eceived an outstanding rating. During the out brief with the wing commander, the inspector singled me out as being the best COMSEC custodian in 15th Air Force. I thought to myself; what made me the best? I did not do this by myself. I immediately responded to the commander that my team deserved the real praise, because without their hard work and dedication in preparing for the inspection, none of this could have been accomplished. The team was then praised by the commander for their accomplishment and rewarded a 1-day pass. The benefits were overwhelming in team unity and pride. Remember this, your success as a leader is measured by the success of the team not by your individual success. Giving praise to our subordinates when they succeed is easy, but what about taking the blame when they fail? 4. How can you trust you subordinates to do a task when you are responsible to get it done? We are not expected to do all the work, but we are responsible to ensure all the work is done. From the book Robert E. Lee on Leadership, General Lee wrote to Jefferson Davis before the battle at Gettysburg and said: “I have for the past year felt the corps of this army were too large for one commander. Each corps contains when in fighting condition about 30,000 men. These are more than one man can properly handle and keep under his eye in battle…. They are always beyond the range of his vision and frequently beyond his reach.” (Crocker: 105) General Lee knew he had to delegate authority in order to lead his men into battle. He alone could not do this. He also knew that when delegating authority, he could never trust a subordinate who did not share his vision. He broke his own rule, which resulted in the disaster at Gettysburg. A leader must be willing to take reasonable risks in order for your subordinates to become a more productive member of the military. Our subordinates will never have the opportunity to grow u...
