Airmen,
As we continue to evolve and adapt to the challenges of Great Power Competition, it's essential we prioritize leadership development and cultivate a culture of lifelong learning. Our ability to operate effectively in contested, degraded, and operationally limited environments requires leaders who can think critically, communicate effectively, and make informed decisions in dynamic environments.
To achieve this, we must focus on developing leaders who embody the USAF's core values: Integrity, Service, and Excellence. We need leaders who are agile, adaptable, and resilient, and who can provide clear commander's intent, create shared understanding, exercise disciplined initiative, build trusting teams, manage risk, and use Mission Type Orders.
To support this effort, I'm excited to share the first iteration of my Leadership Library, which is designed to provide Airmen with the resources they need to develop their leadership skills and stay ahead of the curve. This library includes a diverse range of books, articles, and podcasts that explore leadership, decision making, and strategic thinking.
Books:
- Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell: This book challenges us to examine how we perceive and interact with others, using real-world examples to highlight the consequences of miscommunication and misplaced trust. I have been regularly reminded things are not always as they seem, and this book is a powerful reminder to not take things at face value.
- Wireless Wars by Jon Pelson: Pelson unpacks the rise of Huawei and its impact on global communications, offering insights into the intersection of technology, competition, and national security. It also highlights the importance of strategic thinking in a rapidly evolving world, and the way technology can enable influence and control.
- The Infinite Game by Simon Sinek: Sinek highlights the difference between finite and infinite games. While finite games, like football and chess, have clearly defined rules and goals, infinite games, like business and international relations, lack clear rules and the goal is to stay in the game. This long-term, strategic perspective is essential for competing successfully in Great Power Competition.
- The Aviators by Winston Groom: The book celebrates the lives of three aviation legends who redefined what was possible in an aircraft during the early, but rapidly evolving, decades of flight. Their stories remind us of the power of courage, innovation, and dedication to mission success and the evolution of air power.
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey: Covey provides a timeless framework for personal and professional growth, emphasizing habits to foster leadership, collaboration, and resilience. It's a practical guide for anyone seeking to align their actions with purpose and values, and an essential read for Air Force leaders.
Articles:
1. MacGregor by Arthur Elliott Carlisle: This article explores an innovative approach to leading an organization while also developing subordinate leaders. This leadership style empowers subordinates to solve problems, focuses on delivering positive results, and to adapt to changing circumstances.
2. Lessons in Followership: Good Leaders Aren't Always Out Front by Lt. Col. Amelia DuranStanton and Col. Alicia "Ali" Masson: Great leaders start by being great followers, embracing humility, collaboration, and adaptability. This piece reminds us leadership is a team effort, built on trust and shared responsibility, and the lessons we learn as followers can make us more effective leaders.
3. On the Folly of Rewarding A, While Hoping for B by Steven Kerr: Kerr highlights the pitfalls of misaligned incentives and their potential impacts on organizational success. This article challenges us to better understand human behavior and to design systems which reward the behaviors we need to achieve our goals.
Podcast:
- Revisionist History by Malcolm Gladwell: This podcast reexamines moments, ideas, and events misunderstood or overlooked throughout history. Gladwell's storytelling challenges listeners to question their assumptions and explore deeper truths. Our goal is to create a culture of lifelong learning across the Air Force, empowering leaders to make informed decisions, drive innovation, and achieve success in an increasingly complex and dynamic envirorunent. I encourage each of you to take advantage of these resources, to never stop learning, and to never stop trying to be a better leader and a better Airman. We are the best Air Force in the world, and I'm honored to serve alongside each of you. I challenge each of you to challenge the status quo, to take risks, and to push the boundaries of what's possible. Together, we'll build the Air Force we need to compete, deter, and win across all domains.
David A. Flosi
Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force
Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell
This book challenges us to examine how we perceive and interact with others, using real-world examples to highlight the consequences of miscommunication and misplaced trust. I have been regularly reminded things are not always as they seem, and this book is a powerful reminder to not take things at face value.
Pelson unpacks the rise of Huawei and its impact on global communications, offering insights into the intersection of technology, competition, and national security. It also highlights the importance of strategic thinking in a rapidly evolving world, and the way technology can enable influence and control.
The Infinite Game by Simon Sinek
Sinek highlights the difference between finite and infinite games. While finite games, like football and chess, have clearly defined rules and goals, infinite games, like business and international relations, lack clear rules and the goal is to stay in the game. This long-term, strategic perspective is essential for competing successfully in Great Power Competition.
The book celebrates the lives of three aviation legends who redefined what was possible in an aircraft during the early, but rapidly evolving, decades of flight. Their stories remind us of the power of courage, innovation, and dedication to mission success and the evolution of air power.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
Covey provides a timeless framework for personal and professional growth, emphasizing habits to foster leadership, collaboration, and resilience. It's a practical guide for anyone seeking to align their actions with purpose and values, and an essential read for Air Force leaders.
MacGregor by Arthur Elliott Carlisle
This article explores an innovative approach to leading an organization while also developing subordinate leaders. This leadership style empowers subordinates to solve problems, focuses on delivering positive results, and to adapt to changing circumstances.
Good Leaders Aren't Always Out Front by Lt. Col. Amelia DuranStanton and Col. Alicia "Ali" Masson: Great leaders start by being great followers, embracing humility, collaboration, and adaptability. This piece reminds us leadership is a team effort, built on trust and shared responsibility, and the lessons we learn as followers can make us more effective leaders.
On the Folly of Rewarding A, While Hoping for B by Steven Kerr
Kerr highlights the pitfalls of misaligned incentives and their potential impacts on organizational success. This article challenges us to better understand human behavior and to design systems which reward the behaviors we need to achieve our goals.
Revisionist History by Malcolm Gladwell
This podcast reexamines moments, ideas, and events misunderstood or overlooked throughout history. Gladwell's storytelling challenges listeners to question their assumptions and explore deeper truths. Our goal is to create a culture of lifelong learning across the Air Force, empowering leaders to make informed decisions, drive innovation, and achieve success in an increasingly complex and dynamic envirorunent. I encourage each of you to take advantage of these resources, to never stop learning, and to never stop trying to be a better leader and a better Airman. We are the best Air Force in the world, and I'm honored to serve alongside each of you. I challenge each of you to challenge the status quo, to take risks, and to push the boundaries of what's possible. Together, we'll build the Air Force we need to compete, deter, and win across all domains.
