Making a Positive Difference

When in an academic environment it is often the case that we take pause and enter a luxurious environment where we can slow down and reflect. Bridging the gap between that reflective state and the pressure packed work environment later on gets to be a significant challenge. While we can’t always control the environment created by our senior leaders, we can in fact control the environment for those we lead. It is choice. Developing our subordinates tends to be challenging. It takes time, often time we think we don’t have. It requires that we take the time to speak to others. How we engage matters, and it matters a great deal. It doesn’t cost us anything to be civil to others. A smile or a laugh costs little but tends to produce an improved environment. We get to decide how we engage with and how much we shield our folks from external influences. We also decide if we will take the time to develop our team members. That’s what we get paid to do. It is more important than personal recognition. It is much more important to the future of our great Army!