First Word
Warrant Officer Keith Gell
Warrant Officer of the Air Force
One of the most powerful tools available to a commander, leader and manager is recognition. It validates individual behaviour and one’s contribution. It also shows organisational appreciation. Why we do it is hugely important, it’s about letting people know that they are appreciated and their work is important and meaningful.
We do it well on the sports field where we pat each other on the back and give that continuous encouragement, even when things go wrong. We also reward outstanding performances with players of the day or player of the tournament. But how are we fairing on the work face? Are you as commanders, leaders and managers doing the same as on the sports field? Are you giving that daily recognition (pat on the back) that people respond to? Do you reward and recognise effort that is beyond the call of duty, or outside of their normal daily routine? Only individual commands can answer this; however, it is timely that perhaps we take a look at ourselves and give ourselves a check.
Having a recognition culture within your unit and the whole RNZAF are the aim points. It’s not about being PC or ‘soft’ as one old timer said to me, it’s about leadership and it’s about celebrating success. We are very quick to recognise bad behaviour; in fact we have a whole rigid process that is dedicated to bad behaviour, including lawyers. As one of my Navy mates said to me, “here are two sides to the coin when it comes to discipline, one is bad and the other is good, and quite often we only focus on the bad.”
"As one of my Navy mates said to me, there are two sides to the coin when it comes to discipline, one is bad and the other is good, and quite often we only focus on the bad. "
To institute a culture of recognition we need to understand what recognition is and why it is important. As stated, its about validation of one’s behaviour and contribution. I am confident we do have this culture; however, I am also aware that there is always room for improvement. For example we do have a process, but I do believe we can do it better when it comes to guidelines. For example Defence Force Orders (F) Chapter 7 has the guidelines for honours, awards and commendations, but the headline for Chapter 7 is Ceremonial. That indicates to me we do have some work to do to support a culture of recognition. It is this policy that provides the support for our commanders, leaders and managers. This is currently being rectified. Team work is also one of our values; however, we have no formal recognition for this. Again, some work is being done on this. Commanding Officer Commendations need to be addressed, and this is also being addressed as CO Commendations are about timeliness, not recognition six months down the track.
Over the last two months the Chief and I have been doing the rounds recognising outstanding achievements and service. This has been fantastic and confirms to me we are recognising effort. Seeing the Air Component Commander giving timely recognition to the Auckland Engine Bay and a Communications and Information Systems (CIS) individual commended. In these two cases it was about timeliness (within one week of returning from Operation in support of our Afghanistan deployment). If it had have been done, six months later the gloss would have been lost. The announcement of the Distinguished Service Decoration (DSD) for the Queen’s honours list is another indication that we are moving with the times at this level. This is a military honour at the highest level. Queens Birthday and New Years Honours lists are always a talking point, in particular if you are a Non Commission Officer (NCO). Hopefully the DSD will address this.
Some old timers may say we are going overboard, but my answer is that we are doing what is right. Recognition is important and needs to be on the agenda at all command meetings. It’s not a quota thing, it’s about leadership and it’s about doing what’s right. As stated, recognition is one of the most powerful tools available to a Commander.