COMMENTARY SEARCH

  • Lead with passion

    There are many avenues that individuals may take in order to lead their flock in a desired direction. However, not all paths create the same anticipated effect. We have all heard of the "21 Qualities of a Leader" or "The Pathway to Leadership," and they both have similar suggested attributes to

  • Mentoring without mentoring

    It seems that about every other week, there is a new article about leadership in the Thunderbolt expressing myriad theories and pet practices that the author has found successful to use. Frankly, I believe that leadership is much simpler than we in the military make it out to be at times. I do not

  • Airman trains for core-value experiences

    It was 3:30 a.m. and the temperature outside my armored truck was zero degrees Fahrenheit and the snow was coming down hard. I watched a figure on my thermal imager walk across the Polish-controlled forward operating base Ghazni, Afghanistan, and I thought to myself, "Who would be crazy enough to be

  • Got wisdom?

    I remember a story about two friends deer hunting in the woods and as fortune would have it, they acquired their prey with one swift and timely shot. It was a large and heavy six point buck that would fill the freezer and keep their families fed through the winter months. They dressed the deer and

  • Lead from the front

    As a senior NCO, I often wonder if we are grooming our Airmen for success. Are we grooming NCOs to be responsible, to take seriously our core values, embrace them as we should so they become the future senior NCOs we need them to be? Are we grooming our Airmen to know that sometimes the right thing

  • Leadership has many forms

    Leadership comes in many forms such as skill, knowledge, appearance and rank. There are other forms of leadership that are used less but greatly needed in today's military. A few of these are inspiring, caring, nurturing and growing your personnel.It's been said by many past leaders that if you

  • Make it personal

    In my opinion, leadership is most effective when it is personal. In a large organization, it is difficult to have a personal connection with everyone. Your personal leadership sphere of influence may be limited to one or two layers deep, but if they in turn made personal leadership a priority, it

  • There’s value in the struggle

    I was watching a video of a motivational speech a few weeks ago and the speaker kept saying the same phrase over and over, "There's value in the struggle." In the weeks that have followed, I have found myself echoing those words many times.As an Air Force and a Luke Air Force Base community, we find

  • Determination

    Having a goal and a road map on how to attain that goal is admirable; however, unless there is motivation to continue with that goal, it will fail. Most of us who joined the military did so with a long-term goal in mind. A common reason is the education benefits. Even with the new stipulations

  • Failure spurs great leaders

    Failing at leadership on the surface might seem to be somewhat of an oxymoron, but as we explore this phenomenon as a reality of leadership, we will discover that failing at leadership has spurred many leaders and entrepreneurs to greatness. History is replete with men and women who in spite of