Transformational leadership is the ability of a leader to influence and develop others to transform into leaders themselves. The quality I find most important of a transformational leader is the ability to have individual consideration. Individual consideration refers to treating others as more than just subordinates. Having individual consideration means understanding the different needs of others as well as understanding their different abilities and aspirations. Transformational leaders who have individual consideration care about others and want to see them succeed. I believe in order to be a good leader, you need to be willing to put in the effort and care enough about your followers to help them become the best versions of themselves. It is hard to be a good leader without caring, and caring is the most effective way to help someone develop. For this reason, I believe individual consideration is the most important aspect of being an effective leader.
Not providing individual consideration to others closes avenues of communication due to a lack of respect and trust. When people feel like they are not cared for, they may not want to open up or contribute. This can make problem solving difficult because no one will be offering solutions or helping the team. Furthermore, when leaders do not have individual consideration morale diminishes. The reason for this is because the needs, aspirations, and abilities of people are not being considered. This makes it hard for leaders to figure out a way to motivate their team and play on their strengths. When people are not motivated, their performance diminishes and the overall mission suffers.
As a leader, I will ensure I apply individual consideration to my Airmen by getting to know them better and developing a professional relationship. Developing a professional relationship that based on trust and respect can open lines of communication between my troops and I. By doing this, it will be easy for me to ask questions and better understand my Airmen’s needs and wants in order to figure out what drives them, what they like, and what they need help with. For example, if my troop wants to become an officer, I could provide them opportunities to grow as leaders by assigning roles and responsibilities, additional duties, or different job assignments. By being willing to act as a coach and a mentor, I will be able to foster the development of my Airmen in order to help them achieve their goals and become leaders themselves.
Being a leader that shows individual consideration to others will have a positive impact on the morale of my subordinates, peers, and supervisors. In aircraft maintenance, I have experienced very low morale amongst Airmen and leadership. Part of the problem is that it is hard to consider the needs of individuals when the primary mission in the Air Force is to get planes in the air. Individual consideration is often neglected because the focus tends to be on the mission and not so much on the people. For this reason, I have seen many maintenance personnel lose morale and get out of the Air Force or cross-train into different jobs.
Good leaders and supervisors make all the difference in the world. In my first base, I have had a great leadership and a great supervisor. However, in my previous unit, morale was low and it seemed as though no one cared about others. My performance, morale, and motivation all decreased in the latter. Additionally, I was not motivating my peers, so their performance declined as well. When there is an environment where Airmen are not motivated, supervisors also become unmotivated to be effective leaders and it becomes a vicious cycle. For this reason, it is important to understand the impact individual consideration has on subordinates, peers, and supervisors. This way, leaders can improve the working environment and improve mission effectiveness.
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