Commanders are dropping like flies this year

[daynightindicator]

Losing your cool as a leader is the fastest way to lose credibility with anyone. That goes double with civilian employees, many of which have double or triple the amount of time-served that you likely do, and will remain in their jobs long after you leave.

This is the first job in which I’ve led civilians, and I learned quickly that when you are unhappy with their performance, you have to be honest, firm (does not mean yelling), and document everything. You should also personalize your approach to their personality type (and yours!). I look like an idiot when I yell or lose my temper, so I usually go with disappointed-dad, or with a poker-face/unemotional demeanor during those instances.

That probably doesn’t apply as cleanly to the SES/flag level world, which I imagine is like a very boring version of Game of Thrones, but the concept of treating people with respect goes far.

If you ever have to use your rank in anything more than a general introduction or email signature in order to get something done or get someone to listen to you, you’ve already failed.

[Catman]

On 6/11/2019 at 8:59 PM, Bergman said:

So weird that she was CEO of Textron prior to being appointed.  I’m sure there is no conflict of interest there.

What's up with the USAF and Textron? I think Secretary James is now on their payroll.

[General Chang]

On 6/11/2019 at 8:00 PM, Sua Sponte said:

[GKinnear]

8 hours ago, Danger41 said:

... I CANNOT overstate the 777 maintenance.

Dude, you're 20 over, we got work to do!

[SocialD]

10 hours ago, daynightindicator said:

Losing your cool as a leader is the fastest way to lose credibility with anyone. That goes double with civilian employees, many of which have double or triple the amount of time-served that you likely do, and will remain in their jobs long after you leave.

100% agree with losing your cool = lost credibility.  That said, the few times I've dealt with DOD civilians have mostly been extremely frustrating.  The most painful being a particular USAFE base civilian who seemed to not have to answer to even the WG/CC.  Sure this dude has "served" a long time, but they sometimes lose sight of the real mission and/or are doing "tactics" from 3 rewrites ago.  It's made worse by civilians whose view on the ARC is still that of years gone by and thinks we know nothing...worked out great when our people ended up teaching his people how to do their fucking jobs.  

[Sua Sponte]

10 minutes ago, SocialD said:

100% agree with losing your cool = lost credibility.  That said, the few times I've dealt with DOD civilians have mostly been extremely frustrating.  The most painful being a particular USAFE base civilian who seemed to not have to answer to even the WG/CC.  Sure this dude has "served" a long time, but they sometimes lose sight of the real mission and/or are doing "tactics" from 3 rewrites ago.  It's made worse by civilians whose view on the ARC is still that of years gone by and thinks we know nothing...worked out great when our people ended up teaching his people how to do their ing jobs.  

That's because senior Civil Service are like tenured professors. Can they be fired? Sure, but it takes a lot of documentation, fighting HR complaints and grievances, etc. It's easier to eliminate their position than to directly fire them. 

[jrizzell]

If you’ve had limited work interaction with the Civilian Force of the DOD, then it can be a bit of a culture shock. Ask most of them and they know a “blue suiter” will be gone in two years, that’s good or bad. If you work at the Pentagon I’m sure the turnover is greater than that. Try this leaders, treat people like you would like to be treated. Screaming at people, in my opinion, is an ineffective technique. 

[gearhog]

Things I've learned in almost 22 years:

If your rank and position can't solve a problem by making a simple request, it's not your problem to solve.

If you feel someone may make you lose your composure, go to the parking lot. Get in your car. Maybe stop for beer and steaks. Go home. Maybe try again tomorrow. Maybe don't. Unless you're deployed, nothing in the AF is that important.

[matmacwc]

Thanks Dr. Phill. But you are 100% wrong. I'm sorry, but telling a kid his momma will be scraping his brains off a California highway from continuously speeding offbase on his motorcycle is the damn truth. Shirt wanted to take his driving privileges on base away after going through a stop sign on base. I told our Shirt  no and our sister squadron Shirt backed me up. If an A1C is crying because he envisioned me having to tell his momma he died for being stupid, I'm okay with that scenario. I told him I will call his mother and make him explain to her why he can't stop speeding.  If the enlisted come into your office to say great job Capt because it was effective. I'm rolling with the E’s on this one. Not some "Capt save a A1C on BODN.”
Some of you couldn't lead your way out of a wet paper bag, especially dealing with the enlisted. A lot of you suck based on some of your moronic ass responses. #Facts #Paging CMSgt Wright

Geez Rick, it's like you're not even trying anymore. Its gotta be a mental disease, hanging out where nobody agrees with or likes you.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

[Danger41]

11 hours ago, GKinnear said:

Dude, you're 20 over, we got work to do!

Don’t worry about me. I’m a lost cause. Bashi on the other hand is the golden goose. I’ve personally witnessed him in the depths of a 36 hour hold-em binge down 2 grand end up making good profits through sheer force of will alone. Will and somehow making a rage bet on Minnesota vs New Orleans and winning compliments of the “Minneapolis Miracle”. 

 

[Shazaam]

5 hours ago, matmacwc said:

Geez Rick, it's like you're not even trying anymore. Its gotta be a mental disease, hanging out where nobody agrees with or likes you.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
 

I have a question for you. You think my life revolves around BODN and what you all have to say or think? Are we in high school or something? I'm not a millennial and your comments don't make me want my own safe space. Social media comments and those made in this forum by people I don't know at all do not matter to me. 

Nobody really cares at the end of the day about BODN. Site has fallen off since my pilot training days and never recovered. 

Edited June 13, 2019 by Shazaam

[SurelySerious]

30 minutes ago, Shazaam said:

Social media comments and those made in this forum by people I don't know at all do not matter to me. 

Tale of the tape says...that’s a lie. You make up crazy shit for a while, then one of your 8 personalities can’t handle that other people aren’t as smart as you and that they could possibly disagree, and you go berserk and post an incoherent profanity laden rant. Wait a few months, come back because you care so little about internet opinions, repeat. 

[Shazaam]

29 minutes ago, SurelySerious said:

Tale of the tape says...that’s a lie. You make up crazy shit for a while, then one of your 8 personalities can’t handle that other people aren’t as smart as you and that they could possibly disagree, and you go berserk and post an incoherent profanity laden rant. Wait a few months, come back because you care so little about internet opinions, repeat. 

One hell of a run on sentence. Take a deep breath next time cubicle warrior. 

Edited June 13, 2019 by Shazaam

[SurelySerious]

6 minutes ago, Shazaam said:

One hell of a run on sentence. Take a deep breath next time cubicle warrior. 

That’s it? Please tell me you have something better. 

[Homestar]

13 minutes ago, Shazaam said:

One hell of a run on sentence. Take a deep breath next time cubicle warrior. 

He’s not wrong you know. 

[tac airlifter]

1 hour ago, Shazaam said:

Nobody really cares at the end of the day about BODN. Site has fallen off since my pilot training days and never recovered. 

If your first statement is true, feel free to leave.  If the second is true, does your posting style help?

This site is a great tool to mentor and learn from others.  I’ve received more help here than I have via any AF sponsored mechanism.  My unsolicited feedback: you are needlessly confrontational and a braggart.  Present yourself differently and I’m sure you have constructive contributions to make. 

[Guest]

I bet your community is anxiously awaiting the day you requal to your MWS and can regale them with tales of how great a DO you were.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Shazaam]

6 minutes ago, tac airlifter said:

If your first statement is true, feel free to leave.  If the second is true, does your posting style help?

This site is a great tool to mentor and learn from others.  I’ve received more help here than I have via any AF sponsored mechanism.  My unsolicited feedback: you are needlessly confrontational and a braggart.  Present yourself differently and I’m sure you have constructive contributions to make. 

So it's my fault since 2005, BODN has fallen off the wagon? You must live in a cave. Failure to adapt aside from the emojis, likes, and dislikes. Other branches adapt on the fly, but BODN is a direct reflection of the AF of never changing a damn thing.

You have dudes with 500+ liked comments running the show. Talking about alienating the younger guys/gals who do sign up and get crushed for one comment. Nobody intimidates me here. 

Takes an act of Congress to upload a gif. I think most users utilize their cell phones to post as well. Does this forum ever host anyone the younger generation would love to communicate with outside of the guy from Congress? It's the same stuff constantly repeated.

[Shazaam]

9 minutes ago, ihtfp06 said:

I bet your community is anxiously awaiting the day you requal to your MWS and can regale them with tales of how great a DO you were.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If I wanted to listen to an @$$hole, I would plug my ears and fart.

Edited June 14, 2019 by Shazaam

[gearhog]

2 minutes ago, Shazaam said:

So it's my fault since 2005, BODN has fallen off the wagon? You must live in a cave. Failure to adapt aside from the emojis, likes, and dislikes. Other branches adapt on the fly, but BODN is a direct reflection of the AF of never changing a damn thing.

You have dudes with 500+ liked comments running the show. Talking about alienating the younger guys/gals who do sign up and get crushed for one comment. Nobody intimidates me here. 

Takes an act of Congress to upload a gif. I think most users utilize their cell phones to post as well. Does this forum ever host anyone the younger generation would love to communicate with outside of the guy from Congress? It's the same stuff constantly repeated.

You bitch a lot.

[Shazaam]

2 minutes ago, torqued said:

You bitch a lot.

If I throw a stick, you would leave BODN, right?

[gearhog]

2 minutes ago, Shazaam said:

If I throw a stick, you would leave BODN, right?

Is it the same stick up your ass?

 

[tac airlifter]

15 minutes ago, Shazaam said:

So it's my fault since 2005, BODN has fallen off the wagon? You must live in a cave. Failure to adapt aside from the emojis, likes, and dislikes. Other branches adapt on the fly, but BODN is a direct reflection of the AF of never changing a damn thing.

You have dudes with 500+ liked comments running the show. Talking about alienating the younger guys/gals who do sign up and get crushed for one comment. Nobody intimidates me here. 

Takes an act of Congress to upload a gif. I think most users utilize their cell phones to post as well. Does this forum ever host anyone the younger generation would love to communicate with outside of the guy from Congress? It's the same stuff constantly repeated.

Hosting someone to Q&A a thread is an interesting concept.  We could do a reddit style AMA except over a few days so the responder has time to actually think about replies.  Good idea!

Unfortunately the rest of this post is less constructive.  I gave you some feedback bro, take it or leave it.  Cheers.

[daynightindicator]

Things I've learned in almost 22 years:
If your rank and position can't solve a problem by making a simple request, it's not your problem to solve.
If you feel someone may make you lose your composure, go to the parking lot. Get in your car. Maybe stop for beer and steaks. Go home. Maybe try again tomorrow. Maybe don't. Unless you're deployed, nothing in the AF is that important.

In general, I would agree, but sometimes you don’t have the luxury of passing it off to someone else, especially if your leadership has decided the task is yours alone to complete.

The most difficult cases I’ve had usually fell in one of two categories: 1) the request is made laterally to someone of equal rank/position, or 2) it’s made to an outside agency...sometimes a combination of the two.

Both require people skills to get your desired outcome. Dale Carnegie’s “How to Make Friends and Influence People” is a great generic guide to both. Finding a way to “sell” your request as being mutually beneficial, or even just beneficial to the person you’re dealing with, is an art form, but yields great results.

It’s amazing how far people will go to help you if they actually like you - even mediocre performers.

[Shazaam]

41 minutes ago, daynightindicator said:

 

In general, I would agree, but sometimes you don’t have the luxury of passing it off to someone else, especially if your leadership has decided the task is yours alone to complete.

The most difficult cases I’ve had usually fell in one of two categories: 1) the request is made laterally to someone of equal rank/position, or 2) it’s made to an outside agency...sometimes a combination of the two.

Both require people skills to get your desired outcome. Dale Carnegie’s “How to Make Friends and Influence People” is a great generic guide to both. Finding a way to “sell” your request as being mutually beneficial, or even just beneficial to the person you’re dealing with, is an art form, but yields great results.

It’s amazing how far people will go to help you if they actually like you - even mediocre performers.

 

Kill them with kindness. Just counseled a SNCO picked up for OTS. She got into it with a SFS NCO at the visitor center. An A1C had to break them up. I told the SNCO, how would you like working a shift having to deal with parents, trainees, enlisted, and officers for 12 hours? Put yourself in their shoes. Even if the other person was in the wrong, walk away. Don't let the situation escalate. They detained her butt.

My boss told me the Gp/CC wants to be told about things in the blotter like this scenario. I was like WTF? Dude is a micromanager. Got it.

Edited June 14, 2019 by Shazaam