L. E .A .D .E. R. Published March 25, 2011 By Senior Airman Casie Hoffman 614th Air and Space Operations Center VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- The acronym I created for this word represents aspects of my leadership philosophy. Each keyword is followed by my interpretation of its significance and the standard I wish to live by. Please read this paper as if it were a letter I wrote to myself. I intent on using this in the future as a constant reminder of the leader I want to be. When I feel like I'm being ineffective, I intend on using this paper as a tool to motivate and inspire me to do better. Listen Be an active listener! Pay attention to your people, listen to what they have to say and try to understand where they are coming from. Your people will tell you everything you need to know. Even the most junior ranking individual can come up with really great ideas. Listen to your heart. What you know and how you feel will lead you in the right direction. If you don't trust in your decision, it will be hard to stand by them. Listen to your body. You have a habit of putting other people's needs before your own. Although that is a great attribute, don't overwhelm and tire yourself leading your subordinates. Remember to take care of yourself so you can take care of others. Encourage Encouragement is not praise, rewards, or incentives. Encouragement is motivating the people around you to have the courage to do what is right. Encouragement is also allowing room for error. Don't let your subordinates be so afraid of you they are scared to make mistakes. Some mistakes are the perfect ingredients to great lessons learned. Most importantly, encouragement is inspiring those around you to WANT to accomplish the task. Although incentives can be a great form of encouragement, beware of people completing tasks just to receive those incentives. Encourage yourself. Remember, you are not just a leader, you are also a follower! It's important to lead by example. Encouragement can take the form of a mentoring session. Groom your subordinate to take your place for when you move on. Alternative There is more than one way to skin a cat. Have the ability to make decisions, but be receptive to alternate ways to accomplish the task. When making decision that will affect the team, allow your subordinates to have some input. Remember, they are working for you and your decisions will ultimately affect them. Their inputs will promote open communication, trust and understanding. You won't be able to make everyone happy, but being receptive to alternate ideas will illustrate your concern, your respect for them and demonstrate your ability to think outside the box. Think of alternate ways to communicate with people. As you have learned, people are responsive to different techniques. Be a social chameleon and personalize your communication techniques when speaking with your subordinates. This will add sincerity and ensure your subordinates receive the messages you send. Decisive Make well informed decisions AND assume responsibility of the consequences. You need to know that your decisions aren't always going to make everyone happy. Therefore, make sure your decisions are communicated, wise, and for the benefit of the mission and the team. Also, know some of the decisions you make aren't always going to go as planned. When that happens, identify what went wrong, learn from it, fix the issue and move on. Don't use your subordinates as a scapegoat, do not make excuses, and never give up. Do not be wishy-washy. Make decisions and own up to them no matter the consequences. Be a woman of your word. This will help your subordinates build confidence and trust in you and help you build confidence and trust in them. Ethics Be ethical in way you treat other people and in the way you conduct yourself. Remember, your subordinates, superiors and peers are always watching and critiquing. The slightest offset may have them question your credibility as a leader. If you do not hold yourself to a high standard, other people will not either. Be tolerant of those who do not share the same ethics as you. Understand what the ethical differences are. Ethics also encompasses integrity. Be truthful, honest, respectful and open with your subordinates and they will most likely reciprocate those traits. Not everyone is going to be your friend, but try to make the best of all situations. Recognize Be aware of your surroundings. Recognize those who deserve to be recognized, recognize those who need help, recognize when you're doing a good job to keep up with it and recognize when you're not doing what you're supposed to. Self recognition is hard to do, but if you maintain emotional, social, physical and spiritual health you will be a better and stronger leader. Be- Know- Do Be a good leader- Know your job and your people- do what you say and say what you do!