Change: Valuable, beneficial asset

  • Published
  • By Chief Master Sgt. Tammy S. S. Elliott
  • 20th Air Force command chief
F.E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. --  As I type this, my family and I are somewhere on the highway in western Wyoming, enroute to Idaho for Christmas. I have the old laptop fired up, plugged into a gizmo that converts the power from the cigarette lighter outlet. I'm sure you're wondering how this could possibly lead to my usual mentor-based commentary. I assure, I'm going to explain that very thing!

I am certain I was the last person in the Air Force to finally start using e-mail. It offended my sensibilities that I should sit in my office and type to people instead of picking up the phone or going to see them. It scared me. I was a 60's baby and this whole computer generation thing is way too much like Twilight Zone to me.

My next resistance was the Internet. I feared it would suck my free will and brain right into electronic oblivion. You may think I'm exaggerating, but the fear was absolute. Eventually, I caved in and surfed away.

My last bastion of resistance was electronic banking. There was no way I was putting my stuff out there, ripe for theft by all those devious cyber-geek hackers. Now I do it all electronically.

My point in all this is that change is very scary. Even when we don't fully understand the benefits of change, we resist it to a fault. I can tell you right now, while I still prefer person-to-person interaction, the advent of e-mail has easily multiplied the effectiveness and scope of communication by hundreds. Internet use vastly assists in research, time management and awareness. The difference between now and life before the Internet, in my mind, is like the difference between Barney Rubble and George Jetson, and if you don't know who they are, Google it! Electronic banking is faster, more accurate and secure. I would have lost every one of these capabilities if I'd succumbed to my fear of change.

What capabilities are you losing because you resist trying something new -- not just in the technological sense, but in the leadership arena and in your professional growth? The military is notorious for resisting progress and doing things the way we've always done them. I guarantee our staff sergeants and below do not have a problem in this area. Those of you below the age of 35 have lived and succeeded in a very transit world. You get it. Those of you closer to the top of the hill, or heading down the other side might want to pay a little closer to the youth who are telling you there are faster and better ways to do business. Pull up a chair when they talk to you about their desire to do different jobs. They know change is good. You should too. It's natural to fear change, but in today's world, if you don't adapt, the train will pull away and you'll be alone at the station, wondering why you're alone.

In our world, tech data rules, so stay within the rules. Do, however, look at what rules need to be changed for the better, and use the right channels to fight for change. In your immediate world, find out what keeps going wrong in your shop, in your leadership and in your career. Once you pinpoint that thing, I guarantee there is something you've done consistently that you need to do differently. Scary or not, make the change. I suggest you use the old adage, one of my favorites, and "hold your nose and jump in." Just do it. You won't drown; we all float eventually. You may find that you can execute an Olympic dive in the process.

Take it from an old dog; you can learn new tricks. You can find the best in your world. Don't settle for status quo; exercise your change muscle every day, and you will be amazed at what happens.