Which is better: Heart or talent? Published July 16, 2010 By Chief Master Sgt. Marty Anderson 90th Missile Wing Command Chief F.E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, WYO. -- I concluded last week's First Term Airman Center seminar with a great discussion. I was asked a lot of great questions, but a series of questions from Airman 1st Class Matthew Allen, 30th Airlift Squadron, grabbed my attention. He asked me questions about my career and the choices that led to my selection as a command chief. What impressed me was the fact he was already trying to map out a path for himself to achieve his own goals. After I answered all of his questions, I asked everyone there this question, "If you had to choose between two teams, one being composed of very talented high performing individuals or another team composed of individuals who had pure heart, which team would you choose?" Every single Airman stated they would choose the team with heart. I explained to the Airmen that teams composed of highly talented individuals are more interested in making themselves look good and want to be the center of attention. If you follow any type of sport, if something goes wrong, teammates start to blame each other for not performing well, and the team soon falls apart. They forget why they are there to begin with and lose appreciation for the very sport they enjoy and what it represents. On the other hand, teams that consist of individuals with heart work together to achieve the overall objective. They are willing to sacrifice themselves for the betterment of the team and are more concerned with helping teammates be successful. A person with heart is willing to work harder at improving their skills and capabilities in order to ensure they contribute to the overall team's effectiveness. These individuals understand by working together, they will achieve greater results than what they could alone. The most impressive concept about this type of team is they don't want to let the rest of the team down. When a member is struggling, the other team members provide encouragement and positive feedback making the statement, it's a team effort, and we are all in this together. In order for the Air Force to be successful in accomplishing any mission requirement, it must be composed of individuals who have a pure heart. The Air Force needs Airmen who have a strong desire to accomplish any task through hard work and teamwork. A successful Airman understands the importance of each member's contributions and learns how to harness and focus the team's energy in order to be highly effective. My success in the Air Force was due to the teamwork of my fellow Airmen. Together, we set high performance standards and worked together to achieve mission goals. We had a belief that it wasn't about any one individual. There were plenty of accolades to go around, and we were happy to see another team member publicly recognized for their efforts and contributions. As the 90th Missile Wing command chief, I was proud of our new Airmen's responses, because those responses validate my belief that we may initially join the Air Force for very personal reasons, but after we raise our right hand, we soon realize we are part of something more important than ourselves. Protecting our nation by providing deterrence requires every Airman to have a good heart. I truly believe we are a winning team.