Page 2 - Desert Lightning News, Nellis-Creech AFB Edition, Nov. 22, 2019

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Reflection — Pen to paper
by Col. Gregg Johnson
Travis AFB, Calif.
As some of you might be able to relate, the other night I was reading a story on the internet, which led me to another story that led me to another that led to another.
My article-driven rabbit hole finally led me to YouTube and to watching a video about future National Football League Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Man- ning; Specifically, the amount of time he’s dedicated to the study of game film and video. Just to provide an example of the level of study, after the 2014 season, he reviewed all 787 passes he threw during the season, allowing him to replay his game movements, intended receiver pro- gression, and pass timing against defenses — all to fill his insatiable appetite to better himself at every opportunity and advance confidence within a complex system.
After watching the Manning segment, I was reminded of a passage from Brené
Brown’s book “Dare to Lead” where she writes, “Grounded confidence is the messy process of learning and unlearn- ing, practicing and failing, and surviving a few misses.” That “messy process” for Manning is the review of game video, for me, it is reflection.
Reflection is easier said than done. The hardest time to carve out of my day or week is time for reflection, but it is a must. You see, I failed early on in my career to heed the advice from my men- tors and set aside time, no matter the duration, to reflect. I thought a sortie or mission debrief was all the reflection I needed — finding root causes or lessons learned to make the next mission better. From a technical point-of-view, that was true, and I was on my game; however, I was missing the bigger picture —the intangibles like emotional intelligence, decision making processes, and leader- ship philosophies, just to name a few. I lost valuable insight and conversations
with myself, and not until I was faced with a tough decision as a squadron operations officer, did I re-evaluate the power of pen to paper.
The pen to paper reflection is my film room and practice field. While I look forward to diving right into reflection, I have three rules that govern my ses- sions in order to make the most of my reflections:
1. Be honest with myself. I must fight my ego getting the better of me by downplaying circumstances or outcomes of something I am reflecting on just to make me comfortable. This does not, and will not, benefit me when I look to apply reflection outcomes. However, this rule does not give me permission to beat myself up.
2. Reflect on the good. I do not soley focus on things that went bad. A reflec- tion on the positive reinforces values, processes, and advances that “grounded confidence” to which Brené Brown refers.
3. Do not let “what ifs” take over. The what if trail is easy to do, especially when reflecting on a difficult circumstance or issue. To minimize this, I focus on what I learned and the positives generated from the outcome, not necessarily trying to change an outcome.
In closing, I offer a few additional thoughts on reflection. First, while most reflection is accomplished in solitude, sharing reflections with others allows one to gain a different perspective, to mentor, or to open up a deeper connec- tion through conversation. Next, reflec- tion should be incorporated into one’s personal life.
Finally, to me, reflection does not mean constantly living in past moments. There is a balance; glance behind using the smaller review mirror but spend the majority of time looking through the bigger windshield for what is in the now.
Reflection, it drives my daily mantra — ‘Better than before.’
Everybody matters
by Chief Master Sgt. Derek Crowder
Travis AFB, Calif.
People are our greatest asset. You may have either heard or said this many times throughout your career. This statement means one thing to me, it is a reminder of what my parents taught me growing up, everybody matters.
I grew up in a small town in central Illinois and it was common practice to not only know everyone’s name, but also the many details of their lives. You knew when they were celebrating something special, perhaps the birth of a child, a promotion, or their son or daughter making the basketball team. You also knew when they were going through a difficult time; such as the loss of a loved one, sickness or struggling financially.
I used to think folks in my town were nosey and wanted to know everything about everyone for gossip reasons; however, I have learned during my 25-year career, this is not being nosey, this is being engaged. Taking time to engage with your neigh- bors shows you are interested in who they are. It
also demonstrates to them that you are concerned about what happens in their lives. Being engaged means you will be there to celebrate the high times and lend a helping hand during the low times. In a small community, people are not strangers, they are family. Although the Air Force is much bigger than my hometown, it is a family business.
Being engaged with those around you establishes a relationship built on trust and commitment. Be- ing engaged means we are authentically human. It means we strive to be a coach, leader, role model, inspiration and friend to those we work with on a daily basis. One of my mentors for the past 20 years taught me the value of engaged leadership early on in my career.
As a young staff sergeant, I applied for a position at our local Airman Leadership School. I made it through two rounds of interviews, and one day, the commandant called me to come see her. As we discussed my previous interviews and how I did, she told me I was her top choice to fill the position; however, she could not hire me because I looked extremely overweight in uniform and she was right.
I gained quite a bit of weight during my first winter in Alaska and I did not present the image of a profes- sional military instructor. As I went back to work, my boss could tell something was not right, so he called me to his office and asked why I was down. When I told him what happened, he knew I was crushed, as we had talked for many weeks about how excited I was to be considered for this opportunity.
During our conversation, he paused and asked two questions: ‘Do you want to apply for this job when it opens again and are you willing to work for it?’ I answered yes and he said, ‘Alright, I’ll see you at the gym tomorrow morning at 5 a.m.’
He was an engaged leader who wanted to see me succeed and for seven months we met at the gym. I lost 40 pounds, applied for the ALS instructor posi- tion and I was hired. The first person I wanted to tell, after my wife of course, was my mentor, because I felt he earned it just as much as I did.
Engaged leadership starts with caring about the people you lead. I ask each of you to fill those around you with a sense of ‘who I am matters and what I do matters,’ because everybody matters.
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