Photo By Senior Airman Cedrique Oldaker | From left, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin, U.S. Air Force Maj. Kristin...... read more read more
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When thinking of a great leader, what comes to your mind? There have been many great leaders throughout history, but rarely are they for identical reasons. This is because the qualities of a leader may be defined differently by whoever is being asked. With so many possibilities it can be daunting to take on a leadership role, especially in a big organization. U.S. Air Force Maj. Kristin Ober took the role in stride as she progressed through her officer career, earning her the Lance P. Sijan award.
Ober pointed out two instances in her career that were more impactful to her development as a leader. The first was her time as a Reserve Officer Training Course instructor, her favorite assignment so far. The second, while supporting Operation Inherent Resolve as a member of the Joint Staff at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait.
As a ROTC instructor, Ober got to see her students develop into leaders while developing her own leadership skills and she led 24 cadets each year, allowing her to develop as a new captain in the military.
“I had the best job in the Air Force, nothing compares to molding and watching young civilians turn into proud citizens and warriors,” she expressed. “Cadets are motivated to be better and to earn the privilege of leadership, but each is motivated in their own way.”
Ober said she had to grow into someone able to create a challenging learning environment. She took more of a passive role for her students to learn, while also being knowledgeable and approachable in order to provide personalized feedback and support for them. “Teaching young officers as a new captain forced me to learn how to motivate an individual to be their best,” she reminisced with a grin. “I wasn’t paid based on how many commissioned, or punished if they decided against service, so my priority was to build new lieutenants I would want to serve beside.”
This contrasted with the role she took on at Camp Arifjan. In that position, she was active in decision making for reinforcement and defense of outposts in Iraq and Syria. Her team was integral in the planning initiative for rapid withdrawal from those bases at a moment's notice.
“Our function was to provide options to our leaders, while making our presence secure but unthreatening,” Ober recalled. “The mission was to keep the local threat under control; it had been mostly subdued, but that was only true if there was a counter-military force present helping build up the local legitimate militaries and governments.”
Ober also expressed that, as an engineer, her team was focused on countering small, unmanned aerial system threats while providing essentials, such as food and shelter while attempting to complete long-range construction projects in a theater where everyone who was working changes every nine months.
Ober and her team were able to gather hands-on data and draft more informed options for their leaders by catching rides on Chinook Helicopters and jumping between forward operating bases where they generated development and retrograde plans for each station.
They would present the plans to regional leadership upon their return, which supported funding and security decisions. These tasks and requirements allowed for needed adaptability and active, confident decision making, as well as passive and constructive feedback in order to succeed. Ober demonstrated her aptitude for leadership as she excelled at this job. Ensuring her team was taken care of guaranteed the mission would proceed smoothly despite changing circumstances.
The ability to switch between active and passive leadership based on your goals and your team's needs is how great leaders make themselves known. Shifting guidance provided to ensure the best results is a vital skill that is not easily obtained by everyone, but is obtainable for those who put effort into learning it.
| Date Taken: | 04.15.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 04.19.2024 02:37 |
| Story ID: | 468520 |
| Location: | KADENA AIR BASE, OKINAWA, JP |
| Web Views: | 37 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Kadena Leader earns Lance P. Sijan award, by SrA Cedrique Oldaker, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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