Photo By Mark Olsen | Lt. Col. George R. Sanderlin, Profession of Arms Center of Excellence, poses for a...... read more read more
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Professionalism and leadership.
“Professionalism is a verb because it requires action,” said Air Force Lt. Col. George R. Sanderlin. “Professionalism very simply is the art of leading oneself.”
Those two words were central to the message that Sanderlin presented to New Jersey Air National Guard and 87th Air Base Wing Airmen along with Army Reserve Soldiers at the Timmerman Center, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., Nov. 9, 2016.
Sanderlin’s presentation – Professionalism: Enhancing Human Capital – covered topics ranging from the attributes and dangers of personal bias, effective communication techniques, the phenomenon of entrenched thinking, how power changes relationships for good or bad, developing productive and healthy relationships, both at work and at home; the importance of knowing your people, and showing consideration for leading others. Since it began, more than 50,000 people have attended the course.
New Jersey Joint Force Headquarters (Air) sponsored the course.
“We don’t have to have some grand scheme to change the world; just make some small changes,” said Sanderlin.
Sanderlin is assigned to the Profession of Arms Center of Excellence, which is located at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas. The Center focuses on collaborating, coordinating, and developing effective leadership skills and strategies for the Air Force.
“It’s about serving Airmen, giving Airmen tools to be better Airmen, to be better leaders, to be better human beings, to be better spouses, to be better friends.”
Central to skills and strategies is professionalism, which is incorporated in both the Air Force’s Core Values and Profession of Arms. Supporting those two concepts were the themes commitment, loyalty, and trust.
Sanderlin posed the question: “How do we link our values to our mission?”
He explained that professionalism drives people’s behavior and is the link that connects the Air Force Core Values to the Air Force mission, which is where commitment, loyalty, and trust are the Core Values’ essential components.
“Our identity is defined by the groups we are a part of,” said Sanderlin. “Every group has its own kind of standards.”
Sanderlin stated that if you build a group that is based on commitment, loyalty, and trust, that is a team people will want to join.
“If I know what you value, I have a better chance of leading you.”
And that is important; Sanderlin stated that everyone is a leader: “If you have no other responsibility, you are a leader for you.”
Unfortunately being a good leader isn’t easy and the biggest obstacle to being a good leader comes from an unexpected source.
“The hardest part about being a leader is how I lead myself,” said Sanderlin.
He then demonstrated that using the right communication tools and methods can make individuals be better leaders.
Sanderlin focused on self-reflection as a means to better understand how audience members can become better friends, parents, spouses, co-workers, and leaders.
He used as an example of having dinner with his wife, Linda, after being away on temporary duty.
Sanderlin said the dinner conversation was going great until he reached into his communication tool bag and pulled out the wrong tool.
He told her what to do in a particular situation. In essence, he was acting like a commander and not a partner in marriage.
“I was quite shocked when Linda stared at me and walked away from the table and didn’t say another word,” said Sanderlin. “Even though I had the right (communication) tools, I failed to execute the wisdom to use the right tool.”
Sanderlin said that he should have asked Linda what she was going to do.
This was just one example of how important effective communication is and how it can affect us on the personal level.
That importance of effective communication was demonstrated through a listening exercise.
Sanderlin had the audience pair up; one person would talk about something that was important to him or herself; the other person would do their best to ignore what the person was saying.
So across the audience you had people talking enthusiastically and their partner blatantly ignoring them by sticking their fingers in their ears, or the classic, looking at their smartphone.
Next, Sanderlin had them do the opposite; one person would talk and the other would focus on what they were saying and be actively involved in the conversation.
You could see the difference, people were interacting, more importantly, they were not distracted.
When Sanderlin asked the participants what they learned, they had realized that listening is an active exercise.
“When you are having a one-on-one conversation with someone, you have to remind yourself before that conversation starts until that conversation is over, you are the second most important person in that conversation.”
Which brought the conversation back to leadership.
“Leadership is simply human-to-human interaction. The better I learn to be at human interaction, the better I am as a leader.”
And what do you do as a leader?
“Take that leadership and go make a difference,” said Sanderlin. “Go do it. What are you waiting for?”
| Date Taken: | 11.21.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 11.21.2016 09:36 |
| Story ID: | 215355 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, NJ, US |
| Web Views: | 235 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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