This is by no means a pat on the back…sometimes it was the right place and right time, but over the course of my career I won a lot of awards and trophies. Most of them end in “of the Quarter” or “of the Year”. Now that I’ve retired and look around the office I see 2 of them…one is a Maintenance Man and the other a C-17…but I couldn’t tell you why I won those awards.
I can also tell you that over the course of my career I’ve had many interactions with a ton of great people. Some were to give good news (promotions, assignment notifications…etc) and sometimes I had to discipline folks…but I felt like I’ve always treated everyone fairly. Point is this…I’ve actually had more people reach back to me (those that I actually had to discipline) and say “I remember the time…and thanks for how you handled it…etc”. Not once has anyone said, “Aren’t you the guy the won the …of the Year in 2005? ”
I’ve always preached to my Airman and my kids, if you take care of your people…those awards just come with the territory…don’t ever worry about them…because one day you’re just gonna box them up. People are going to remember you for how you took care of them, how you treated them, and the lessons that were taught through that…and those lessons are what get carried on.
Deliberate Development 