Communication is key

  • Published
  • By Col. James Horton
  • 354th Fighter Wing vice commander
EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --  I screwed up, big time ... I know it's hard to believe, but it's true.

First the background, then I'll tell you the mistake I made and how you can hopefully avoid it. I was a new squadron commander and had the privilege of leading five F-16s and 20 pilots and maintainers from the east coast to Buckley AFB, Colo., for the inaugural Tiger Meet of the Americas.

The idea of the event is to mimic the NATO Tiger Meets that have been held in Europe for the past couple of decades, with participating units sharing one particularly conspicuous trait between them: namely, a "big cat" unit symbol such as a tiger or panther.

Large-force flying exercises, camaraderie through sports and unit competitions, and social gatherings provide the framework for the week. All told, it looked to be a great event and spirits were soaring.

The culmination of the week's events was the presentation of the Tiger Meet Trophy, bestowed upon the unit that possessed the best esprit de corps, cleanest aircraft, most sports wins and most unique "Tiger" aircraft markings. By all accounts, our team won the competition hands down--great news, right?

Here's where I went astray in what was otherwise a well-led, well-thought-out week. You see, the trophy carries with it the requirement that the winner hosts the next Tiger Meet. Hosting the "social events" associated with the competition in a small town like that of our home-station unit wasn't looking very appealing, especially considering the other units were from larger cities that could more readily ensure a successful future event.

I won't say that I made the decision on my own to vote for another team instead of ours, thereby ensuring we wouldn't win the trophy, but the BIG mistake I made was to only talk to the pilots and not the maintainers. You see, our aircraft were without equal on that flightline of prepped and polished fighters--a prouder bunch of maintainers were not to be found anywhere.

So, when the announcement came for the overall winner of the meet and another unit proudly hoisted the trophy, the crushed looks of my maintenance team not only made me realize my mistake but broke my heart at the same time. The only thing they knew at the time was that by all accounts they should have won and didn't. They didn't know about the follow-on requirement to host the next meet; that was my fault. They didn't know that our "team" had a part in the decision of who won; that was my fault.

The outcome of who won the competition could have been the same without our team being disappointed if I had communicated. The outcome of the competition could have been different if I had communicated. My memories of that week are very positive overall, but still somewhat bittersweet due to a single regret - that the result could have been different if I had communicated.

We harp on communication being the difference between success and failure for good reason.

You have the opportunity, no matter how many people work for you or around you, to ensure the correct decision is made by communicating. Communicate your intent or desire, communicate to gather information, and mostly, communicate the decision or direction so no one is surprised.

Life's lessons are never free but they're much easier to learn through someone else's mistakes than your own. This one was expensive for me, but one I will never forget. It's yours free, no strings attached or interest-payment required, if you choose to learn the smart way and communicate.