LITTLE ROCK AIR FORCE BASE, Ark. -- To kick off Phase II of the 19th Airlift Wing’s Resiliency Campaign Plan, the wing hosted a Franklin Covey workshop Oct. 16, 2019, for command teams and key spouses to learn how to be an effective leader by inspiring and extending trust at Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas.
The two four-hour seminars guided more than 80 commanders, senior enlisted leaders, first sergeants, key spouses and key spouse mentors on restoring lost trust on the societal, market, organizational, relationship and personal levels.
“Our key spouses and command teams are vital to building an environment where each member feels connected and valued,” said Col. John Schutte, 19th Airlift Wing commander. “As a wing, we are investing in them so they can continue to forge a culture of trust, where every member of the tribe feels they are a valued member, essential to the success of our Combat Airlift mission.”
More than just a training event, the class equips people and organizations to transform toxic relationships, teams, and organizational cultures and to harness high trust as a performance multiplier. This work session focused on behaviors common to high-trust leaders.
“We asked for command teams to be here because this is crucial training for them,” Schutte said.
Developing trust can help team members become energized, engaged, collaborate more effectively, operate faster, and achieve sustainable results required for cultivating a culture of Ready Warriors.
The unit commanders also had the opportunity to bring their key spouses and key spouse mentors to the training in an effort to enhance Airmen and family readiness.
The U.S. Air Force Key Spouse Program is designed to enhance readiness, personal and family resiliency, and establish a sense of Air Force community. Key spouses are commander-appointed and serve as a vital resource to command teams in an effort to support Air Force families.
“Key spouses have one of the most difficult jobs in our Air Force,” Schutte said. “They are essential to our unit readiness and resilience and we ask them to do all of this on a volunteer basis. We want to demonstrate to key spouses how valuable they are by integrating them further with squadron commanders and superintendents because they are a critical component of that unit leadership team.”
The class also went over the economics of trust and its effects on speed and cost in relationships, and how to assess trustworthiness based on character and competence.
“The course provided a lot of self-reflection of what we as leaders can do better to trust folks and gain that trust faster with individuals as well,” said Chief Master Sgt. Justin Strain, 19th AW command chief. “This training opens the door for even greater trust between the command teams, and building the trust down the chain with not only the individuals in that unit, but also their spouses, significant others and family members.”