Citizen Airmen Get A Little Coaching

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Shawn Rhodes
  • 927th Air Refueling Wing
MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  On a weekend when most are sleeping in and enjoying their days off, MacDill Air Force Base is buzzing. That's because it's a weekend when the 927th Air Refueling Wing opens its doors for a reserve weekend, a chance for its members to keep their military readiness up-to-date so they can serve their country if called. What many of their active-duty counterparts have four weeks to complete, reservists must fit into two days.

Needless to say, the amount of work can be overwhelming.

To combat the stress and challenges that come with the compressed schedule, the 927th ARW invited a productivity and leadership expert to speak to the wing. Debbie Lundberg, a Tampa-based life and business coach, addressed members of the wing Saturday during a lunch workshop.

"Leadership is more than just principles and slogans," Lundberg said. "Leadership is the way you lead yourself and others in the way you do things each day."

The members in attendance took notes while Lundberg walked them through a presentation explaining the principles of leadership.

"I believe you're more than what you do for a living," Lundberg said to the gathered Airmen. "Your authenticity depends more on how you approach the world ... how real you are."

After her presentation, Lundberg led the Airmen through a personal life assessment allowing each of them to map their satisfaction with dozens of aspects of their own lives. Then, a few volunteered to share where they were going to make room for improvement.

"It's hard to find balance between being in the reserves and having a career," Said Staff Sgt. Paul Fryer, the 927th ARW Wing Historian. "It's really helpful to see where I am and where I can improve."

At the end of the hour and a half presentation, each member of the audience left with a personal self-assessment, homework to set goals for improving the parts of their lives they saw a need to change, and some tactics to help them be better leaders and manage stress.

As all reservists know, being combat-ready begins with themselves.