Airman 1st 1st Class Viviam Chiu -- Team Mildenhall leadership participated in a new type of training experience to update skills and help deal with issues that Airmen and civilians of all ranks may face, to stop any potential issues building into something bigger.
The immersive leadership experience at Royal Air Force Mildenhall aimed to teach Team Mildenhall’s Airmen of all ranks how to sharpen their emotional intelligence.
Senior Master Sgt. Candice Helder, 100th Logistics Readiness Squadron diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility officer and Ms. Abigail Rose, the 100th Air Refueling Wing sexual assault response coordinator, currently lead the program.
“The immersive leadership experience is an innovative, virtual platform offering leaders at all levels the opportunity to actively engage in conversations designed to sharpen their interpersonal soft skills’”, said Helder.
Starting in February 2020, the program has been in place for two years, originating at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, via the Emotional Intelligence Institute, which offers emotional intelligence training in numerous professional military education courses.
Emotional intelligence is most often defined as the ability to perceive, use, understand, manage, and handle emotions.
At the start of the training, Airmen are prompted to have dialogue with a vulnerable avatar that is facing an emotionally challenging situation.
“At RAF Mildenhall, we choose to build scenarios that are relevant to our community”, said Helder. “Examples include leadership or peer-to-peer, diversity or inclusion issues, and challenges regarding deployment and relationship issues.”
When “pause simulation” shows on the screens, it allows Airmen to pause the scenario and think about what to say.
“I hope that real-time live avatars can assist our people in addressing topics they may not have come across otherwise”, said Rose. “Through the avatars, Airmen can practice having conversations and are allowed a space to make mistakes, ask questions, and re-familiarize themselves with base resources.”
The 100 ARW resilience team is inviting Airmen to attend the next training on November 21st through email invitations.