Mooseocracy

Grow Where You Are Planted “Grow where you are planted” is the best advice anyone can receive. Most people understand this concept right way, but when our careers go in a direction that is not anticipated or planned it can create self‐doubt behind whether or not we are “growing.” Understandably, we feel anxiety when we are thrown in into positions that we did not request or anticipate, but the good news is that there is no set path or template to success. We define our own success and ultimately everything hinges on our performance. To put things into perspective, Gen. Holmes mentioned in Leadership as a Domain Podcast #9 , he thought the military was trying to signal to him that his career was over when he was selected as a Training Squadron Commander because typically high performing fighter pilots are assigned a flying squadron for command. But, this was not the case and he continued to grow where he was planted, which translated...

You May Already Have A Mentor “To leave the world a bit better… To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.” ‐ Ralph Waldo Emerson I loved Capt Lewis and Lt Hines in LaaD Podcast #11 because they have already achieved success!  This article will build on one of the common themes in the podcast – people lack mentors.  If you need a mentor, I will offer some places to start because you may have already met your mentor: Any person who has taken time to offer you constructive criticism Co‐worker – supervisor, peer, friend, unit influencer (regardless of rank) Someone you look up to or want to emulate (eg. Capt Lewis or Lt Hines) “Time is the most precious commodity” ‐ Capt Russell Lewis Time is the best indicator. If someone has spent time to help us be a better person they are already half a mentor. For example, when I was a lieutenant, I publicly corrected an instructor during his b...

Eliminate Financial Stress This article builds upon the previous article, “Not Satisfied – The Good, Bad & Ugly,” and provides an introduction to eliminating financial stress by: 1) creating a budget; 2) using credit responsibly; and 3) saving for retirement. This is important because finances are one of the major stresses in life. CREATE A BUDGET The first step is to create a budget and use the following principles: 1) Don’t spend more than income 2) Pay bills on‐time 3) Have an emergency fund 4) Save for retirement 5) Use credit responsibly USE CREDIT RESPONSIBLY Technically, it makes the most financial sense to pay cash for everything because it costs money to maintain good credit and pay interest on loans. For example, a $100,000 30‐year home loan with 3.92% interest rate, will have a total cost of $170,213. If you paid cash for the same home then you would save $70,213. However, making large purchases in cash may not be ...

Corona Burnout We are all trying to figure out what our ‘new normal’ is going to look like. Initially, we thought that this was just temporary, but a lot of businesses have transitioned to operating remotely, so working from home may become the new norm. The unintended consequence is our homes are no longer a sanctuary and have also become our office, daycare, school, and gym. This intensifies the stress we feel because of the loss of our usual coping mechanisms and causes mental burnout. “Mental health is not a destination, but a process. It’s about how you drive, not where you are going.” – Noam Shpancer, PhD  Mental burnout is real. I know someone who works night shifts, but has to take care of his kids during the day because his spouse is busy working remotely from home. Therefore, he sleeps very little which causes fatigue both at work and home. No amount of advice will completely remove his stress, but there are some techniques that can help relieve s...

Not Satisfied? - The Good, Bad & Ugly THE GOOD – A Source of Motivation Not satisfied? If channeled correctly, dissatisfaction can be used as motivation to improve as an officer, father, spouse, athlete, or person. No one is perfect and it is healthy to continually strive to improve. However, it can be unhealthy if you only dwell on the negative. Instead of focusing on the negative parts of myself, I try to imagine the person I should be and work to bridge that gap. THE BAD – Can Kill Opportunities Not satisfied with your performance report? This can happen because our perception of ourselves does not align with how others perceive us. The key is to openly communicate with your rater or supervisor, so that you are never surprised by your rating. Good supervisors should let their subordinates know when they are not meeting expectations as soon as possible and allow time to improve.  “Check your e...

Listen to Gen Holmes - Building Cultural Change Please listen to Gen Holmes in LaaD Podcast #9.    There is a lot of good advice in the podcast, but this article will focus only on one part ‐‐ the discussion about building lasting change. I believe the only way to build lasting change is to anchor it within the organization’s culture. This is because ‘culture’ encompasses the behavior and norms of the organization. Thus, lasting change can only be achieved by making it the new ‘norm’. Here are some key points to keep in mind: Cultural change is a difficult and long process Officers change position often, so typically you can only hope to affect incremental change The larger the change, the more time it takes because humans are creatures of habit and generally resist change Start as early as possible and temper your ambition relative to the time available If your vision is not attainable within your time in leadership, y...

Punch in the Face - The Ultimate Feedback In a previous article, ‘Work yourself out of a job,’ I mentioned that it is important to understand your subordinates through feedback.  However, if you have low Emotional Intelligence (EQ) like me, then sometimes a punch in the face is the only feedback that is understood. Unfortunately, the majority of feedback is subtle or indirect. It is debatable whether or not EQ can be taught (believe me my wife has tried), but if you have low EQ there are techniques that will help: The key is communication Tell everyone you lack EQ up front – if you set expectations, here is what a lack of EQ looks like: Example: I did not notice one of my Airmen was overloaded due to personal reasons, but my MSgt pulled me aside to explain the situation. This allowed us to create time for the Airman to get his personal life in order. Conduct regular feedback sessions with...