Hold the line: The importance of feedback Published Jan. 11, 2012 By Chief Master Sgt. Michael Davis 78th Mission Support Group Command Chief ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- Help your Airmen help you, themselves, and our Air Force. How? With feedback, feedback, and more feedback. Of course, my intended audience for this message is every first-line supervisor in our Air Force, both Airmen and civilians. While some may consider this message a re-statement of the obvious, that doesn't make it unnecessary, as proven by the direct admissions of way too many of our Airmen that they did not receive the minimally-required number of feedback sessions or, worse yet, received no feedback sessions at all. While the subordinate Airmen themselves also bear some of the responsibility to ensure feedback sessions take place, I personally put the majority of this weight on the shoulders of their first-line supervisors. And I do not believe this is isolated to just my base, but is prevalent throughout our Air Force. Still skeptical? I challenge you to poll your Airmen. In the meantime, I can tell you that as a chief master sergeant and superintendent at the squadron and group levels, there are not many things that "fire me up" more than to find out feedbacks are not being conducted. Allow me to elaborate. At every First Term Airmen Center class I speak to, I ask how many of them want a "Firewall 5" Enlisted Performance Report. At each and every class, each and every hand is raised. I believe the response of these future enlisted leaders is consistent with the feelings of each and every one of us, no matter our ranks or number of years we've served. But how do any of them or us stand a "tangible chance" of clearly exceeding across the board if first-line supervisors do not clearly articulate and document their expectations in the form of initial, mid-term and follow-on feedbacks -- at a minimum -- each and every reporting period. The answer is not much of a chance at all. Notice I emphasized "tangible chance," because I know some Airmen receive "Firewall 5" EPRs without receiving feedback, but that is not right either; they, too, are "rolling the dice" on their careers when they shouldn't have to. But in my opinion it's especially unfair to Airmen who receive less than "Firewall 5" EPRs when it was never explained by the first-line supervisor of how to get there. Let me state that I have a firm grip on the reality that not ALL Airmen will receive "Firewall 5" EPRs and that's okay. But ALL Airmen deserve to have the path clearly laid out to that attainable goal. As first-line supervisors, you should give your Airmen a clear roadmap to success in the form of formal feedback vividly indicating what average, above average, and clearly exceeds looks, smells, and feels like -- whether that performance and behavior be on the job, in the community, or in the area of significant self-improvement. From there, your Airmen are cleared to ask questions, receive answers, and move out toward achieving that "Firewall 5" EPR. If they fall short, you and your Airmen know why. If they hit the mark, you and your Airmen know why. No rolling of the dice; no surprises! As you can see, this is a topic I'm very passionate about, and I ask all first-line supervisors to get "fired up" with me. You can never give your Airmen too much feedback, feedback, and more feedback. Doing so, quite frankly, jump starts and focuses your Airmen toward 100 percent mission accomplishment while simultaneously establishing professional and personal balance. Along the way, you will become a stronger supervisor, your Airmen will be better followers/leaders, and our Air Force will continue to be the best the world has ever seen.