COMMENTARY: Be 'More' while doing less with less

  • Published
  • By Maj. Frank Livingston
  • 727th Air Mobility Squadron commander
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  One of the current challenges we face with strict budgets dominating our operations and daily lives is how to do accomplish the mission today with fewer people, fewer funds and fewer resources than yesterday.

Lucky for us, this time around we have experienced senior NCOs and officers in our Air Force who know how to deal with this kind of situation.

We're also lucky senior national-level leaders have acknowledged that we can't do everything. Acknowledging that we no longer have plentiful funding, resources and manpower, they have asked us to identify what we can't do any longer.

The conundrum is determining the best way to make that decision as a leader.

At every level, leaders need front-line functional experts to evaluate their areas of responsibility and determine what is critical, what is necessary, what is "nice to do" and what is "no-value added."

Leaders depend on honest and accurate information to make their decisions regarding their areas of responsibility. Sometimes that means a senior airman or second lieutenant needs to provide a critical assessment of mission essential versus mission dispensable.

These "junior" Airmen, conversely, need to fully understand how they fit in the larger mission their organization. Basically, we need our first line supervisors and functional experts to be professional experts in their field. It's time for them to be "More."

Professionals ask the deep questions on "why" something is done and how can it be done better, faster and less expensively. They study their mission set and cross talk with others in their field. They read about the things that could impact their unit from their level up to the top. What does their boss's boss worry about? How does their mission make the boss's boss's mission work? If they were able to eliminate an inefficient step, would that impact their boss's boss's mission? Once they have done the analysis, they inform their chain of command and seek to streamline their processes.

Senior supervisors, it is time to make sure we are hearing what our front line supervisors and functional experts are telling us. What may sound like complaining may, instead, be an opportunity to improve. Carefully, look at the information and see if their recommendations will enhance the mission two or three organizational levels higher than you. If it makes sense, is in the best interest of the Air Force and the nation, and if you have the authority, put your name behind it and implement.

The past is gone and we need to be innovative so we can continue to make our mission happen and keep our nation safe. Every Airman should step up and be "More" while doing less with less.