ROYAL AIR FORCE LAKENHEATH, England – The Liberty Wing Chapel recently hosted a spiritual resilience event at Chigwell, England, providing U.S. Air Force leaders with tools for confidence and emotional intelligence.
During the event, company grade officers from across the U.K. built up their spiritual resilience through an interactive workshop and learned how to stay on target by participating in a few rounds of Topgolf.
The workshop encouraged the participants to think about important components of leadership while the golf sessions improved their ability to focus on the task at hand and ignore distractions.
“Our resiliency impacts how we engage other people, how we lead and how well we complete the mission, and it is key in the game of golf,” said Captain Tosha James, 48th Fighter Wing Chaplain. “You need the ability to focus and confidence especially when things hit the fan.”
Golf is a sport that requires immense focus, confidence and emotional stability. Before each swing, the player must consider many factors, such as distance and wind speed, then visualize and commit to the swing to maximize a successful shot.
Similar to the game of golf, leadership requires great focus, concentration, emotional intelligence and resiliency.
James defined resiliency as the ability to take-on difficult situations with a continuing positive mind-set. A resilient person will see these situations as a challenge instead of an unmovable obstacle.
“The event really got me thinking about myself and how I lead,” said Captain Manoj Rema, 48th Medical Support Squadron TRICARE Operations and Patient Administration flight commander. “We may get complacent or comfortable and forget our target, but events like this remind us how to stay focused.”
The 48th Fighter Wing Chapel team regularly host spiritual resilience events throughout the year to engage Airmen and provide them with opportunities to enhance their leadership and followership capabilities.