Bad/Good CAP local Leadership examples

[RiverAux]

Continuing the discussion of CAP leadership, just what have we been doing wrong or doing right at the local level?  No Wing/National issues allowed.

I'll throw these in as givens:
1.  Squadron commanders who don't know and especially those who don't care about following CAP regulations.
2.  Real or apparent favortism shown towards some CAP cadets. 

And, more importantly, what could have been done to prevent the bad stuff or encourage the good stuff?

[RickFranz]

At the local level I believe everything falls back to training.  If the folks in charge, care and where trained in the right way to do things chances are good that you will have a good squadron.  When I say training, I mean at each job level, Personnel, Admin, Ops etc...  The Commander should make it his/her job to see to it that the squadron is "Trained up".  If that means getting in the Reg's and looking things up, then do it.  If that means getting someone that has more knowledge in that area than do it.  But it all falls back to training or lack there of.

[Duke Dillio]

While I think a lot of it does come from higher up (wing issues), I don't tend to see a whole lot of unit level examples of really bad leadership.  Most of the ones that I have seen generally deal with people who have been in CAP so long that they have lost their tolerance.  These would be the squadron commanders who just don't care anymore, want a way out, or often refer to "back in the day."

At the unit level, most of the squadrons are so small that everyone there has lots of jobs to do and yet nothing is really getting done.  This can sometimes force commanders to be in real bad moods all the time.  For the most part though, I have just seen commanders that are fairly laid back and lax yet they still follow the rules to the best of their ability.

On the good side, I think that most of the commanders that I have served under have done a good job of keeping morale high and balancing the work load so that one person is not stuck doing everything.  I have also seen commanders with their hands tied by some higher echelon (group or wing) in dealing with a situation that should have been allowed to be fixed at the unit level.  As a whole, I have not seen a whole lot of leadership issues at the local level.

[sarflyer]

Interesting topic I must say!

I've commanded three units in 33 years.  Risen to the level of Wing Chief of Staff and one of the most basic problems I run into is follow the regulations.

They answer just about any question you might have in regards to CAP.  The next is just attitude as sargrunt said.

You have to be "fired up" about CAP. This is truely the best aviation youth organization I have been involved with.  Get up and yell about it.  Be proud you are a member! 

My first unit I started from square 0.  It was an incredible learning experience.  The next two had some fixin' to do but were basically in good shape.

A unit will fail or succeed based on the current squadron commander!  You are in charge!  If your not fired up about your unit then you can't expect anyone else.    Work the program, scream and yell about the good stuff and deal with the little things that occur along the way.

Ok, stepping down off my soapbox now and taking a deeeeep breath!

Ah that's better!

[DC]

The biggest problem I have seen is an unwillingness to enforce standards. One commander stands out in my mind, he was so concerned with being well liked that he refused to put his foot down with the seniors, as a result, they hardly ever wore uniforms, when they did they looked bad, and the seniors were one of the least professional looking and acting groups I've ever worked with. Because of this the cadets did not respect them, and the cadet staff resented them. He also liked to pick his buddies for staff positions, which resulted in someone being appointed DCC, over a better qualified candidate, that didn't know anything about the cadet program, and did nothing but alienate the cadets. This caused a near breakdown of the squadron. Meetings were halted for several weeks while the CC and a few other staff members met with the Cadet Staff and basically tried to negotiate a compromise. At one point the entire cadet staff was removed from their positions, the CC and DCC saying that if we would insist on the cadet program being run 'our way' (that is, per 52-16) then they would take junior cadets and train them in their way. It was not a pleasant period. Eventually an agreement was made that one of the senior cadets, who was 20 at the time would become a SM and become the DCC. That was carried out, and the CC basically allowed him to run the program, and we have been improving steadily since then.

Through the process the CC tried scare tactics (bringing the Group Deputy Commander down to yell at us), threats (removal from position, 2B, etc) and more, so we would submit to the whole kumbaya, girl scout program they wanted to run. The cadets basically just wanted a competent commander and to be left alone.

We also had a commander that lasted for exactly 5 weeks. We was a retired Major in the ARNG, he had been talked into joining CAP, and was given command almost immediately. He proceeded to turn the squadron upside down, he totally reorganized the cadet program, insisted on lecturing the whole squadron for and hour to two hours per meeting, canceled cadet activities that had been planned for months, and basically tried to turn a CAP squadron into an Army Company. Needless to say, it didn't work. That too, was a fiasco.

On the other hand, my DCC, is great. He is relatively quiet, but is there. He is a former cadet, and knows the Cadet Program very well, and best of all, he allows the Cadet Staff to run things. He is always there is we need help, and will speak up if he sees a serious problem, but other than that he allows us to learn by doing. He is on great terms with the Cadet Staff (almost all of us know him as a cadet, so that bond is there, though the SM/Cadet boundary has been drawn.) and the cadets. He is also one of the most patient, compassionate, and understanding people I have ever met. He will bend over backwards to get get something done, or to do something for the cadets and the squadron.

[sarflyer]

The biggest problem I have seen is an unwillingness to enforce standards

I understand the problem you went through and have been in units like that over the years.  There is much to the saying:

If you want to judge the character of a person, put him in charge and watch what happens.

It sounds like the squadron is on the mend.  This is good but I have to urge you to find someway to break down that wall between cadets and seniors.  It will only cause more problems down the road.  Work the program and bring positive things to the unit that make the unit as a whole look good.  That makes all of you look good.

Work on the positive, use the regulations to your benefit and deal with the small things that come along. 

[DC]

The biggest problem I have seen is an unwillingness to enforce standards

I understand the problem you went through and have been in units like that over the years.  There is much to the saying:

If you want to judge the character of a person, put him in charge and watch what happens.

It sounds like the squadron is on the mend.  This is good but I have to urge you to find someway to break down that wall between cadets and seniors.  It will only cause more problems down the road.  Work the program and bring positive things to the unit that make the unit as a whole look good.  That makes all of you look good.

Work on the positive, use the regulations to your benefit and deal with the small things that come along. 

We are doing better, at least with the Cadet Program. There is still a rift between the seniors and the cadets, but that too is getting better. There are at least a few seniors the cadets can approach and expect to get a good answer, and to have a good example set. Slowly but surely.

[afgeo4]

I think attitude and motivation have to change.

I notice there are two types of people in the organization. One is the eager overachiever who gets burned out and the other is the "I'm a volunteer, they should be happy I even show up and pay dues" type.

Unfortunately, what I'm noticing is that the former types tend to get very frustrated with the latter and quickly lose interest in the organization and leadership as a whole. We often see high-speed leaders get frustrated with lacking members under their command, often members with lots of rank and connections.

We also see the opposite. The type that just fill seats that require to be filled while all the eager junior senior members and cadets are left scratching their heads, trying to figure out "what's next?" and "does anyone care?".

I think we need stronger upper echelon oversight and a more open-minded mindset among our leaders. We need to broaden our inter-personal communications. Stop relying almost exclusively on e-mail. Start visiting units. Start holding in-person meetings outside of CC call and maybe bi-weekly or even weekly conference calls. I know, that takes time, but leadership DOES take that. It demands it. I think if someone doesn't have the time to give, they shouldn't be in a leadership position. We also need our commanders to be a bit more enthusiastic. We all know they can sell CAP to "civilians", but they need to start selling it to current members. That way we retain more and enjoy a better morale overall.

[Duke Dillio]

^ I would agree with you to an extent.  I think that the wing commanders should get out and be seen.  They should show that they are interested in what we are doing.  They should touch base with the average member and get opinions and things of that nature.  That is part of being a leader.

Now for the other side.  The CA wing commander is a great guy, a good leader, and widely respected as far as I have seen.  As a volunteer, I don't think that you can really expect him to go visit every squadron in the wing.  There is just too much territory for him to cover.  Even if he were to break it down between him and his vice commander, they would probably spend 6 months each trying to get to every squadron here, not to mention about three months of pay just on gasoline ($4.00 a gallon...    ).  I don't think that you can say he's not leading.  The Rhode Island wing commander probably has it much easier as he can probably visit every squadron in a couple of hours.  There are some wing commanders who do get out and about.  There are others who do not.

I'm not sure that I like the oversight that we are getting from higher up right now.  Just recently, I put in for GBD.  I had all of the training done except for one portion on briefing and inspecting aircrews.  I wasn't in a real hurry to get it all done so I took my time really learning more about the job.  My squadron commander and deputy commander for seniors (both OSC's and PSC's with one an IC3) drilled me on all of the tasks required by the SQTR and some that were not in the SQTR.  I submitted my "101" on eServices and it was approved by my CC.  I checked yesterday and it showed "Disapproved."  I, nor my CC, ever received any email or any other communication as to why it was disapproved.  Someone at wing simply looked at it and hit a button.  Now, tell me that isn't right.

[sarflyer]

This is also true Sargrunt.  You always have to insert reality into the situation.  Even in CT distances are not a real issue.

[afgeo4]

Even in California, the Wing CC could visit all squadrons in a span of 2-3 years or so. It's not even required to fisit ALL squadrons. How about one in each group? How about visiting each group's headquarters and inviting all squadron commanders to talk at that time?

Our higher echelon HQ's are only getting information that the lower echelon leaderships deems relevant. That is, if a less capable leader is sitting at group or wing level, the wing or region CC, respectively, would never get important information in time to correct the problem or ever at all.

How can we use the chain of command when the middle link is broken?

Today, a couple of officers from our region HQ stopped by our squadron. They're making rounds through our group providing NIMS training and talking to members about the general state of affairs. They're also promoting CISM (I love the work they do). I don't know how much actual help will come of that, but it makes me feel really appreciated when these gentlemen drove an X number of miles just to talk to us. I wish our Wing or Group HQ would do that, but they don't. The gentlemen left us feeling that at least we have their support. THAT's what's needed... at least here.

[sarflyer]

George,

That's a really good point!  Just the nature of being in a geographically big wing.

[Duke Dillio]

Actually, this seems really bad but there has only been one wing in which I don't remember meeting the wing commander at some point.  I've met the CA wing commander twice I think.  I knew the CO wing commander from when he was a squadron commander.  I met the OR wing commander several times when I was with that wing.  In the two years (I think) that I was in National Capital wing, I don't ever remember meeting the wing commander.  I might have seen him/her at my encampment graduation but I honestly can't remember.  The current DC wing commander is my old squadron commander and she is actually an old family friend.  She is really the one who introduced me to CAP.