Latest / Passing The Torch with Martin Foster / BONUS Throwback Episode - CMSAF #18 Kaleth Wright, Retired, USAF, from April 2018

Transcript

BONUS Throwback Episode - CMSAF #18 Kaleth Wright, Retired, USAF, from April 2018 · Passing The Torch with Martin Foster

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_02: Imagine if every experienced person took the time to develop those around them and truly pass on their knowledge, how much better each work center would be.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_02: Three pillars I try to build my leadership philosophy on are being relatable and development.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_02: Not just yourself, but those around you.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_02: My goal is to help those within my influence to maximize your overall potential.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_02: However, I cannot do it alone.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_02: As a result, I seek out mentorship and do what I can to pass it on.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_02: Mentorship is more than providing that cheerleading Monday morning rah-rah-ra speech.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_02: Mentorship is about sharing lessons learned from past experiences to develop the next proper leaders.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_02: The point of this podcast is to focus on passing knowledge and make those around us better.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_02: My name is Martin Foster, and I host a podcast focusing on mentorship, inspiration, and leadership.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_02: In order to best move forward, I need people to help me out.
• 0:55
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• 0:57
  SPEAKER_02: Like and share my Facebook page passing the torch with Martin Foster.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_02: Also, please subscribe to my podcast on iTunes and leave a positive review.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_02: The link for the podcast on iTunes will be in the show notes.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_02: Doing both of these things support this movement.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_02: Keep your dreams alive.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_02: Understand to achieve anything requires faith and believe in yourself.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_02: Hard work, determination, and dedication.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_02: Remember, all things are possible for those who believe.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_02: My guess for this episode of Passing the Torch Podcast represents the highest enlisted level of leadership.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_02: It provides direction for the enlisted force and represents their interest as appropriate to the American public and to those in all levels of government.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_02: Without further ado, the 18th and current Chief Mass Sergeant of the Air Force, Chief Mass Sergeant Khalise Wright.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_02: Hey, I'm doing pretty good, man.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, how are you?
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks again for putting the inviting opportunity to share some leadership lessons with your audience.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you for joining the show.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_02: I told some friends about two months ago, so I had this as a goal of mine when I started this podcast, and I said, I'm gonna get Chief Wright on my show.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_02: And I got some side-eyed looks, and people said, uh, okay, sure, Foster, if you say so, but but here we are.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_02: But so again, I'm truly humbled, and I just I'm extremely grateful.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: I was gonna say, yeah, you should remind them that uh you know beaver said that all things are possible to those who believe that's the thing.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, I saw that quote and I was like perfect.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_02: Have you ever actually thought about doing a podcast?
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_02: Like your own personal podcast?
• 2:24
  unknown: Yeah, I have.
• 2:25
  unknown: So I've talked to uh my CA advisor, my teammate about uh potentially doing a podcast.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: We just have to, you know, prioritize it and and maybe uh find a time to fit it into our our schedule and and uh but yeah, I I think it'll be something that I'd be interested in.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_02: Chief, I want to dive into some topics.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_02: You are absolutely revered.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_02: People love you, and I think a lot of people in the military just in the air force have been rejuvenated.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_02: You will be remembered for many great things, including being called Enlisted Jesus.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_02: However, how determined will being a Dallas Cowboys fan be to your overall legacy?
• 3:01
  unknown: Hey man, you know, it being America's team, you know, I expect every red-blooded American and every Aaron to be a Dallas Cowboys fan.
• 3:08
  unknown: I'm just joking.
• 3:10
  unknown: I've actually been a Cowboys fan since I was about nine years old.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah and uh, you know, we just like any like most teams, you know, you go through ups and downs.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: We have happen to be in a a down era for quite a while now.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: But uh, you know, I I stick with them and hopefully we'll we'll make it back to prosperity some point.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_02: By the way, Chief, what are your thoughts on the enlisted Jesus moniker?
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: I certainly uh so first and foremost, uh I should say I'm not offended by it, and I truly hope no one else is offended by it.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: I understand how how sensitive it can be from uh from a religious standpoint.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: But I generally I understand the intent of the individuals who create these memes or who first started this.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: I I kind of I understand that they just really try to show their appreciation for the work that we do uh for all of our enlisted airmen.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_02: So I try not to get too uptight about it and and I I do worry a little bit about, you know, it uh it being offensive to to some folks, but like I said before, you know, I just appreciate all the love and support that we get from our all of our enlisted airmen, and then frankly, I think with some pretty talented folks that praise some of the beats and and uh some of the unique things that that we get to see.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_02: One of the things that I appreciate about you, what I think many people appreciate about you, is that you were really engaged on social media with Facebook and Instagram, using both as a tool for transparency.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_02: Was that something you initially intended and planned on when assuming your current position as a chief master in the Air Force?
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it was kind of in uh uh in the back of my mind, and then I have a fantastic uh public affairs advisor, uh, Keith Graham, who's a teammate and a peer of mine.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_00: And uh so we spent a lot of time together strategizing and and thinking through when we first became teammates about how best to leverage social media.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I I always what I always but for about uh I would say eight or years or so now I've had a personal Facebook page, so I like to kind of share my life and some of the fun things that I enjoy doing.
• 5:03
  unknown: So it it was a pretty easy transition as to develop a professional page and uh a professional presence uh on Facebook.
• 5:13
  unknown: It uh it it helps us, frankly, man.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: It helps us uh be transparent, which is something that we really value.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: It helps us connect with airmen all over the world.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: I really wish I could visit every base and talk to every single airman, but you know, having a so a a social media presence on both Facebook and Instagram really helps us connect to airmen across the globe.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_02: And so I just think it's great.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think it's great, and I love just every base you go to, you seem to take selfies with people or take pictures with people, and I think that's people love that.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_02: It just it shows how connected you are.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_02: But it kind of leads me to my next question.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_02: How can leaders build an effective relationship with someone who really wants to be isolated?
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_02: Because what today, especially a lot of younger people, they're content with just being by themselves and just kind of doing their own thing.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so so first man, I you know, I think uh uh I push back a little bit on the idea that this entire generation of of younger folks is is different than what wants to be isolated.
• 6:06
  unknown: Certainly some are, but I meet a lot of young people who really enjoy or very sociable, they enjoy connecting with people in various ways.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: But but I would say for any leader today, we have to be willing to go into their space.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, I I would agree with you that most of our airmen today they reside in their various social media platforms, they enjoy texting, just like you know, my kids are are are different.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: And uh for us old guys to sit back and say, Hey, well I don't text or I don't do Facebook or or what have you, then you're probably not gonna connect with uh the young air.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: So we have to be willing to enter into their space now, it says you have to be a social media junkie, but you should at least be willing to try it.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: Because actually, frankly, it's an opportunity to really kind of see what's happening in in their lives and and gives you an opportunity to connect.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: And so I so I would say for for us old old guys, is it be willing to go into their space just like we want them to come and sit down and have a conversation or do something that they would typically consider old school.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we have to be willing to relate to them the way they enjoy and the way they like communication.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_02: That's a great response and it kind of it makes me think about so I've been in for fifteen years and just in my time, time in society overall is just it's just constantly changing.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_02: And one thing I've noticed is as is that as people progress in rank, it is very easy to get out of touch with reality.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_02: What are some things that you do and you suggest to people in leadership positions to stay involved and just keep up with the actual ground truth?
• 7:34
  unknown: Yeah, so first and foremost, uh if I could show you a picture of my office, man, uh I have a lot of just like most senior leaders, right?
• 7:41
  unknown: I got a bunch of stuff on the wall that I've gathered over the years.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: But there's one particular very small plaque over in the corner that has a two-stripe at the top and a a one stripe at the bottom, and it says, never forget where you came from.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: So that would be my first piece of advice is you know, never forget the days of what it felt like to be an airman.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_01: Never forget what that basicale looked like when uh you're an airman, never forget how hard it was to get ideas through the system when when you were an airman.
• 8:08
  unknown: And that that's kind of the foundation I would say.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: But in order to stay connected, you know, leadership by walking around, man, you gotta get out and spend time with airmen, you gotta talk to 'em, and you gotta you have to be sincere about trying to get to know them and what's going on in their lives and how their kids are doing and you know, all all those things that make people feel like that they are part of the organization, that you actually care about 'em.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: And I know, you know, so some leaders will push back and say, Hey, yeah, it's the soft stuff and all bushy, but I think stuff, you know, the soft skills in my opinion are really the hard skills and if you want to stay connected and then know the ground truth.
• 8:42
  unknown: You gotta establish some trust.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_02: One of the best ways to establish trust is to get to know your folks and and and make sure they understand that you care about them.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_02: You talked about you brought up a couple good points about not forgetting where you came from and making sure that your people understand that that you truly care about them.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_02: Uh how do you convey and instill that effective leadership is more about positive attitude and influence rather than rank when you're as far as in regards to when you're talking to younger airmen?
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so I I I typically uh I don't know if uh if you ask anybody that's that's seen me around and when I talk to younger airmen, I I have you a semester or ma'am.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_00: I try to show them the same respect that I show a chief or a colonel or or anybody else and and uh never talk down to 'em.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: I try to figure out what they're interested in.
• 9:25
  unknown: I I try to listen for it and I actually talk.
• 9:27
  unknown: I think it's a skill set that you have to you know, you have to work on.
• 9:30
  unknown: Some of us are naturally good at connecting with people, some of us are are are not.
• 9:34
  unknown: But if you want to be a good leader, you know, you have you have to work on that being relatable and not you know, finding the right balance between mentorship and preteen and, you know, having airmen that'll that'll close up on you when you start lecturing them about what they should be doing and what they shouldn't be doing.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_00: So that's why again, I tend to ask a lot of questions.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_00: I ask a lot of airmen, you know, I just spent some time with some airmen about an hour or so ago, and uh always ask him for advice.
• 10:01
  unknown: Hey, what advice would you give an old guy like me on either how to connect with Airman or how to be better at my job?
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_00: And and I think all all those, you know, techniques combined help me at least kind of relate to and get airman to open up.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_00: I spent a lot of time when I'm on bases in fitness centers and de facts and places where typical where Airman typically reside, and then I just sit down and have a normal person conversation with them about whatever it is that they're interested in.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so that actually that's a great segue to it kind of uh drives up another question.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_02: I've always felt like a leader's job is to unless it unleash the unlimited store of uh potential in people.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_02: So you talked about normal conversations with airmen.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_02: What conversations can leaders have uh to actually effectively engage those people?
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so if you're talking about engaging them and unleashing the the potential in them, I'll tell you one of the best conversations you can have with a young person, as opposed to telling them, Go to school, do this, go to the the airman's council or the five-six meeting, uh the first question you should ask is, Hey, tell me about your dreams.
• 11:02
  unknown: You know, what is it that you want to be in life?
• 11:04
  unknown: What is it that you aspire to be?
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: And uh in some cases they already know, but in a lot of cases most people, you know, they hadn't really thought about, they hadn't really figured out that they want to be the chief of staff or an astronaut or the president of a bank or what have you.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_00: And I try to help 'em figure out before I can help 'em achieve their goal or dream, you you know, I try to help 'em figure out, well, what exactly is that dream?
• 11:27
  unknown: What are you passionate about?
• 11:28
  unknown: What is it that you love?
• 11:29
  unknown: Wake up every day, what is it that you think about doing and that you wish you were doing?
• 11:33
  unknown: And uh and and so and I give 'em time.
• 11:36
  unknown: I typically will will will have 'em think about it for, you know, just about ten or fifteen minutes a day for thirty days.
• 11:43
  unknown: And then once they figure it out, then they should I ask them to email me or call me or, you know, let me know what what what they what they decided upon.
• 11:52
  unknown: And then I go into the phase of, okay, now I can tell you what steps you need to take.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_02: But I think one of the most important conversations you can have with a a young person in terms of unlocking potential is helping them discover their dreams.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_02: Uh switching guess to negative trends, what are some of the biggest mistakes leaders make when trying to build uh effective relationships?
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_00: Well, so uh you know, I'm a pretty positive person, so I don't I don't think in a negative what I I guess I could say is lack of sincerity.
• 12:19
  unknown: So, you know, people are pretty smart, right?
• 12:21
  unknown: So they can tell when you think it.
• 12:23
  unknown: And uh so you know, being passionate about people is is is something that again it comes naturally to to some and not so naturally to others.
• 12:31
  unknown: But I think it's something that you have to really work at because if you come across as fake, if you come across as, hey, you know, she's right or or whomever told me I should ask you these questions, so let's just get it over with.
• 12:43
  unknown: That creates a very negative environment.
• 12:47
  unknown: Some mistakes and then I can understand how people make these mistakes.
• 12:50
  unknown: I've made this mistake in the past, uh you want to get to know your people, but you wan don't want to be intrusive.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_00: And so sometimes you fail to ask the right questions or the tough questions because in your mind, hey, I don't want to get all of that business.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_00: Well, sometimes it's your responsibility to be all of their business and and there is a fine line.
• 13:07
  unknown: So I so I think it takes a little bit of emotional intelligence, it takes a little bit of of awareness and discernment to understand, okay, uh, when do I need to push a little bit and when should I when should I back off?
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_01: Um how do I build up enough credibility to get this person to open up to me?
• 13:25
  unknown: And I tell you one of the biggest mistakes that I made early as a as a supervisor was lack of patience.
• 13:30
  unknown: So I would, you know, try, hey, I'm trying to get to know you, but but once I I saw that they weren't interested, then I move on to something else.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_02: And it and it takes patience and like I said, you have to spend time to to build up credibility to to to to get to know people.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_02: Kind of going back to transparency, which is I think one of the first questions that I asked, when people disagree with their supervisor, their commander, whoever, when people don't understand the actual intent or the message didn't seem as clear, what are some successful ways to get the why from the leadership and in order to get the leadership to actually share the true intent?
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so so some of this is a little bit basic, right?
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_00: Uh having the maturity to be able to to ask for an audience with your boss, your supervisor, whomever, and and it's just simply ask, hey, so I want to make sure that I understand, you know, exactly what we're doing so that I can, you know, give you everything, everything that I have.
• 14:22
  unknown: But if it really begins with your level of credibility.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're a credible airman, a credible person, if if you built up credibility with your boss by doing the simple things, by being disciplined, by being to work on time, by you know, having initiative and all that type of stuff, most leaders will be more than happy to explain any decision.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_00: On the other hand, if you lack credibility because you're always whining, you're always complaining, you have a poor attitude, you lack discipline, you've ever own time.
• 14:51
  unknown: And that's where you're gonna run into some problems when you start asking questions and and asking why.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_00: But so I think it begins with, you know, your performance and your attitude, your behavior that leads to the credibility that you need to be able to say, you know, hey, why I don't understand why we're doing this and and I'd like a little bit more information.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_02: I've always been, you know, extremely happy to provide that type of clarity and transparency to my air.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_02: I want to transition to more specifically just about you.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_02: You've been in for a long time.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_02: Was there a specific moment or certain person in your early life that really just ignited your charge?
• 15:26
  unknown: Absolutely.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_00: So I I have a mentor.
• 15:30
  unknown: His name is Joe Wimbush.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_00: So when I first entered the Air Force, he was a tech sergeant, and he became a mentor to me very, very early, like the the very first the actually the day prior to my first duty day as an airman.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_00: So on my way from Texas to my first duty station, I called my base and said, Hey, I I need a little bit more time to hang out, so I won't be there.
• 15:51
  unknown: And and they promptly gave the phone to Joe Wayne Bush and and uh he gave me a piece of his mind and made me report promptly the next day.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: And that same day he picked me up and and he started mentoring me as a as a young man.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_00: And and he still does his day.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_00: He's a retired uh mass sergeant, first sergeant.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_00: And he's he became like a father to me during my career.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_00: But uh he's he was the one that turned my life, helped me understand how to be a professional, helped me understand how to be a man.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_00: One of the most profound things that he did, among all the profound things what he did was uh he made me join the base honor guard when I really wasn't interested in that type of stuff, and that in itself began my 180 from being a a bad, irresponsible error to trying to be somebody.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_02: As a chief master on the Air Force, what new belief, behavior, or habit has uh most improved your life?
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_00: So I would say the the this is a belief, uh behavior, habit can all and one is that I love to read, I love to grow, I love to learn.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm an avid learner.
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_00: I read uh probably a book, uh sometimes two a week.
• 16:55
  unknown: I listen to to various podcasts, so you know, I'll be listening to your podcast now.
• 17:00
  unknown: So I so I just love to learn, and that's something that's been with me since I was a a young a young man and it's still to this day.
• 17:07
  unknown: So I just devour, you know, books on a regular basis and and I'm always trying to get better.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm always trying to figure out, you know, I may be in a pinnacle position, but I'm but I'm still I still have a lot to learn.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_00: I still have a lot to learn about the art of leadership and how to make the lives of all of our airmen better.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_00: So so that's the habit that I have most that I think is has been most important and essential in my my own development is I just love to learn.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_02: So I want to focus on because you brought up some great points about education.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_02: I've always felt that education is more than just possessing a college degree.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_02: Education can also be gained through life experience and and actual reading.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_02: So what two to three books have you learned the most from and do you recommend to people?
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_00: The three books that I recommend are The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho, so a fantastic story about what we talked a little bit about earlier, discovering your purpose, discovering your dream.
• 18:00
  unknown: And uh, you know, in this book he made the author, you know, his his philosophy is that once you discover, he calls it your personal legend, but loosely related to means your purpose.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_00: Once you discover your purpose, the entire universe conspires to help you achieve it.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_00: And I I really do believe that.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_00: So I love this it's a thingable about a young man who goes on this journey, and they've got a lot of great leadership and life lessons in it.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_00: I also like the book I recommend is The Old Man in the Sea, and uh simple story by Ernie Hemingway about a an older gentleman who's out fishing and he he he he hooks a a humongous uh I think it's a sword fish, I believe it is, and it he struggles with this fish for over the course of about uh a day and a half.
• 18:42
  unknown: But it's symbolic of how we all struggle and and it's a wonderful another kind of fable about the importance of being resilient.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 18:51
  unknown: So great story.
• 18:52
  unknown: And then the last one I recommend is a book called As a Man Thinketh by James Allen.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_02: And it's all about you know how you think and you know, you are what you think, and so if you put positive thoughts in your head, then it translates into positive behaviors and positive attitudes, and so that was those will be my three among the many books that I read and recommend those would be three of the ones that are my favorite.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, one of my goals and intent of this podcast is that I want people to learn from this podcast.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_02: And you talked about growing and learning.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_02: How important is it for people to put themselves out there and try new things, even though maybe scary sometimes, in order to grow?
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so I think it depends on so this goes back to discussion about y your goals and your dreams.
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_00: So it really depends on, you know, what you're trying to get after.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm not necessarily a fan of just, you know, random, hey, let's just try it just because.
• 19:44
  unknown: I think if it relates to something that that's uh an area that you want to improve upon or something that relates to to your personal goals or or your personal or professional goals and dreams, then yeah, you should be willing to to try doing different things.
• 19:58
  unknown: But but I also believe in in deliberate development.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_00: And so there's a lot of things that I probably could and should try, but but I try to keep my when it comes to, you know, put myself out there and try to do things in in the area of the things that are important to me when it comes to development and and helping area and things of that nature.
• 20:18
  unknown: So so it just depends.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_00: Uh you know, uh I I wouldn't go so far as to say, hey, just put yourself out there and and and try and everything.
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, I think uh if you relate it and have some alignment with what it is that you're trying to get after in life, and that makes it a little bit easier.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_02: Do you kind of have like a personal philosophy on how important are failures and personal development and also how it can be used to develop others?
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_00: Man, I think failure is extremely important to success.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_00: One of the things that a philosophy that I have is, you know, we have to allow people to fail forward, you know, to try new things, to take risks.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_00: I think there are very, very important lessons to be learned when you fail at something, when you don't achieve a goal that you may have set out that helps you it helps strengthen that that perseverance and that resilience muscle.
• 21:05
  unknown: And uh so I I think it's extremely important to for people, especially at a young age, right?
• 21:10
  unknown: At any age, but certainly as a at the young age, we allow people the ability to to try new things and fail at it and learn from it and then pick themselves up and you know, keep your head up high and and keep going.
• 21:21
  unknown: You know, I talk about when it comes to resilience and perseverance, I have a favorite poem called See It Through by Edgar Allen Guest.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_00: And uh, you know, it's just a story about the importance of you know, things, things they may not go your way, but you always should keep your head high, your shoulders back, and and uh and see it through.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_00: So it's a it's a wonderful point.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_02: How has a failure or apparent failure set you up for later success?
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_02: And do you have a favorite failure of yours from your past?
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, I had a lot of failures, man, and we don't have time to talk about uh all of them.
• 21:54
  unknown: But I tell you, a favorite one is when I was a senior master sergeant, I had a
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: with a with a chief and I typically I failed her as a leader and I failed my airman just because you know I kinda lost sight of what was important.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_00: And I got a bad EPR out of the deal, I a PCS with no decoration out of the deal and and so at the time I thought my career uh was over.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_00: But really in in my mind I had to fail because you know I I wasn't in a position anymore to make cheap, which had been one of my goals from the time I was about to see her.
• 22:29
  unknown: But really what it did, it put me in a position where I had to grow.
• 22:33
  unknown: I had to look myself in the mirror and realize that I wasn't the man or the professional that I thought I was.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 22:39
  unknown: And it gave me three years to become a better version of me to understand the importance of relationships.
• 22:46
  unknown: It gave me some time to focus a lot more on taking care of my hearing.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_00: And uh so it was probably the that failure was one of the best things that ever happened happened to me during the point of my career.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you for sharing that personal experience.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_02: That was uh that's good.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_02: That was deep.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_02: I like that.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_02: I think uh a lot of people are gonna be able to relate to that.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_02: I want to ask you something about because I you know I I just talked to you for the first time uh today during this podcast but I've been a follower of yours on social media through Facebook and Instagram.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_02: The messages that you post are just are truly you really do motivate people.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_02: How do you hope to inspire people and why do you believe so much in others?
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_00: My general disposition is, you know, I see the good in people.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_00: My initial you know when I meet someone for the first time my initial thought is hey this this is a good person and and then then they kinda have to prove themselves otherwise.
• 23:38
  unknown: And I know some people are a little bit different.
• 23:40
  unknown: They're very skeptical of people until they prove that you know they're a good person.
• 23:44
  unknown: But but I just generally believe in you know uh that people most people on this earth they mean well and they want to do good things for others.
• 23:53
  unknown: And I like investing in people.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_00: I mean it's it's one of my favorite things to do is to is to see people achieve their goals, is to see people accomplish the things that they set out to do to to help people.
• 24:05
  unknown: And it and it ranges.
• 24:06
  unknown: Sometimes I've seen people that went from the worst camera, the worst person that I had ever seen to the best.
• 24:12
  unknown: But mostly it's you know I see people move people just a little bit frightening if I could have some influence in them becoming a better person, a better Aaron, a better wife or husband or mother or father like something I just get really excited about.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_00: I mean I you know bottom line I just I I believe in people and I believe in helping people so it's it's it's a fun thing for me.
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_02: One last question, Chief If you could have a gigantic billboard anywhere with anything on it, getting a message out to the masses, what would it say?
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_02: Maybe uh even a quote that you look by yeah so if you know me man I'm I'm pretty much fascinated with leadership and the concept of leadership so I'm always trying to figure out how to be a better leader myself.
• 24:55
  unknown: I'm always trying to help you know folks around me become better better educators.
• 24:59
  unknown: And so if I could have a billboard it would it would say it would simply say attitude reflects leadership.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_01: Now this is you know something that I I didn't come up with but when I was a a BME instructor I used to watch my favorite movie was Remember the Titans and that DM where this this topic comes up and so I've used it uh kind of as a moniker ever since but I I want people to know the importance of as a leader man you set the tone that your people will go as you go.
• 25:26
  unknown: So if you're upbeat and positive and energetic your people it will reflect in your people.
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_00: If you're a Debbie downer, if you're negative if you're always complaining then that will also reflect in your people and I actually I believe it so much because I get to see it all around this Air Force when I visit organizations that typically the first encounter is with the the commander in the chief and when they're positive and energetic and upbeat and you know have a tensive attitude like Wallace the airmen it's crazy how much they mirror the leadership and on the other hand when the leadership is is the other way.
• 26:02
  unknown: When they're negative, when they have low energy, when they you know have a negative outlook on life, the airmen are are the same way so so I just really believe that attitude reflects leadership and I think it's you know certainly for me it's important for me to to set that example from the very top.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_02: Chief I actually have one bonus question because you and I have a mutual friend.
• 26:22
  SPEAKER_02: And uh I won't say his last name but we'll just call him Freddie H.
• 26:26
  SPEAKER_02: Freddie H from Pickham Air Force Base.
• 26:29
  SPEAKER_02: Okay Yeah we'll just call him out I was also gonna say DJ Diamond I think that's another name and I'm not gonna edit out his last name I think he'll get he'll get a kick out of that later.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_02: Alright so we'll say Inquiring minds aka Freddie H AKA DJ Diamond wants to know Chief if you've thought about having entrance you visit all the Air Force bases right you've I don't know th how many you've been to in the past year but it seems like a lot right if you had if you do a lot of talks, you do a lot of speeches, would you consider having entrance music as you come onto the stage?
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_02: And if you did, what song would that be?
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_02: Oh so Freddie's got some inside baseball on this one I believe.
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_02: Yes and I'll try I'll dime him out as well Chief he's one that told me you're a Cowboys fan so Yeah yeah so when we were stationed at McConnell together Freddie it wasn't him but the when I used to speak at the Air Relationship School or even when I got up to to present awards at the Air Relationship School graduations uh the team for some reason they started playing uh James Brown It Cost to be the boss and I guess I would stick with that that theme music uh It Cost to be the boss.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_02: I love it.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah that's uh that's awesome.
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_02: Freddie Harris is now podcast famous but deservedly so he's an amazing first sergeant is someone that I absolutely revere and have a genuine uh love and respect for yeah yeah all right for everyone listening when you believe in yourself anything is possible for those who know me people know that I'm a very passionate and energetic person.
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_02: I always believe in myself even when some people kind of have doubts about me.
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_02: A few months ago I told people that I was going to have the Chief Master on the air for the Air Force on the podcast and here we are.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_02: Chief I just want to say thank you.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_02: I'm putting myself out there and really trying to make a positive difference.
• 28:15
  SPEAKER_02: Words cannot express how grateful I am to have your support for joining my show.
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_02: So again I'm humbled and just thank you so much.
• 28:22
  SPEAKER_00: Hey Martin well thank you man I really appreciate it this was fun and uh I I actually want to thank you for you know not just taking the time today but for creating this this learning opportunity for all of your listeners and for not just uh I I presume that a lot more folks listen to you than just our airmen and so in the in the many ways that we can develop ourselves like I said I'm an avid podcast listener and I'm gonna add yours to to my morning commute but uh I just appreciate you man taking the time and having the energy to do something like this and help so many of my airmen grow so thanks again brother and uh I love to come back on your your show sometime.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_02: Yes Chief you're always welcome anytime uh you let me know I appreciate that uh thank you for those kind words again in order to best move forward I need all of you to help me out you can help by liking and sharing my Facebook page passing the torch.
• 29:16
  SPEAKER_02: Also subscribe to my podcast on iTunes the link for that will be in the show notes and please leave a positive review.
• 29:22
  SPEAKER_02: Doing these things will help support this movement.
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_02: Remember envision relate development take care everyone foster out