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Three deadly sins of supervision

  • Published
  • By Maj. Andrew Hugg
  • 790th Missile Security Forces Squadron commander
We can't afford to have weak supervisors.  With security forces manpower scare in my unit and with many other career fields in similar shape, the Air Force at war can't afford sloppy supervision.  I'm not talking about poor handwriting on a feedback form you gave or even a late EPR.  I'm talking about deadly sins.  I'm speaking about methods that, if adopted by supervisors, can cause the degradation of discipline and eventually get people killed.

BEING AFRAID TO BE THE BOSS
As you earn rank and responsibility, this one can get you fired the quickest or get people killed. In the military, your duties are clearly defined, and there is no question of what and who you are responsible for. Do your duty. Yes, it can be tough at times, but that is why we show more respect as ranks get higher. A young Army private first-class once told General Dwight D. Eisenhower, "No, sir" when asked if he was excited to get his new stripe. Asked why, he said, "I'd rather be a private because everyone else has to be a leader." 

People can sense someone without a backbone. Don't let it be you. It is healthy to put out a vibe of "I am a fair boss, but disobey me and there are consequences." Put out this vibe by telling your Airmen what you expect and when they test you (and they will), show them that there are consequences. I was tested once, and yes, there were consequences. 

NOT CORRECTING THE LITTLE PROBLEMS
At the end of Rudy Giuliani's seven years as mayor of New York, he had reduced crime by 57 percent. One of his main methods was a focus on petty crime. This is called the "fixing broken windows" theory in criminology. If a building has a lot of broken windows, vandals, drug users and thieves will come around and eventually you lose the entire building. Fix problems while they are small and they tend not to develop into bigger problems. 

Likewise, people can get bored, lazy and unfocused. Even the most motivated Airman will succumb to horseplay rather than work if you let them. If you do nothing in response, you have made the behavior acceptable. As a leader, you are responsible for deciding when it's time to party and when it is time to work. The same goes when you observe your troop get disrespectful with a non-commissioned officer, fail to shave or take short-cuts in procedures. As a leader, it is your responsibility to correct these actions before they become bigger problems. 

For example, once I had a troop disobey my order twice, and when I asked what action was taken against him, the supervisor had only "verbally counseled" him. The supervisor thought his infraction was small and nobody had been put in danger. Maybe no one was hurt this time, but at a future date, the Airman could decide to not follow an order that could get many people killed. And don't just think this logic applies only when in Iraq. For example, would you like a troop to not obey laws when driving you around on icy roads in the missile field? Ben Franklin said, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." 

BECOMING FRIENDS WITH YOUR AIRMEN
Have you heard, "It's lonely at the top?" If you ever get to command, you will know what it means. Your only friends can be other commanders. If you are lower on the chain, you get to have more friends, but they should never be the people that you supervise. I know this is easy for "old guys" like me to say. 

And I agree that it's tougher when you are a 21-year-old senior airman supervising a 20-year-old airman first class. But you need to learn how to separate the personal from the professional. 

Just because you can't be friends doesn't mean you can't be friendly and talk about the NFL playoffs or shoot the breeze once in a while. It just means you shouldn't cross the line. What is the line? It is defined for us in the "unprofessional relationships" regulation. 

Things like not dating your Airmen, not making them cut your grass, wash your car, etc. The line is also defined by your gut when it tells you something is wrong. Your gut should tell you that it is okay to have a flight cookout as a group, but you and a subordinate "friend" from your flight getting drunk downtown and then embarrassing the military is not good. The "friend" that helped you stagger out of the bar the night before won't be as likely to follow your orders the next day. Don't put yourself and your people in this position. 

Right now, I have young security forces members deployed to three locations in Iraq. Some are doing the exact same job as the Army infantry and been in real combat. Before we sent them over, I made sure that each one of them would follow orders, enforce the rules and take charge when necessary. We each need to ensure that we can do the same.