Commentary: 'In Quest of Excellence' motivates 372nd recruiters

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The 372nd Recruiting Group is unlike any organization I have ever been a part of. We have 800 recruiters assigned to eight squadrons that operate from Japan to Wisconsin. The average recruiter operates solo in a location often miles (if not hours) away from his/her supervisor. The recruiter's supervisor often works out of a location that is miles (if not hours) away from the squadron commander. And, with the exception of my squadron stationed at Hill Air Force Base, my closest squadron is a 60 minute airline flight away. A leadership challenge? Not as much as you might think.

Our group motto is, "In Quest of Excellence!" This motto not only acknowledges that excellence is a journey, not a destination, but it also applies to the way our organization approaches leadership. We can debate whether leaders are born or made, but in my experience leaders are grown and it is the responsibility of every supervisor and commander to "grow" the next generation of leaders that will take our place. It is this very concept that has reduced the potential burden of leading such a geographically dispersed organization.

The most important tool we have in our leadership arsenal is the front line supervisor (who is usually our least experienced leader). Commanders and senior enlisted leaders must take the time to grow our front line supervisors into effective leaders for it is at this level where the mission is accomplished. In the case of the 372nd Recruiting Group, the flight chief (front line supervisor) is the leader that is responsible for orchestrating the activities of between six and eight recruiters to achieve our recruiting goals. If the flight chief is not capable of leading and mentoring his/her recruiters, that flight will not make its goal and will put our ability to sustain the combat capability of the United States Air Force in jeopardy.

Certainly, in our organization, mentoring that front line supervisor is a challenge. Not only do we have to overcome the tyranny of distance, but that of time. Squadron leaders have between six and seven geographically separated flight chiefs that they must mentor.

However, because we believe the success of the organization relies on effective leadership at the front line supervisor level, we have become adept at managing this challenge. Can we improve? Sure ... remember we view excellence as a journey, not a destination. But our emphasis on developing leaders has paid huge dividends.

What we cannot afford to forget is that while the "mission" is the reason we exist, we are obligated to take the time to develop our Airmen into effective leaders. The "mission" can be a convenient excuse for not taking the time to develop our Airmen into leaders. None of us has enough time or resources to make this task easy to accomplish. But it is for those very reasons we must find the time. With fewer people and an ever increasing operations tempo, having effective leadership at all levels will only help to ensure mission success.

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