Five Phenomenal Leadership Traits I Admired in My Senior Enlisted Leaders
Updated: Oct 21
Military commanders are responsible for accomplishing assigned missions. They have lawful authority and responsibility over the morale, physical well-being and welfare of the people under their command and they do this by being an engaged leader who effectively manages resources.
But like anyone in a position of leadership they cannot expect to successfully achieve all of this alone. Every successful Air Force commander has a strong Senior Enlisted Leader (SEL) by his or her side. SELs embody certain leadership traits that help the commander lead the unit to success.
What is a Senior Enlisted Leader?
The Air Force Enlisted Structure, affectionately known as the "Little Brown Book," describes SELs as a part of the command leadership team who is:
"charged with readiness, training, health, morale, welfare, and quality of life for the unit or group of assigned personnel. Additional responsibilities include managing and directing resource activities, interpreting and enforcing policies and applicable directives, establishing control procedures to meet mission goals and standards, and actively supporting and maintaining robust recognition programs."
SELs are the ones who hold the squadron guidon (flag) during a change of command ceremony. They hand the guidon to the outgoing commander and stand stoically as the guidon whacks them in the face as it gets passed from the outgoing commander to the presiding officer, and again when the presiding officer hands the guidon to the incoming commander.
To me, the presence of the SEL in this ceremony is symbolic of who SELs are to the squadron. They are a steady force, always there for the squadron, taking the hits no matter where they're coming from. Most importantly, they are a part of the leadership team that makes or breaks a squadron's success.
Yes, command leadership is unique to the military. Corporate presidents and CEOs don’t have lawful requirements or obligations to meet. But they have business objectives and goals to achieve and they can’t accomplish them on their own. A smart leader would rely on a team of experts and advisers to help them achieve success. An SEL is one of the indispensable advisers to a military commander.
I was lucky to have worked with four amazing SELs during my two assignments as a squadron commander.
You know how Cinderella has a fairy godmother who magically appears at the exact moment she needed her? Each of my SELs showed up for me at the exact moment when I needed their particular brand of expertise.
Yes, I’m sure the four gentlemen who served as my squadron SEL appreciate being compared to Cinderella’s fairy godmother. That’s okay. They’ll get over it.
Each had his own leadership style and method of connecting with people. They offered alternate perspectives and had vast expertise in areas I did not. Best of all, I could always count on them to provide the advice I needed, even if it was to point out why I was wrong.
What Leadership Traits Should a Senior Enlisted Leader Have?
Before I took command for the first time, I was asked what leadership traits I looked for in an Senior Enlisted Leaders. It was a great question and up until that point, I hadn’t really given it much thought.
I knew the textbook answer for what a commander needed in an SEL was someone who was both a leader and a follower. And it needed to be someone who could understand and convey the commander’s intent and vision. However, I took those qualities to be the baseline.
But I had heard horror stories from other commanders about bad SELs. These individuals acted unprofessionally. They showed favoritism or were completely disengaged at work. They were on a power trip and abused their position of authority or bullied lower-ranking Airmen. They undermined their commanders.
Then there were great SELs who had the misfortune to work for terrible commanders. They tried their best to support their commander but were frustrated with the lack of leadership. They were so miserable, they eventually gave up and became disengaged.
It didn’t escape me that the quality of the relationship between the commander and SEL has great implications for the squadron. I didn’t want to be a part of a dysfunctional leadership team. A successful team had to be comprised of SELs who felt comfortable sharing ideas, bringing up problems and offering advice to their commanders, and commanders who were willing to listen with an open mind. They showed a united front in public even if they disagreed behind closed doors. And they visited their Airmen together and often.
After having worked with four amazing SELs, I know now how I’d answer the question of, "What are you looking for in an SEL?" I want someone who is strong where I am am not, someone I can trust, and a person who is willing to disagree with me even while supporting me. I want someone who can see the whole picture during my moments of tunnel-vision, and I’d need someone who can lead up, across and down.
How to be a Connected and Compassionate Leader
My first Senior Enlisted Leader, then Master Sergeant (MSgt) EDR, is the kind of person who connects with everyone he meets. I watched him do this with every Airman he encountered, patients wandering the hallways of our clinic, and all the leaders in our organization. He even connected with the people most couldn’t tolerate to be around. He inherently knew how to make others feel valued so he could connect with them.
When MSgt EDR listened to you, you knew he was 100% present. He never carried a conversation without moving to your level - if you were standing, he would stand. If you were sitting, he would sit, or kneel in some cases, to make sure he was eye-level to you. He was deliberate about following up with people about the things they had a conversation about. He didn’t have to tell you he cared. You knew, because he showed it.
He showed me how to be a compassionate and engaged leader. He modeled what “right” looked like for all the Airmen in our squadron and wasn’t afraid to share his mistakes in an open forum. His impact was far-reaching and long-lasting. He was promoted to Senior Master Sergeant (SMSgt) and has since retired from the Air Force. I am grateful to have had him as my first senior enlisted leader and he taught me more about being a leader than he realizes.
Sometimes You Just Need a Different Perspective
During my second year in command, MSgt EDR deployed for several months. MSgt JAS stepped in as my next Senior Enlisted Leader. A lab tech by trade, he didn’t have a job that gave him the chance to get out and about much. He’s much more extroverted than me, and I think he found it refreshing to leave the lab and see the rest of the squadron. The squadron was comprised of the clinical lab, outpatient pharmacy, the information technology department, health benefits and insurance, medical coding and billing, medical supply and equipment, facility management, and the medical emergency management department.
MSgt JAS and I tended to see things the same way when it came to disciplinary actions, so he deliberately offered differing perspectives. It caught me off-guard the first time he did this since it was so incongruent with his typical thought-process. When I asked him about it, he said I needed a chance to see it from a different angle. But it helped me make well-informed decisions and I greatly appreciated him for it. He kept me updated on how things were going in the squadron and always knew which Airmen were going through tough times.
And then COVID happened.
Each of the sections in the squadron were busy trying to figure out how to navigate this new way of life, both at home and at work. We didn’t have a large COVID testing capability and it became a challenge to figure out how we were going to test patients to not only put their minds at ease but also to determine the best way to protect our population at large.
I found myself consulting him regularly on understanding lab capabilities for COVID testing. And I counted on his expertise to help guide me through this very difficult time. Unsurprisingly, he was recently selected for promotion to SMSgt!
Reducing My Knowledge Gaps
I moved in the summer of 2020 and took command at a different, but similar squadron. My SEL there was also a lab tech, SMSgt CB. The most introverted of my Senior Enlisted Leaders, he was an expert in his field. He was one of those quiet leaders who assessed a situation before speaking or acting. We had discussions behind closed doors where he wasn’t afraid to express his personal opinion about stuff, but in front of everyone else, he was always professional. Like MSgt JAS, he offered perspectives even though he didn’t agree with them, because he knew I needed a full picture before making a decision.
During this time we received a lot of external suggestions about what the lab needed to do for COVID. Projects were getting executed that required the direct involvement of our clinical lab. Without SMSgt CB, I would have been operating in the dark when it came to this. I knew very little about clinical lab work and it seemed like every day he was giving me a crash course on something I needed to know.
He kept a pulse on the morale of the Airmen, particularly in the overworked lab. He wasn’t afraid to tell me I was making a poor decision and helped me be the leader I needed to be during the dark days of COVID. He is now retired from the Air Force and living his best life!
Making Everyone Feel Appreciated
When SMSgt CB retired, I hired SMSgt KCS to be my next SEL. He was known for telling it like it was. There was no sugar-coating with him and you never had to guess what he was thinking. He had high expectations and expected people to meet that standard. He held people accountable for their actions but didn’t crush their will to live.
He greeted everyone he saw with a fist bump. He was very thoughtful and cared deeply for others and their well-being. He acknowledged every accomplishment, no matter how big or small. Probably one of my favorite things about him is he never walks past someone wearing a VETERAN hat without stopping to say, “Thank you for your service.”
He’s also a great listener. His office was a revolving door of people seeking his counsel, myself included. Even if he didn’t have much to say, you felt better after telling him what was on your mind. He helped people find confidence and grow into the leaders they were meant to be. There was nothing flashy about the way he did this.
It was a bittersweet when he decided to retire from the Air Force. The number of people who showed up from all corners of the world to celebrate the conclusion to his outstanding career, and the number who wanted to but couldn’t, was a testament to the positive impact he made on so many lives.
Leadership Traits I Admired in my SELs
1. Leaving things better than when they found it: They never walked past a piece of trash without picking it up. All of my SELs did this. It was such a simple and small task but it made a huge difference.
2. Connecting with people on a deeper level: There was a reason people reached out to talk to them all the time, and it wasn’t because of the position they held. My SELs connected with them and demonstrated a commitment to taking care of them.
3. Understanding people: Because they connected with people, they were in tune with them. They knew when people were overworked and just needed a break, and they understood when people needed that extra push. They were the Airmen's biggest cheerleaders and advocates and went to great lengths to fight for them.
4. Holding people to high standards: Standards are important in just about every sector I can think of, but in our world, the Air Force and health care, it could be the difference between life and death. My SELs took the time to explain the reasons behind standards. They shared personal stories of mistakes they made so the Airmen could learn from them. And most of all, they modeled what right looked like for the Airmen to emulate.
5. Exercising attention to detail: Each of my SELs were fiercely protective of my signature. As a commander, I reviewed hundreds of requests, such as applications for special duty assignments, overseas leave or re-enlistments. With everything I approved, I was taking a chance on that person. My SELs exercised attention to detail with each request and made sure everything was in order before forwarding it to me for my consideration and signature.
I am lucky I had the opportunity to learn from and work with these gentlemen and each of them made me a better leader and commander. As I’ve said before, and I’ll say again, leadership success is never achieved alone. I’m proud they were a part of my command teams.
Comment below: What qualities do you want in an ideal SEL or commander?
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