Creating a sense of gratitude

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Rob Stanley
  • 90th Operations Support Squadron commander
F.E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. --  I will never forget Nov. 7, 2004.

Just past noon, my family and I almost lost our lives on a two-lane road in rural Virginia.

We had just been hit head-on by a young man who had swerved into our lane as he came around a sharp curve. He was going about 45 miles per hour when the crash occurred. Both of my daughters had to be flown to a children's hospital in northern Virginia, and my wife and I were taken to a medical center in Fredericksburg after firefighters cut me out of car. But it's not the horrible moment of impact, the sound of the first helicopter carrying away my youngest daughter, or the months of painful rehabilitation that I remember most.

What sticks with me is how my supervisor and coworkers from the Pentagon rushed to help us. They started pouring into hospital rooms some 75 miles apart, and didn't leave until doctors confirmed that we would all live. Then, they put together the best Thanksgiving meal you could imagine and delivered it to our house. My work load was taken on by fellow officers who didn't receive any extra pay or compensation for the additional time spent.

All of this was orchestrated by a supervisor who I will never forget. I am so grateful for him and my military family that I cannot properly express myself, even to this day. Then, they asked for nothing in return. The only thing I could offer was undying gratitude and a desire to pay back my debt with the best effort I could give.

I don't suppose anything makes me want to do a better job than when I am grateful. I suspect this is true for most people, whether they wear our nation's uniform or not. Think about it. Have you ever worked for someone who helped you through a personal problem, or gave you the benefit of the doubt? Have you ever worked for a leader who sacrificed personal time to get your award nomination or performance report just right? How about the boss who comes by just to see how you are without asking for anything?

When good people are blessed to serve in such an environment, they find themselves working harder than required and doing the right thing when no one's looking. They are working with a sense of gratitude, and this sort of environment should be the goal of every leader.

For all of you who are (or will be) supervisors, remember this: While you might be able to hawk over details in a small operation, you will eventually fail as your level of responsibility increases. However, by creating a sense of gratitude in your unit, effectiveness will increase with the number of people you lead. Combined with wise guidance, your unit will make the impossible look routine.

Not only that, but long after you retire, you'll like the person you see in the mirror. In the end, that's all that matters.