PME In The Air Force

Have you ever wondered what the term "at-will employment" means? According to Cornell University Law School, the employment-at-will doctrine "refers to the presumption that employment is for an indefinite period of time and may be terminated either by employer or employee" (n.d., para. 1). This doctrine is said to level the playing field between employee and employer as each party can end their relationship at-will. At-will employment however is not equally applied between public and private business sectors, nor is it supported in every state within the United States. Employees who work for the public sector such as teachers or firefighters, or those working in California or Montana for example, can only be

What I have found most valuable from model three is the Full Range Leadership Development (FRLD). I found leadership behaviors within the FRLD most valuable because I have two leadership behaviors that stick out to me. One is a contingent reward; I like to reward my subordinates and peers with time off or a barbeque when they exceed the standards or goals that I have set for them. I believe that contingent rewards stimulate comradery in the work center for my subordinates and peers so they enjoy coming to work.

This book presents an array of practical procedures which can assist the prudent practitioner in preparing for change and how to handle all of the up’s and downs which accompany change. The two strengths in this book revolves around asking the right diagnostic questions which pave the way for change and the many characteristic of leaders who lead.

Organizations must respond to their internal and external environment. Therefore, organizational success heavily relies on leaderships ability to manage change. Unfortunately, many leaders struggle to effectively lead change initiatives. In fact, Ashkenas (2013, para. 1) reported 60 – 70% of organizational change initiatives fail to meet their objectives.

Change is a double-edged sword (Fullan, 2001). Change is a word that might inspire or put fear into people. Leadership is challenging when it comes to dealing with change and how individuals react within the organization to the change. Marzano, McNulty, and Waters (2005) discuss two orders of change in their book School Leadership that Works; first and second. Fullan (2001) also adds to the discussion in his book Leading in a Culture of Change, with regard to understanding change. In Change Leadership, Keagan and Wagner (2006) discuss many factors of change and the systematic approach to change. Change affects people in different ways. Leaders need to be able to respond to the individuals throughout the change process.

Due to the recent drawdown in forces in the Marine Corps, many Marines have found themselves getting promoted to Corporal and Sergeant at a faster pace than those before them. The problem with is that many of the Non Commissioned Officers (NCO’s) have not been able to learn the proper way of becoming a leader. Many of the NCO’s that fill the ranks fall short of many leadership principles that guide leaders, one of those being “setting the example”. This shortfall breeds the “do as I say and not as I do” mentality that infects the enlisted community. The most important way to negate this is proper professional military education (PME). NCO promotion panels also help ensure that Corporals and Sergeants who are coming up for promotion are of the right caliber as well.

The concept I found most important in Module 3 was Individualized Consideration. I found this concept the most important because every person is different. A leader cannot afford to apply a cookie-cutter approach when developing tomorrow’s leaders. It is not uncommon in some career fields for a Non-Commissioned Officer to have multiple subordinates at a time. If that leader does not treat each person as unique then some of those Airmen will be set up for failure.

This is the first time the LiPo’s come out of the safe-storage bag, so take some time to review proper handling procedures for LiPo batteries. As students reach Orange Card 2, they’ll need to connect the battery to the drone for the first time. During configuration, the batteries can stay near the safe storage voltage, since the power draw from the PCB and connected components is minimal. Help students monitor their battery voltage in INAV as they work. When batteries fall below 10.6V (3.6V per cell), charge them back up to just above the safe storage voltage of 11.4V (3.8V per

1.1 Change management is described by Armstrong (1) as “the process of achieving the smooth implementation of change by planning and introducing it systematically taking into account the likelihood of it being resisted”. Change, the fundamental constant in any successful organisation, can be adaptive, reconstructive, revolutionary or evolutionary and can happen for a number of diverse reasons:

Upon completion of Module 5, the concept that I found most important was the Three Elements of Adaptability; Cognitive, Emotional, and Dispositional Flexibility. I found this concept important as I discover myself utilizing one or more of these elements in my work-center daily. Having a deeper knowledge of each, will aid in my ability to identify when I must become more open minded, make decisions based on logic and not emotion, and/or have a positive outlook on circumstances that I have minimum control over. With the Air Forces’ continuously changing mission, I must have a keen ability to adapt and work outside of my comfort zone. Being able to adapt, will advance my growth as a leader and follower in the Air Force.

In 2017 the team of individuals I manage changed 4 times. It felt as soon as I would develop a bond with an employee a change would occur. As a leader, we struggle with developing ways to lead through change. I recognized early on that there is a difference between managing and leading. Prior to all the changes I could use management skills to make sure my team members were meeting expectations. When changes begin to occur, I had to put on my leadership skills hat to help my team cope with all the changes that were occurring. With each change that occurred I focused on the human side of change, how teams are affected by changes, and developing

The more I immersed myself in understanding leadership, more specifically leadership that promotes organizational change, certain effective practices became evident. For instance, when I compared my Planned Change class notes to the notes I took while reading, Implementing Change Patterns, Principles, and Potholes (Hall and Hord 2015)

When leaders plan for change process, it is necessary for them to keep in mind the different barriers they may face. According to Scheid (2011), some of the common obstacles are: knowing who’s in charge, resistance, communication, amount of support or guidance for the team, and recognizing the different needs for change implementation. These obstacles happen when organizations and stakeholders miss the important elements, causing planned or expected changes to go awry (Scheid, 2011). To counterpart the enumerated obstacles the creative ways to lead change by Schlachter and Hildebrandt (2012) can be used. First strategy is to align individual priorities with organizational goals. Then, learn to live with ambiguity. Followed by understanding your leadership style first. Change what you can change, which is yourself and influence what you can’t change, which pertains others. Then, become an early adopter and ally for change. Create a community of peers. Followed by helping other employees cope with change. Encourage

     Companies and organizations are changing continually to be more efficient in what they do. Change is not always readily accepted. Many people like to stay where they are and become comfortable with their current position. Business writers and managers have stated that unless organizations continue to change, they will become stale and inefficient. There have been many change management initiatives such as Total Quality Management, Six Sigma, and the Japanese Kaizen. Although these initiatives carry different names and slightly different processes, they all have a few elements in common. The most important elements for successful change management, as emphasized by the course text Human Resources Management in

Leaders need to recognize that change is a process and goes through stages. The change model developed by John Kotter, identifies important key points to make change. Light a fire for change, in other words, create urgency for change in a way that touches people’s emotions. The second stage is being able to build a coalition and getting the right people on board to support the change. The third stage is having a clear vision and strategy to inspire people to believe that a better future is possible. The fourth stage involves communication, the fifth stage is to get rid of obstacles and empower people to act. The sixth stage states that you should celebrate quick wins. The seventh stage is to keep it moving, and last stage is to find ways to make the change stick and be consistent.