Air University Review, September-October 1979

Usually, by the time an enlisted man starts replacing his initial clothing issue, he has picked up a smattering of management techniques. By the time those cuffs start to fray, a few catch phrases have worked their way into his consciousness. Even after all the schools, these same phrases, like a shiny toy, are all that remain. Knowing you are a 9-9 supervisor or Maslow's hierarchy of needs may make you sleep better at night, but there is a possibility that neither will replace common sense.

Twenty-two years of scar tissue have given me my own rules. All of them were learned painfully; some like a bolt of lightning between the eyes, others after hours of laborious reasoning as to why I failed. I present them here in the hope they may stimulate some thought on our management techniques.

• Be true to yourself. During your Air Force experience you will be tempted to become cynical. Everyone fails at something and is congratulated or achieves a hard-won goal and is ignored. People often say one thing and do another. This is just human nature--the difference between people and machines. Accept it as such and press on.
• Listen. You will be doing more of this as a manager than any other single activity. Listen to what your boss says and do that, not what you think he or she should have said. Listen to your subordinates. They, too, have minds and something to offer. Nothing will lose loyalty to you faster than looking up after a subordinate pas spilled heart and soul and muttering, "What did you say?" You are telling them they are not worth listening to.
• Be specific. If you are giving directions and want a specific goal, say so. Unless you have a Michelangelo on your staff, don't say "paint the ceiling" and be surprised by the result. On the other hand, if a subordinate gives you an idea, do one of three things: accept it, reject it, or ask for more time to think about it.

Noncommittal hums may get you out of an awkward situation but probably into one much worse. The well-placed grunt will be interpreted as a yes or no--as you will find to your surprise when your name is mentioned as a backer of a half-baked plan casually mentioned in the hallway.

• Accept defeat gracefully. Present your side of any situation forcefully, but once a decision has been made, embrace it. If you had the final say, your boss would not have been involved in the process. Nowhere in your contract with the government does the clause "except when I disagree" appear. If you continue to react negatively after a decision has been made, it will reflect in the work and attitude of your people. Your subsequent failure should be expected.
• Always assume that any task you give out will be done wrong. This is not being cynical. It is a way of ensuring that you avoid unpleasant surprises. Build feedback into every job you set, anything from coordinating on a draft to insisting on seeing the first of a finished product. This will reinforce two ideas in your subordinates: that you are interested in what they are doing and that you really want them to do it. Your routine checking will be accepted as just that, routine. It will not be resented as prying. A fallout benefit will be that you just might learn something new about the job.
• Do not take yourself too seriously. This way when someone punctures the balloon of your pomposity, the hiss will not be quite so loud.

Chief Master Sergeant Charles P. Wilkson is NCOIC, Consolidated Base Personnel Officer. 27th Combat Support Group, Cannon AFB, New Mexico, a position he held with 81st Combat Support Group, RAF Bentwaters, England, until recently. All of his service has been in the personnel area, ranging from detachment level to numbered Air Force. He is a graduate of the Headquarters Command NCO Academy and the Senior NCO Academy.

Disclaimer

The conclusions and opinions expressed in this document are those of the author cultivated in the freedom of expression, academic environment of Air University. They do not reflect the official position of the U.S. Government, Department of Defense, the United States Air Force or the Air University.

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