The Role of Culture and Leadership in the United States Air Force

There are numerous definitions of the word “leadership” and it can mean many things to many people. For the purpose of this assignment I feel the best definition of leadership is “…the art and science of motivating, influencing, and directing airmen to understand and accomplish the Air Force mission in joint warfare."1 When taking over a new command it

Attention Getter: “I am an American Airman. My mission is to Fly, Fight, and Win. I am faithful to a Proud Heritage, A Tradition of Honor, And a Legacy of Valor.”

Leadership development in the military is critical to its mission and objectives. Understanding and embracing leadership will foster an agile culture and facilitate attainment of strategic goals. People desire quality leadership to assist with achieving their goals, albeit personal or professional development. Having a clear vision and the motivation to perform at high-levels influences others to work synergistically together to achieve organizational goals. Insomuch, employees value being treated respectfully, fairly, and ethically. Leaders serve people best when they help them develop their own initiative and good judgment, enable them to grow, and help them become better contributors.

Organizational leadership and culture has been a major issue in today’s highly structured organizations. This has necessitated that organizations understand in depth the inter-relation between culture and organization on strategic leadership. Is it that the leadership determines culture or the culture determines leadership behaviors? While many argue that the leaders have absolute control and influence the direction of organizational culture, research actually shows that leaders themselves are greatly influenced by variables and situational setting in any organization, implying that it is valid to say that leadership itself receives significant influence from organizational culture (Waldner & Weeks, 2006).

The beliefs, values, and customs that are associated with the armed forces has cultivated into a unique culture within the military community (Hall, 2016, p. 41). In essence, a sub-culture has been established that is distinctly different from the culture of the United States. Thus, those that enter military service resign themselves to the fact that the military lifestyle is a departure from the civilian lifestyle and therefore, will differ from society as a whole. The military itself is rigidly structured, an aspect that essential not just to the military’s purpose, but to its continued existence. Thus, personnel, and by extension their families, are required to not only adhere to the many rules and regulations, but embrace them as well (Hall, 2016). Honor is a central tenet within the armed services and is ingrained within the culture (Hall, 2016). As such, the military mission has created a culture that champions having “the right stuff”, so to speak, and encourages the suppression of feelings and emotions (Hall, 2016, p. 11). Moreover, this warrior society embraces secrecy, stoicism, and denial, as these concepts are viewed as essential ingredients to the success of the self,

Have you ever thought about joining the Air Force? Well , if you haven’t, just imagine the respect you’d get for serving our country, the pride you’d feel for helping keep America safe. Imagine flying all around the world and meeting so many varieties of people, seeing lots of different cultures. (Lieutenant Colonel Jerry Quincy) Although the USAFA has its disadvantages, it teaches future service men and women many qualities that they can use in their lives. It also shapes these cadets for the military by teaching them discipline, responsibility, and good work ethic.

With the rapid changes in a health care system around the world, healthcare organizations need to develop strategies that will help the organization to sustain with any difficulties that may arise. Healthcare systems expand their cultural leadership strategies in order to gain a thorough understanding of situations (Johnson, 2009) that will effectively improve their operations in community. Healthcare organizations use both the dynamic culture leadership (DCL) and the omnibus leadership as a model for implementation and a strategy for their success (Johnson, 2009).

Due to the unique nature of United States military culture, a vast majority of active duty personnel and the veteran population are accustomed to

I am Joseph Maruska, I am currently a Major in the United States Air Force. This essay will introduce you to my personal command philosophy. It will also summarize and analyze a brief interview recently conducted with a current squadron commander using my own leadership philosophy as a guide. Throughout this essay I will draw upon my own personal experiences and thoughts, lessons discussed throughout the Leadership and Command Course, as well the discussion with a current squadron commander. Leadership and command styles come in many different forms and there is not necessarily a correct or incorrect way to lead depending on your organization or current turn of events. This essay is simply my thoughts after being in the Air Force for the last eleven years.

The U.S. Air Force carries itself with pride and dignity; a history that officially began in 1947 – one that has brought with it a legacy of valor, sacrifice and bravery that continues to the present day.

“We are more than a group of teenagers.We are more than just a program.We are a family, and we stick together” (-K.G). The Royal Canadian air cadets are a national program for both male and females of the age of 12-19. This program is administered by the Canadian forces and is funded through the department of national defense. The first squadron established was in 1941 to train young men for duties during world war lΙ.In this essay I will be talking about the three best things about air cadets, drill, band, and learning new skills. I believe that these three things are the best things in Air Cadets because they teach you very valuable lessons.

The article “Audiences” a study of subcultures, defines a subculture as an individual’s social experience and cultural activities, shaped by gender, ethnicity, age and class. The military is a subculture of its own; its personnel come from the greater American culture with all its subcultures. The Military is organized unlike the rest of American society, with many smaller subcultures depending on branch; Army, Navy, Air force, Marines with smaller divisions, such as airborne rangers, navy seals, and the Special Forces. There is much competition between these branches and a deep sense of pride of being part of a particular branch. Therefore cadences reflect these branch partitions and traditions while fostering a “we are better than them” morale.

Organizational culture is not a topic that is widely talked about in my office. My organization, the United States Air Force, seems to have a briefing or computer based training for everything, but developing a positive organizational culture is not one of them. Research shows the benefits for creating, positive, happy workers, and the workplace culture is framework for maintaining positivity. If the Air Force invested more into developing a culture of positivity in the organization, than many of the problems recently faced, including retention, would be reduced. In addition to positivity, the Air Force should also invest in developing a stronger spiritual organization. This focus on spirituality may also help to fix retainment issues,

Leadership is perceived and defined in many ways, but in the end, every concept of leadership is brought back on the focus of people. Followers’ reaction towards a leader decides the effectiveness of his or her specific style of governance. Because of the importance of the subordinate, leaders must treat everyone they manage with dignity and respect. To achieve this feat, the leader must understand the meaning of culture and other aspects which stem from it and social perceptions and biases which lead to schema and ultimately unjust stereotypes. In the leadership textbook Preparing to Lead: Introduction to Leadership and Development written by LCDR Litchford, USN and LT Bryant, USN, it defines culture as “the totality of learned socially transmitted

So, we carry on a tradition first defined in the earliest years of the American Army’s history.