change of command – Running on Fumes

A collection of observations –

It is hard to believe it took a massive installation-wide inspection for my job to not feel as if it was on fire. Seriously. I haven’t felt a peaceful moment at work since the first furlough. More accurately…since Jan 2025. This past week was 3 consecutive days of calm.

Referred to here as obligation overload, the trend in my workplace is to wait until the end of the week to load the schedule. For example, Thursdays are my busiest days. But why. I’d rather front load the entire week so I can deal with other things towards the end. I don’t believe this was thoroughly thought through.

Recently, I read an article regarding Gun Violence | Rockefeller Institute of Government https://www.rockinst.org/issue-areas/gun-violence/. I follow this Rockefeller site as it publishes information, data, and research related to immigration, which I’m deeply fascinated by. If you consider yourself as one who has an open mind and can read a research article with transparency and potential for usefulness, you, too, might find it interesting.

Finally, an observation meets obligation. The customary Change of Command ceremony, complete with pomp and circumstance. Meet my 6,000 closest friends. I ended up in the cheap seats, although there was a kind offer to sit on someone’s lap. Hallelujah for the dreary day because I brought my umbrella, just in case, old lady-style.

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I ask you –

What day of the week is your busiest day?

Have you ever brought an umbrella to a sunny outdoor event?

(The post I See You first appeared here at Running on Fumes.)

It is very difficult to tell what someone is thinking if they don’t say a word. For a moment, imagine my frustration and wild thoughts when entering into a potentially volatile situation where everyone sits quietly.

I digress.

We have entered this lovely time of year in the military that we call change of command. Literally, the command (or leadership team) is changing. New people, new ideas, new focus, new complaints, new marks of ownership. Occasionally, we can’t wait for change of command because the current leadership has worn out their welcome. Equally, the 2-3 years have flown by with great success and you lose a good one. Although we’re happy for their next command, we experience a mental and emotional loss. And by we, I mean me.

Inside a squadron, often the loss feels more significant. I’m sure our leadership hopes to have imparted some wisdom and legacy on their followers.

Circling the plane.

At a different level, I saw leaders speaking for themselves rather than their teams. When placed at a big fancy table with decision-makers, those leaders lost focus on what mattered and pushed their agenda as if it would solve all the problems. I saw it time and again. And I saw it fail spectacularly. When it was my turn to say what I wanted, all I said was “I want a voice at the table”. Fortunately, I have never doubted my voice is heard.

So when I sit at the big fancy table with all the decision-makers, I speak up. Proudly. Confidently. And with one goal in mind – to ensure my team has a voice at the table.

Which leads me to the runway.

When you sit at the table, you best be prepared. You best have a plan. You best listen, read the room, absorb the information, and be ready to execute a plan. Fight for it. Fight for your activity, your team, your people.

I will never understand those that sit there expecting someone else to tell them their plan. The ones who have no idea what’s going on and fail to ask questions. Is my perspective wrong? Probably. But it doesn’t explain why I see this same scenario again and again.

Sitting at the table is powerful. It is humbling. It is a literal indication of someone else’s belief in your ability.

Photo by mustafa kaya on Pexels.com

Show them you have earned it.

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I ask you –

What do you expect from your leadership?

Tell me what it means to you to have a voice at the table.

(The post Voice at the Table first appeared here at Running on Fumes.)

Tag: change of command

I see you!

Voice at the Table