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Seminar sharpens Sabers' STRENGTH

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Joe W. McFadden
  • 52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany --  Nearly 200 Saber Airmen attended a presentation about honing their leadership potential during a complementary seminar at the base theater Oct. 24.

Dr. Tim Davidson, a professor of the University of Oklahoma's Department of Human Relations, presented his STRENGTH model of leadership during the event sponsored by the 52nd Fighter Wing's Professional Enhancement Center and Saber Sharpening Initiative.

The professor, currently teaching a class in Theoretical Foundations in Human Relations at the base education center, designed his model with each letter of STRENGTH representing different values or terms.

"One reason I like this body of work to help them lead is because it really has some ideas that are strategic and not just about being a nice guy or helping someone out," Davidson said. "There are some strategies that are employed that have been established to be effective."

He said the approach ultimately boils down to an understanding of human relations.

"I think it will improve the relationship dynamics between a leader and the subordinates who will be following that person," Davidson said. "It has to do with the dynamics that unfold when you're looking at someone as being a person of possibilities instead of a person who's not doing well."

Davidson began by emphasizing how leaders should become "merchants of hope" with a focus on progress. After asking attendees to take a self-inventory of their own leadership style, the professor then discussed how "reframing" could turn any crisis facing an organization into an opportunity to succeed.

"Just take that one simple reframe from an employee or subordinate that you look at with one set of eyes and perhaps they haven't done a task properly," he said. "Now, you start reframing that and think about that person and their potential and what you need to do either as their manager or leader to bring effective opportunities for them to develop their abilities. Those ideas apply to everyone in a leadership role."

The professor's model begins with "S," standing for a "Solution-Focus," where leaders delve into problems while now discounting potential possibilities from all members to surmount them.

"There's a lot of marginalizing that occurs in organizations," he said. "There's often someone sitting in the corner who has not been put into the loop of leadership and could bring a lot of excellent energy to the work force."

The first "T" centers on "Trajectory Preview" where hope begins to take root as leaders visualize a better future and a vision that carries their organization to it.

"Resource Development," an important consideration for military members, highlights how any successful outcome will only result from managers providing an adequate supply and full access to resources needed to completing a task.

STRENGTH'S "E" is for "Exception Analysis," as leaders study abnormal trends along their regularly-expected schedules and what produced them.

"Often when things improve, we think of it as just a fluke," he said. "But when you look at the fluke, dig into it more. Spending a lot of energy, time and personnel and asking everybody what was working better makes a big difference."

In "Noticing Positives," Davidson emphasized a two-fold approach.

"I think that's what everyone thinks of strength-based works: 'you have some positive assets, I'm going to identify them and encourage you to keep them up,'" he said. "But that's only part of it. First you notice what is good already as well as what is getting better. Keep noticing the positives and build up the momentum."

An important step for many management theories, "Goal Setting," ties back to "S" where leaders define problems and elaborate on sets of goals to achieve. Davidson said leaders must devise two sets of goals through careful planning including short-term ones yielding quick solutions; and long-term ones that sustain an organization's strengths.

The second "T" stands for "Tenacity Review," where Davidson touted the importance of resilience. Here, the professor intends leaders should learn from their organization's past and cultivate the talents and contributions of members within it.

"Instead of looking for fault-lines, look for resiliency lines," he said. "Where's the toughness been in this organization over the years, and then identify what those are. We ask the 'coping question,' where someone or an organization is struggling and you ask them 'How did you make it so far? What did you do to survive this?' We ask that question often, and those organizations look back and find it's often within the team or the individual, and you can start rebuilding upon those."

Rounding out STRENGTH is "Human Capacity Development," where betterment of the people within an organization replaces the problems they face as its primary narrative.

"I think most leaders and managers in organizations know to emphasize things like a person's work history or education and training," he said. "But when you take a strength-based perspective, you broaden your vision and start to look at things outside the norm. Maybe you're looking at someone's cultural knowledge or life-experiences they've had or the settings they've been in that have developed whatever personal strengths they have. It has a broadening vision that we start trying to find the capacity within all our organizations and make things move forward."

Davidson said the proof of strength-based leadership is in the pudding.

"If a person uses these ideas at their worksite, it becomes a way of thinking and a way of reacting," he said. "Over a period of time, you really develop your own way of being a strength-based leader. The principles remain the same, but the person accommodates them in their own style."

After his presentation, the professor encouraged the audience--comprised of junior Airmen to commanders and chiefs--to ask questions or give examples of their own approach to leadership.

"As command chief, I encourage all Sabers to learn as much as they can about professional development and challenge them to develop their capacity for leadership, no matter their rank or present position," said Chief Master Sgt. Matthew Grengs, 52nd FW command chief. "Dr. Davidson's message of looking into every person's potential for growth resonated with me as a means to solving problems and becoming a more effective leader. I thank him, the University of Oklahoma and Saber Sharpening Initiative staff for holding this insightful presentation."

Davidson, who has been teaching as part of OU's Outreach program since 1997, travels throughout the European and Pacific theaters in conjunction with his stateside classes based in Norman, Okla. Despite citing jetlag as taking a toll as he crisscrosses continents for a single week at a time, he said the relationships between him and his students as well as the chance to bring education to the military make it all worthwhile.

"I believe higher education is valuable, as are our service members," he said. "I open my eyes and keep my vision wide as I travel, because my passport is very full going around to military bases. I've really treasured the relationships I've developed not only with our site directors, but with the students as well. It's definitely worth it."

For more information about the Saber Sharpening Initiative, call the career assistance advisor at DSN 452-7557 or 06565-61-7557. For more information about OU's Outreach Program, call Allen Cannon, site director, at DSN 452-7555 06565-61-7555