Reflective Essay #1

1. In my military career so far, my supervisor, Technical Sergeant Ken Dowling, has been the most competent and influential leader that I have been associated with. He has been able to give me tools to become a great leader myself. He has taught me how to find where answers to questions are. He also delegates tasks and responsibilities so jobs can be done quickly and effectively. Lastly, he also knows how to give constructive criticism and also talk to his airmen about certain issues in a positive manner.

2. My opinion about leadership is that you have to set good examples for your subordinates to follow(lead by example), when you say something actually follow through with it, hold a high standard, and hold subordinates and others accountable for their own actions and responsibilities.

3. A negative experience that I have had was when I was working with a Senior NCO on a construction project. This Senior NCO is the flight superintendant for the structures shop and utilities shop at the 101 CES. I was helping put up drywall in a building to give an extra hand, even though it was not my AFSC. What had happened was that when I was working with peers to put it up I was doing something wrong. So instead of letting me know how to do the task correctly, he told me, “you are doing it wrong” told me to get out of the way and did the work himself as I was watching. This is a great example of poor leadership quality, in both that he did not teach me how to do it correctly, and that he was not fulfilling his responsibilities as a Senior NCO.

4. Leadership plays a part in my life for a few reasons. First, I manage at a Papa Johns franchise store. There are many different personalities that are dealt with on a daily basis, and to effectively handle situations, I have to use my current leadership skills to resolve these issues. Secondly, I play many