First Word
A New ILS - Innovation, Leadership and Standards
Group Captain Edward Poot.
By GPCAPT Edward Poot, Officer Commanding No. 485 Wing
The ability to generate innovation and, more importantly, to implement innovative ideas, is increasingly what sets organisations apart.
Let me pick up on the points made in the recent First Word by GPCAPT Clarke. Innovators are thriving while others struggle to remain relevant in today’s rapidly changing world. Can the RNZAF adapt to new strategic circumstances, changes in operational requirements and rapid developments in technology? You bet we can!
We now operate a B757 that has been modified so that it can carry people, freight, and combinations of both. We have a unique capability for this type of aircraft. The ACC recently remarked that the B757 OT&E tasks were so operational that it was possible to forget that the aircraft is not yet back in full service. On the first test of the new cargo capability, a T56 engine, propeller, pack-up, and personnel for Bersama Lima were unloaded in Malaysia in just 12 minutes. This result speaks volumes for the skill of our people and is only the tip of the iceberg of what we will be able to achieve in coming years with this new capability. With continued good planning and preparation we will be able to deliver similar results as we bring other upgraded operational capabilities back into service.
Another recent innovation was our first Air Power seminar. For those who did not have the opportunity to attend it was a fantastic event. It was also as good as any I have attended overseas, both in terms of its content and its execution. I came away impressed with a number of the presentations but particularly with Vincent Orange’s on leadership, which he termed ‘the unending challenge’. Vincent’s key point was that while leadership has continually been a challenge faced within the military, the nature of the leadership challenges has changed as conflict itself has changed. The presentation is well worth a read, whether you are aiming for corporal, warrant officer or flight commander, and is now available on the APDC website. Along with innovation, leadership has been recognised as a key area for investment in order to lift the RNZAF’s performance.
The third issue I want to touch on is the perennial one of standards – a topic the warrant officers dissected in detail at the recent WOCON. Whether we are talking operational standards, safety and health, or command, rest assured that I am the first to advocate the maintenance of appropriate standards. The preservation of standards is critical if we are to continue to deliver effective air power. Over the years it has been our performance on operations, despite our size, that has made us a welcome contributor – whether it has been on independent, joint, or coalition operations.
However, maintaining standards is not the same as saying the standards need to always stay the same. In some cases they need to be raised, in others maintained, and in some areas there is a good reason for lowering standards. Some examples to make my point:
- The availability of improved navigation systems, when combined with tighter standards, allows aircraft to fly new instrument approaches into difficult locations like Queenstown. This allows aircraft to make their destination when previously the weather would have forced a diversion to another airfield.
- In other areas standards have been changed to better reflect the need. For example, we now allow pilots to have glasses. While the eyesight standard has been relaxed, there has been considerable research and debate along the way. There has been no change to the required outcome and the change has provided additional benefits for the organisation – in this case access to a much larger pool of potential pilots.
The three issues of innovation, leadership and standards are tightly interwoven. Our RNZAF vision is to be the best in all we do. To achieve our vision, while delivering air power, we are going to have to continually innovate. The international bar against which we are measured is continually being raised. Standing still in a field as technologically complex as ours and, in the face of ever evolving challenges, is not an option if we are to maintain relevance. How do we innovate and adapt to our ever changing environment and find new ways and means of delivering air power while maintaining our standards? It is a leadership challenge worthy of every one of us. I also believe the answers lie within our greatest resource – our people.