An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

The Coin of the Realm

  • Published
  • By Col. Marty Chapin
  • 621st Contingency Response Wing
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURSST, N.J. --  We've got a tough fiscal climate out there these days, and it seems every time we turn around, we hear about how challenging our financial future is going to be in the Air Force. As I visit the squadrons and flights in my wing, I frequently witness how stretched manpower is, and yet we still have more than enough "mission" to go around. We always get it done, but there should be no doubt that we now live in a resource-constrained world.

So what if I told you that you have a resource that is virtually unlimited? You can make more of it yourself (legally), and you can use it to improve your organization in almost any way imaginable. It can give you more man-hours to get your mission done, it can increase your ability to get the supplies and equipment you need, and even better, it will make your unit a place your Airmen look forward to coming to every day. If I said you could get all this without limits, you would probably call me a liar ... but you would be wrong.

So what is this resource that seemingly has no limits and you can create yourself? Simple ... respect.

Seriously.

A number of studies have revealed workers are actually more motivated by non-monetary rewards than by simply earning more money; examples include recognition at work, faith in leadership, feeling relevant, opportunities to advance and an enjoyable workplace. More and more, corporate America recognizes that money is not the panacea of motivation that many believed it to be. Truth be told, in the Air Force we've known that for a long time.

When I consider these non-monetary motivating factors, one word seems to be common across them: respect. People like to be respected; it's that simple. Have you ever met someone who does not welcome respect, or that is not highly demotivated if they feel a lack of respect or even outright disrespected?

So here is the best part: each of us has the ability to create and engender respect at home, at work, at church, anywhere. At work, that respect directly translates to improved productivity, which is the amazing resource I wrote about earlier. Respect helps develop more productive Airmen, who get more done in the day and gives you more man hours in your work center. Motivated Airmen eagerly look for ways to be more efficient which will stretch your limited budget dollars. Airmen who feel they have the respect of their subordinates, peers and supervisors are clearly going to dramatically improve unit morale.

Seems easy right? Unfortunately, just like we can create respect, we can also destroy it. If we look at respect being as a sort of "coin of the realm," it would be crazy to waste such a precious resource. But we do it every day, any time we have even one Airmen who feels harassed, demeaned or discounted as less important.

So here's the deal: we have to understand and internalize that having even a single Airman in our unit who is missing the respect they deserve as a servant of their country is a drain on your resources. It costs you time, it costs you money and it destroys everything we all work so hard for every day.

Instead, start thinking of respect as a resource more valuable than any other you have. Protect it. Use it wisely. And most important, make as much as you can.