in subordinates and coworkers. 

Leadership that Fits the Modern Need – Globalization and companies entering into joint-ventures has caused an entire generation and culture to re-think how effective leadership can survive and thrive in an age of rules restraining critical thought, and the old way may not be the best way.

·         Working with individuals of differing cultures can be an eye opening experience. And a method of reshaping how organizations thrive in an era of doing more with less and still making a profit.

Leadership that is not for everyone – Ruling by fear or intimidation may have had its place at one time or place? Leadership today must be authentic and just, it cannot survive through fake collaboration, or counterfeit methods.

Organizationally it would be a death sentence to not institute effective and collaborative leadership in today’s global market. Companies do not want to do business with an organization that has little regard for its employees and would be wise to attract those that do.  

Leadership that is Relatively Free of Ego – Ego and pride can go hand-in-hand and should never be confused for one another. Ego can be a one-person show that is about agendas and the consequences of not obtaining those agendas. Pride can come in many shapes and forms.

The truly proactive leader never expects a reward; the reward is the pride in their team and the progress made, along the way along with the support that transcends up and down the organizational ladder.  

Leadership that is Like Judo – An effective leader is one who is ready for the challenge of creating positive change, or change that may be unfavorable, undesirable or almost unobtainable. The effective leader is one who uses the tools of persuasion, intellect and information as a manner to invalidate an opponent or roadblock.

·         I often find that I resort to Leadership by Judo. I often stand-alone or quickly loose allies as the contention gets heated. I always use rules, regulations and past performance as a justification for advancing on a contentious issue. I have learned to let remarks, personal attacks and attempts at discrediting information I have provided as a sign that those who resort to these methods have already lost.

Of course there is a limit we all have at being thrown under a bus or treated like a doormat. The trick is to not let the conversation get to that point… at times, easier said than done.      

Leadership that has Feeling – I am a believer that history can and do in certain instances repeat itself. That said, there are many leaders in todays global environment who lead by intimidation, the bottom line and from what is in todays news in the state of Michigan regarding right to work states and unions. There are leaders who are leading via a position of authoritarian, possibly out of fear of loosing the backing of their constituents. I am referring to the union leadership that is now threatened by signed bill making Michigan a right to work state.

That is not interactive leadership. Interactive leadership is leadership that has passion, reasoning and rational analysis. A true leader can and often should walk a mile in their employees’ shoes as a manner to not ever forget where they came from. It is that experience’s that past and present that make a great leader. A textbook can offer instruction based upon someone else’s perspective, it is the great leader who takes those teachings into account, tailoring them to their specific need or situation. Only a leader who is in-tune with their emotions and feelings can lead by this practice.

Leadership that avoids “Apollo Run Amok” – Big government, big corporations and possibly a bit too much collaboration with other cultures and nations could lead to another autocratic or tyrannical manner of order much like “The Borg” from Star trek. Where order at all costs is the goal above the human aspect and occasional gentle kindness of stooping to help a child or someone who needs a hand-up (notice I did not say hand-out).

·         I have been in aviation my whole adult life. I have always leaded via a passion for my chosen career and vowed to myself never forget from where I came from. I worked my way not up from the trenches but aside from the trenches, aligned with those who occupy my previous positions and lead as though some may sometime occupy my current position as I move to the next assignment. Much like I instructed young airmen as a Senior NCO in the A.F. to correct faults on aircraft like your family was flying on it… I lead now as though those airmen will at some point may take my place. 

Leadership that includes Beauty – Management and leadership that are stuck on eternal autopilot are destining toward failure via Controlled Flight Into Terrain (C.F.I.T). It is the prudent leaders who can see the forest for the trees and pull an organization out of impending failure. The culture of an organization is its greatest strength and its greatest weakness.

A leader is only as good as its followers, an organization with a strong leader, but followers stuck on an unhealthy past practice will stifle any growth the organization may need to the point of failure. Consequently it may often take those stifling individuals who impede growth to leave, allowing management the opportunity to hire individuals with the same or similar visions shared by an organizations leaders. Unfortunately it is often the case where it is the visionary leader who leaves out of disgust or being driven away, by those who would rather stifle positive growth, remaining stuck on past practice.

It is those leaders who have came and went who poses the creativity and beauty to transform an organization from an ugly duckling into a beautiful swan. It is to the great detriment of those who are incapable of seeing this that an organization may simply stagnate on its own devices and never transform itself into the beautiful swan that it could be.         

Final Comment - A vast proportion of the responses blended into others. It is not for a lack of words, but rather individual leadership dimensions often complement one another, to a point they comingle into yet another dimension.

Much like raising a child, it is the smart parent and mentor that know when, where and to what extent to apply the methods described above. My years serving in the U.S. Military taught me many things. The most prevalent is the art of leadership… and its never-ending quest for better methods of applying those skills, old and new.

Kurt,    

A521.8.4.RB_LarsonKurt, Making Contact

Depending upon the circumstance, I have no particular problem with striking-up a conversation with someone new. As an example, when in a room of my piers, I can simply move around and let a conversation or two commence without too much difficulty or reservations. I believe it is the professionalism in me that pushes me toward interaction and comingling.

I also recognize when it may be unordinary to be overtly outgoing. Like when I ride the metro in Washington, DC. Folks are somewhat withdrawn and introverted. It is more of a respect of limited space to not strike-up a conversation than an inhabitation of striking-up a conversation.

It was not always so easy for me. Growing-up was harsh for my brother and I, my father was a somewhat angry individual that taught us to always take the upper hand and never give an inch to anybody. After I joined the military, I quickly learned this was not going to work and quickly adapted to the team method of accomplishing assignments (one of the smarter decisions in my life).

As I moved up in rank, public speaking became inevitable and like so many individuals, I would rather have cut off an arm than do public speaking. I decided early on to take the bull by the preverbal horns and I enrolled in the A.F. Leadership School, NCO and Senior NCO Academy just as soon as I was eligible. Years later I would join Toast Masters which synthesized even greater my public speaking skills, in-turn building ever further my ability to break the ice and enter into the fine art of conversation, rejection, proper use of body language and active listening. I must confess the latter skill, is one that is still “work-in-progress”.

I have also grown in other areas because of the confidence public speaking; including the art of conversation has given me. I currently serve on an executive committee in Washington, DC regarding aviation safety. I have had the honor to be a committee chair and to address the full board of the NTSB regarding the safety of public aircraft.

There are a few noteworthy items from the chapter that have been reemphasized for me, particularly in a crowd or room of movers and shakers. The first would be my own outmoded self-depreciating internal monologue. And that my level of self esteem is just fine and I have been told I command a certain air of confidence about me, and that people respond to it… including the movers and shakers.

I do not want to end this Web Log with individuals believing I am arrogant and need to be the center of attention. Quite the contrary, I am comfortable with my self and being alone with myself. I am also comfortable being in a crowd of people… pretty women included. 

A521.7.4.RB_LarsonKurt, KnowledgeSharingStory

I am a sportsman that has had the good fortune to have hunted and fished all over the North American Continent, including parts of Canada including fishing overseas when the opportunity presented itself.

I also pride myself on following appropriate game laws especially when I am in the field alone and have only my conscience to guide me. And I only take from nature what I need, and always give back in some form or another as my small way of preserving the outdoors for generations yet to come.

On occasion I have fly-fished the Madison and Gallatin rivers in Big Sky Montana, just to the North of Yellowstone Park In Wyoming. Most states have reciprocal agreements with each other, as a measure to avoid conflict with a fisherman on a lake or stream unknowingly violating game laws by straying into another state.

Like I said this applies to most situations unless a particular lake or stream flows into a National Park where you need a special permit. I have no particular problem with special permits, since the revenue goes toward wildlife and habitat conservation and the cost is generally not too steep considering the spectacular views one can witness, not to mention fish to catch or game to harvest.

In June of 1999, I was in Big Sky fly fishing and purchased my Montana Sportsman’s license, listened to the locals talk about the fishing conditions and got the general lay of the land including a topographic map of the area, which I proceeded to mark a red line at the Montana/Wyoming border of the rivers I intended to fish, as a method of not straying into Wyoming let alone Yellowstone.

My day began quite early as I donned my warm clothes, hip waders, fishing vest and small backpack with supplies and food for my day on the water. I must have been fishing for about four hours, making my way down stream not having too much luck, but enjoying the day and scenery none-the-less, when I spotted a game warden on the right bank approximately 200 yards down stream. I figured that as I worked my way down toward his location he would want me to come to the shore so he could check my license and catch (if I had any). Well he actually came out to see me, which I thought was pretty cool for him to not disturb my fishing more than needed.

           

We exchanged the pleasantries as well as answering if I had any luck, which I indicated to the negative and asked if he would like to see my license and I.D., which he did. I handed him my Montana sportsman’s license and military I.D. to which he mentioned he was retired Army, I said I am Air Force and thanked him for his service.

He asked me do I know exactly know where I am? To which I took out my topographic map and showed him I/we were approximately ¼ mile north of the red line indicating the Montana/Wyoming border. The warden took my map and studied it a bit, informing me I was a bit farther down river than I thought, and was actually ¼ mile into the great state of Wyoming and he then welcomed me to Yellowstone Park.

I must have looked flabbergasted when he told me, as I proceeded to restudy the map figuring how I got so far down stream, unaware of my true location. I let him know that I pride myself on knowing the game laws of the areas I hunt and fish and that I have unknowingly strayed into Yellowstone.

I believe to this day he took pity on me for several reasons, one, we were both brothers by virtue of our military association and I had taken great steps to avoid the circumstance I have now found myself in. He informed me he was not going to cite me and In-fact he offered me a ride upstream to my vehicle, which I graciously accepted. During the ride we talked about our times and places we both were stationed in the military. I decided to let him know I was going to purchase a Yellowstone permit as a way of assuring my compliance with the local game laws and as a way of repaying a courtesy extended. Like I said… I always give back. Not to mention the savings from the rather steep fines he could have levied against me that day.

I use this as an example when teaching our daughter about good sportsman like conduct and to always do the right thing…  or at least give it your best effort, even when nobody is looking.   

A521.6.3.RB_LarsonKurt, High Performance Teams

Based on this week's readings from the Denning text, identify the elements of

high-performance teams and apply them to teams with whom you have worked in

your organization.

Next, Identify the importance of shared values and discuss the influence of

shared values on your team's performance.

Finally, examine the four patterns of working together and detail one positive an

one negative experience. What could you have done to influence the outcomes?

During my 20 plus years in the A.F. I had the unique opportunity to have

participated five times, in an airlift competition named “Airlift Rodeo”. Airlift

                        Rodeo sponsored by the Air Mobility Command is the Mobility Air Force's, or MAF, readiness competition. This competition focuses on improving our worldwide air mobility forces' professional core abilities.

                        The experience that I along with my fellow airman from maintenance, operations, and aerial port squadrons, were astounding from the standpoint of team bonding of the many disciplines and in a compressed, predetermined timeframe stemming from team selection to preparation to competition.

In several instances team members were total strangers before and some the best of friends afterword. Even those who had challenging relationships quickly forgot and became part of a team driven toward the ultimate goal of winning. The team was so successful because we all quickly realized early on that this is something bigger than any one individual. And in order to win and to not be the first looser (aka) second place, we would need to combine our specific expertise and become one cohesive team that went to completion and won as a team, or lost as a team, with no specific outstanding prize to any one individual or blame to any one individual.

The importance of shared values were so important for the overall success of the team, that if any one member were to have differing values the risk of loosing the competition or, compromised safety could not be tolerated. The level of commitment of shared values was so high, that after the competition(s) were completed and we returned to our respective squadrons.  Most would often have conflict with what had become the new norm of shared values vs. what was the current norm for our work centers.

In fact during subsequent deployments Rodeo competitors would look toward working with one another, to revisit the level of commitment and working relationships again.

The four patterns of working together:

Work groups according to Denning, are the traditional subunits in an organizational department or division.

A positive experience would be during an acceptance check of a particular weapon system, the group I was assigned to encounter setbacks. As a result the team that was comprised of various engineering disciplines of mechanical, electrical including a functional test engineer of differing aerospace companies and myself the customer, who were able to assess the root cause of the problem and tailor a corrective action including functional test and acceptance portion.

A negative experience would be a similar circumstance as the one previously described. Only now a perception of compromise of proprietarily information between contractors (KTR’s) leads to a rift between two KTR’s of a similar nature. Rightfully so, they were protecting there companies information and shareholder interests.

I along with contracting experts, proposed a closed-door meeting between the respective companies legal and management personnel. The root of the issue was a contract clause requiring the two rivals to have instituted a joint venture team for the purpose of this program and that there were those from both sides who were unable or unwilling to abide by the contract requirement clause.

What I would eventually do differently is to have a pre-meeting citing specific contract clauses and a constructive change notification as a stop-gap toward any Gov. to KTR misunderstandings. 

Teams are an organizational group of individuals that are interdependent; share a common goal and who coordinate their goals, sharing the overall responsibility for performance of the team.

A positive experience would be the previously discussed Airlift Rodeo experience. And the can-do attitude displayed by all team members during the selection, preparation, execution and continued new high standard taken back to the work centers as a result of Airlift Rodeo.

A negative experience would be addressing an organizational shortfall and the team comprised to address the corrective action and implementation. Several members were not on board with the root cause or the need for a corrective action. Thus they were party to fake collaboration and were instrumental in disruption and delay of policy revision and implementation.

I individually had no leverage to positively influence the outcome. I as the identifier of the shortfall found the culture was lacking toward implementing this type of corrective action. Several post closed-door meetings with command staff citing the outcome convinced command staff to implement by direction and not from organizational consensus as had been hoped. This of course left some animosity in the organization, and at times directed toward yours truly.

Community is a group that has emerged in recent years in an organizational setting as a group of individuals who are geographically dislocated.

The Interagency Committee on Aviation Policy (ICAP,) is an executive level committee I serve on in Washington, DC. The committee is comprised of various federal agencies with aviation programs, with the goal of commonality and safety for the federal fleet of non-military aircraft.

The committee is very close knit, meeting quarterly and traveling to agencies to asses their aviation safety programs, making recommendations and then utilizing lessons learned to enhance federal regulations and distribution of information through a list-serve and continued collaboration.

The negative side is dud to federal budget cuts, the frequency the committee meets and the impact it currently has on the federal fleet of aviation programs is in jeopardy.

At this juncture we are looking at alternative methods of communicating like webinars and teleconferences. Unfortunately these are not a proven venue for collaboration and discussion of topics or salient points made during the course of a live meeting, considering the cost of set-up and the fact that less than 10% of effective communication is verbal. There will be a lot of vital communication lost in the translation.

I have recommended abandoning the purchasing of webinar and teleconference equipment and do a cost comparison between travel cost and equipment purchase.      

  

Networks are a collection of individuals that maintain contact with one another either professionally or personally.

Like most effective programs or projects, it is the individuals who stay in-touch after the fact that are instrumental in getting the correct individuals for the next team and project. Mediums like email, phones, linked-in, Facebook (not a member) and even the golf course are all acceptable methods of staying in touch and utilizing as a networking tool.

I do not have a negative side for this pattern except that possibly the human touch and interaction can be and in certain circumstances been lost in cyberspace.     

Reference:  Denning, S. (2011). The leader\'s guide to storytelling. (2 ed.).