There are different positions of leadership in the Air Force. After 11 years (and counting) of service, I have been making my way up the chain. When I first joined 11 years ago, I assumed that leadership was something you were born into…something innate. However, after 11 years, I have come to realize that this is not the case. One can learn leadership skills. The skills approach, namely the three-skill approach, can be used to assess various leadership scenarios (and how they are learned) in the United States Air Force and the military.
My first taste of leadership came when I promoted to the rank of Staff Sergeant. I was told that my new role was that of a “front line supervisor”. I was to have the technical knowhow to complete the job whilst supporting my subordinates in regards to their training and physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. Northouse (2013) defined the technical aspect of the three-skill approach as “knowledge about and proficiency in a specific type of work or activity” (p. 44). The activity in question was the maintenance and repair of fighter jet avionics systems. I was never mechanically inclined growing up. I was also never interested in aviation. This technical skill was something that I learned. My behaviors were changed. I learned the technical knowledge needed to lead.
Before you can promote to Staff Sergeant, an Airman must first complete Airman Leadership School (ALS). ALS teaches a new supervisor how to write evaluations, promote discipline, and sharpens interpersonal skills. The interpersonal skill is where I was lacking. I was never one who could easily read others’ emotions and work well with others. ALS taught me to sharpen those skills and enhance my interpersonal communication, which was lacking. The human skill is the second of the three-skill approach and is defined as the ability to work with others. The ability to work with peers, subordinates, and management. At this level of my career, I was now high with technical skill and human skill. This is something very common to those in supervisory management (Northouse, 2013).
About 7 years into my career, I was promoted to the rank of Technical Sergeant (TSgt). A TSgt needs to not only be technically proficient, but needs to start acting in a middle management role. Again, this was something I was not accustomed to doing. Again, I was able to learn these skills and start designed shift schedules and job priorities. I needed to balance leave requests, training, school requests, and off-base incidences. My conceptual skills have become to emerge. Conceptual skills are needed for a company to create a plan or mission and carry it through. It is outside-the-box thinking. It is working with ideas and concepts (Northouse, 2013).
Throughout my career so far, I have grown to realize that leadership skills are not innate like I once thought so long ago. The Air Force has given me the tools needed to learn to be an effective leader in the situations presented to me. The theory behind the three-skills approach also backs up what I have been learning and why it is important to know and utilize these skills. I have learned the knowledge, human, and conceptual skills needed to be effective as an Air Force enlisted leader.
References
Northouse, P. (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice. (6th Ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
First off I would like to thank you for your service and secondly I think that every American should serve at least 2 years in a branch of our military. It helps to build on positive characteristics or traits Stogdill’s intelligence, alertness, and insight (Norrthouse, 2013). Although to be successful in the military (speaking from experience) you have to already have some of these traits in you to be a leader or to even make it in the military. These traits cannot be learned they have to reside inside you. Traits like persistence, initiative, integrity are all inherent traits that don’t come out of a manual ( Northouse, 2013. the skills you discussed are the second part of the equation and are learned behaviors, agreed. The military has toiled away with I/O psychologist for decades honing the ability to train airmen, sailors, soldiers, marines, and coast guard to attain skills from the three skills approach (Northouse, p. 44 ,2013). Because some one in a leadership position with those set of skills can be an effective asset in any combat theater.
Reference
Northouse , P. (2013). Leadership theory and practice . (6th ed.). Thoussand Oaks : Sage Publications Inc