After a five-decade career in the Air Force, a retired general shared with a credit union audience here, not his triumphs or how he got his ribbons, but instead all the ways he believes he could have been a better leader.
Speaking to the Defense Credit Union Council (DCUC) annual meeting here, Gen. Robin Rand, whose assignments included serving on the Joint Chiefs staff, with the Secretary of Defense, in the Air Force’s headquarters, and as a CEO of a non-profit veterans and first responders support organization, said there are numerous areas where he believes he could “have done better.” Rand did not mention his more than 5,100 hours flying F-16s or his 480 combat hours. Instead, he shared example after example of where he now looks back and sees the lessons he has learned.
Gen. Robin Rand addresses the meeting.
Timeless Traits
“I think leadership traits are timeless,” said Rand. “What applied 3,000 years ago still applies today and will apply 3,000 years from now. I also think good leadership traits are agnostic to the profession. And I think leadership is critical to the success or failure of organizations. Organizations can survive average to mediocre leadership, but they can only thrive with good leadership.”
The traits desired in leaders, according to Rand, include:
Ability to communicate effectively
Adherence to corporate standards
Humility and treatment of people with dignity and respect
There are two ways to learn, Rand opined, and those are:
Personal experience. This is “hard knocks, learning the hard way,” he said
Through the transfer of knowledge, including mentoring, coaching, teaching, learning from others
Rand said his goal was to share the latter in lessons drawn from his career.
Some of those lessons include:
I’d Have Been More Thick-Skinned
Rand started his first story with a bit of humor by sharing a time while stationed in Korea, when he hosted an Air Force legend, Brig Gen (Ret) Robin Olds, who commanded the 8th Tac Fighter Wing during the Vietnam War, named the the 8th Tac Fighter Wing the Wolf Pack, and was himself designated as “the Wolf,” a title to this day given to all 8th Fighter Wing commanders.
“At 80 years old, General Olds came to Kunsan AB, ROK for a 4-5 day period that culminated in a huge “all ranks” dining out celebration for members of the 8th Fighter Wing. General Olds was larger than life. At nine at night on the second day of the visit, we are at in informal social gathering and he is surrounded by several junior officers listening to his every word. We still had several days and many events left on his trip, so I become a little concerned about possible jet-lag and several time zone changes from his long trip over to Korea. So being the good wing commander that I thought I was, I go up to him and say, Wolf 1, I don’t know about you, but this current wing commander (me) is tired. Maybe we should call it a night and go get some sleep. Will you don’t interrupt General Olds when he’s holding court, and without skipping a beat he said to me, Good night, sweetheart.” Laughing, Rand said, “that hurt my feelings, and I recalled telling Tony Hernandez who was responsible for this informal gathering, Tony, you now have Wolf 1’s hand receipt, you better get him back to his room at a decent hour, and he better have enough rest tomorrow morning, or you will be fired! Tony was able to keep his job.”
I Should Have Led More Boldly
“Seriously, one of the leadership traits we desire in our leaders is to be bold, leaders who are courageous, who are brave,” said Rand. “Not necessarily brave on the battlefield, but brave in doing the task, regardless of how difficult, of standing up for and doing what’s right. Robin Olds was a bold leader. I should have been more of a bold leader during my Air Force journey. I should have faced the hard times better without showing fear.”
Rand shared several stories of men and women he served with who demonstrated bold leadership and the moral courage to speak truth to power.
I Should Have Emphasized More Our Organizational Core Values
Rand pointed to the Air Force values: “Integrity First. Service Before Self. Excellence in All We Do.”
“I know as a leader I didn’t always emphasize enough the importance to live by our values.” Rand said, “without action, they are just words, but I submit sound organizational values can be our beacon, our guiding light. I wish I had emphasized those values earlier in my journey. Kudos to DCUC, I think your values are rock solid, and I hope the people who are part of this organization are able to hold them up as their beacon.”
Rand said there are many organizations that don’t have a good mission statement, a vision statement, and don’t have organizational values. And they suffer as a result, he said.
And Done More To Ensure Our People “Fit In” And Felt Like They “Belonged”
“One of the things leaders must do to ensure an organization functions properly, is to ensure your people fit in. The other way to describe this is to enforce our standards. I’ve heard some describe ‘fitting in’ in a negative light. I disagree with that. We tell our young airman from day one that they will fit in, they will comply with policies, procedures, standards, or they will not be part of our service.”
Rand said that it’s equally important that people not just fit in, but that they feel they belong to something bigger themselves.
“Inherently, people want to feel they matter,” he said. “Leader are required to ensure people fit in and meet standards, but equally important is for leaders to inspire others on the team so they feel like they belong, feel like they are part of something bigger than themselves, and feel like what they do really matters to the success of the team. Regrettably, as I look back, I didn’t always do enough to enforce standards and inspire people to know what they did really mattered. Sometimes, I looked the other way, and for whatever reason, ignored the problem; and there were times I didn’t do all I could to inspire my teammates and help ensure they felt like they belonged. I now realize, the cost to have done this better, would only have been the cost of a little bit more of my time.”
Rand shared the story of three Explosive Ordnance Disposal airmen in Iraq who disregarded proper procedures when encountering an abandoned vehicle that turned out to be vehicle born improvised explosive device, and as a result, they were killed. “I have asked myself, as their commander, what did I possibly do or not do that may have given them the impression they could willfully non-comply? It still gives me an occasional sleepless night.”
I Should Have Been a Better Wingman
“Wingman” is a term of endearment in the Air Force.
“I wasn’t always the wingman I should have been, but I have had plenty of good wingman in my life. He then shared the examples from the Air Force’s past of what it meant to be a good wingman, highlighted a USAF Academy Classmate in the audience who was a good wingman, and shared a story of one Airman injured in a blast in Iraq whose first thought coming out of surgery was to ask about his wingman.
I Should Have Accepted Feedback Better. Our Subordinates Have Our Back
Rand asked the assembled credit union leaders, “Do you let subordinates speak to power? The older I got, maybe the more impatience I became. I thought I already had most of the answers, and often times when asking a question to someone, I caught myself answering the question before I afforded them an opportunity to answer. How rude is that?”
Rand then shared how when he took over one senior Air Force leadership position when the Air Force and his command was “digging out of a deep hole,” due to unacceptable and willful failures by a handful of Air Force Military Training Instructors (MTIs).
“When I took this position, the Air Force had already weeded out the unacceptable MTIs and we were well on our way of righting the ship. A week into the assignment I went to a Basic Military Training graduation parade and ceremony. Afterwards, I wanted to meet the handful of MTIs who were part of this amazing ceremony. I said, I am so motivated by your professionalism, may I have a picture taken with all of you? They said they’d be honored, once I fixed how I was wearing my flight cap! They adjusted my hat, and I never wore my hat like that for the remaining five years I was in the Air Force. Subordinates have our backs. Make sure you have theirs.”
I’d Have Been more Vulnerable
In reality, vulnerability for a leader is “very, very important,” said Rand.
“Leaders need to get out of their comfort zone and expand their depth,” said Rand. “For me, a vulnerability I had when serving in combat was going to the theater hospital that was part of wing I served in. It really put me off my game when I would spend time there, and every time I visited this hospital manned by 480 airmen assigned to 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing, it left me feeling out of sorts. So, what’s the tendency when something throws you off your game? Avoid it, right? Don’t do it. Yet, how fair would that have been to those amazing medics and our severely wounded warriors, if as their leader, I avoided them?”
I Should Have Communicated Better…I Should Have Listened More
Rand admitted, “I am a terrible communicator; because I am a poor listener… just ask my bride of 44 years. I know it, I’m not proud of it, and I’m still trying to get better at it. Your people want to be heard. Allow them to transmit. I learned this from my then two-year old grandson, Eli. I was deployed and I had waited all day to call home. Before I talked to my wife or adult children, Eli was handed the phone and even as two-year old he could talk up a storm. I said I love you. He said ‘I love you, he then wished me a Happy Thanksgiving and said he missed me.’ Then he hung up…click, dial tone, and I couldn’t reconnect. At the time, I remember thinking that this little guy needs to listen better. And then I thought, he’s two, I’m 50, what’s my excuse?”
I Should Have Laughed and Smiled More
Rand said he did not laugh or smile enough during his career, and then He shared the story of one Special Forces soldier who had lost both his legs while serving in Afghanistan. This soldier and his family received a new mortgage-free home from a non-profit organization that Rand was the CEO for after retiring from the Air Force. Rand said, “at the home dedication, this remarkable veteran said with a smile on his face, I admit it isn’t always easy to not have my legs, but when I look down each morning, I feel like my legs were a small deposit for the country I love.” Rand then said, “if you ever think you are having a bad day, think of Caleb Brewer and his attitude. Smile more…the teammates and their families you lead will appreciate that.”
I’d Have Been More Mindful of ‘My Way’
Rand articulated, “my why for serving evolved over time and the why I stayed in the AF for 40 years changed from when I first joined the AF. I now wish I had shared with my teammates more what my why for staying in was,” Rand advised.
I Should Have Always Remembered What’s Most Important
“So many of you are busy people,” Rand told his audience. “You carry the burden of your organization and the people you serve with. One of the areas where I fell short was in keeping the right work/life balance. Organizations will suck the life out of your marrow, if you allow it, so you have to be the ones who turn the meter on or off. Your family deserves this, and your organization will be better for it if your life is properly balanced.
Would Do It Again
Despite all the challenges and time away from his family, Rand said, “I still have my uniform hanging in the closet and if they called me back, I’d do it all over again. I’d just try to do it better. I’ll close as I started, thank you leaders and stay great.”
Delivered Live By: Robin Rand, Managing Director