November 19, 2014
By Air Force Public Affairs Agency
Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James conducted her
first tweet chat Oct. 25, and discussed her top 10 leadership and life lessons.
James said she was excited to share lessons learned during her 30-year career
working in the government and industry. Those who weren’t able to participate
in her original tweet chat can read all the questions and responses below.
On another note, the SECAF will host a live town hall
meeting Dec. 16 from the Defense Media Activity at Fort George G. Meade,
Maryland. We’ll be collecting questions from our followers on Facebook and
Twitter before then, so keep checking our social media pages to submit your
questions!
@SecAF23: Thanks for joining my first tweetchat! I’m excited
to share my top 10 life lessons, and I’m looking forward to hearing yours too.
@SecAF23: I’ve worked in government and industry for the
past 30 years, and I have learned a lot. I’m excited to share my lessons
learned with you.
@SecAF23:
Leadership Lesson 1: Be prepared to zig-zag. Life throws
curveballs—be prepared to change, take risks, be agile.
Leadership Lesson 2: Seek a mentor and be a mentor. No
matter your age, it’s important to help each other.
Leadership Lesson 3: Build and value a network both inside
and outside your organization. Diversity is key to a strong network.
Leadership Lesson 4: Build competence in your career field
and beyond. Continue to train, educate and learn.
Leadership Lesson 5: Communicate. Written and verbal skills
are important, but 50% of communication is listening. Be a good listener.
Leadership Lesson 6: Be a role model both on and off the job
for how you want people to behave. Integrity, Service, Excellence
Leadership Lesson 7: Be ethical. While compromise is
important in life, ethics should not be compromised.
Leadership Lesson 8: Be upbeat. If you can’t see through fog
and challenges as a leader, then who can?
Leadership Lesson 9: Persistence pays off. Government
processes are tedious and require persistent focus and leadership.
Leadership Lesson 10: Have fun and have balance. Family and
friends are important. Make time for them and yourself.
Q1. What’s the greatest challenge you’ve had as a leader in
such a top leadership position?
A1. Making important decisions in a short amount of time
without full information, but having to make a decision and move on.
Q2. Do you think inability to PCS and gain experience
outweighs the cost of their PCSs? No assignments means no experience.
A2. Balance between experience vs. resources. It comes down
to having the right Airman at right place at the right time.
Q3. Ma’am, what challenges do you run into being a female in
such a high leadership position?
A3. I try to play to my strengths—Congress, budget,
business. I value the team to support me in areas I know less about.
Q4. Who did you look up to as a mentor and why?
A4. Over time, I’ve had teachers and senior
colleagues/mentors. I learned something different from each of them.
Q5. Is the Air Force less transparent than your former
companies, and will you work to make information less restrictive and open?
A5. I’m a big believer in transparency, that’s why I’m doing
this tweet chat.
Q6. I just heard from an Airman who was separated with
Voluntary Separation Pay. He has still not heard from the Air Force. Will all
Airmen be contacted?
A6. We’re working with our lawyers to get this fixed. While
the timeline isn’t optimal, we’ll work to inform affected Airmen as soon as
possible.
Q7. Do you have any reading recommendations – any books that
helped you develop your leadership and decision-making skills?
A7. “Leading with Honor: Leadership Lessons from the Hanoi
Hilton” by Lee Ellis – A POW Story; “The Medici Effect” by Frans Johansson on
the power of diversity; and “Just Be Honest” by Steven Gaffney on the
importance of communication.
Q8. Ma’am, with the current budget issues, will there still
be opportunities for continuing education?
A8. Yes! Military tuition assistance is fully funded, GI
Bill and other opportunities for civilian education.
Q9. Has there been any word on where the missileers’ new
testing program has started and how it’s going so far?
A9. Monthly proficiency exams are now pass/fail, standard is
the same – 90%. So far, so good.
Q10. When can we expect resolution of the Transitional
Assistance Management Program insurance error impacting 1,000 VSP recipients?
Many of them are in crisis.
Q10. This is on my radar big time. We’re working with the
lawyers to get this fixed. Hopefully not much longer.
Q11. How do you spot a toxic leader from your level, and how
should organizations deal with them?
A11. We’re doing 360 reviews on our top people, culture and
climate assessments
- See more at: http://airforcelive.dodlive.mil/2014/11/secretary-of-the-air-forces-10-lessons-in-leadership-and-life/?source=GovD#sthash.kOTS9327.dpuf
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