Commentary: Face-to-face communication leads to valuable opportunities Published Jan. 10, 2011 By Chief Master Sgt. Patrick Bowen Command Chief, Warner Robins Air Logistics Center and 78th Air Base Wing ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- Senior enlisted leaders across AFMC are engaged in an effort to get "Back to the Basics." I'm extremely confident servicemembers and organizations across the command can and will benefit from this initiative. Many Airmen joined the Air Force, in part, for the discipline that was lacking in their lives and, as leaders, we do them a great disservice when we don't provide that discipline. Over the course of 26-plus years, I've seen a steady decline in the willingness and ability of people to participate in or seek face-to-face communication. The result: we miss out on valuable leadership, mentorship and followership opportunities. I've always been a fan and advocate of technology, as it tends to make us more effective and efficient, allowing us more time to do other things. However, I've also found it can detract from military customs and courtesies, and erode personal, face-to-face communication skills and use. E-mail, Facebook, instant messaging and the like provide an expedient means to transmit information but also tend to, at times, isolate, impersonalize and hinder communication. While it's very important to embrace and incorporate emerging technologies, it's just as important for us to stimulate and reinforce more direct, personal interaction. What happens when technology isn't available? A lot of people stand around, arms in the air, wondering how they'll proceed. Direct, personal interaction provides the best opportunity to capture our audience's attention and connect with them, something that can't always be done through e-mail, Facebook or instant messaging. Furthermore, it enhances our effectiveness, by allowing us to communicate and complete the mission when technology isn't working properly or is unavailable. We've reaped a lot of benefits and rewards from rapid communications, but also paid a tremendous price as one-on-one or face-to-face communication is exercised less each and every day. I'm often amazed at people's reactions when the "server" goes down for a few hours or days. "What will I do?" or "How will I get anything done?" are just a few of the alarming and perplexing comments I hear. A lack of e-mail or Internet didn't hinder us when I was an Airman, nor did it deter those who came before us. Yet it seems people sometimes go out of their way to avoid personal interaction because they aren't comfortable, don't know what to do or don't want to be bothered. At one time or another, we've all seen or been a part of an issue involving people at different locations or organizations. How many times have you watched e-mails go back and forth with little or no resolution? Tempers flare and sides part as an e-mail tennis match ensues. Imagine going straight to the scene, or somewhere nearby, as soon as possible after of an issue surfaces and collaborating with all involved on a way ahead. We laugh and joke about it, but people will be 20 feet apart and send an e-mail to each other. Really? Take the time to talk others if you have a question, want to share information, or need to discuss a controversial issue. By talking to people, you can sense whether or not they truly get what you're saying and clear matters up quickly. You simply can't do that via e-mail as many more e-mails are usually generated, misunderstandings surface or feelings get hurt. Once you've hit send, you can't take it back and it's out there for others to view and use as they see fit. We have to reverse the trend of using e-mail as a primary source of communicating. Far too many people "fire and forget" and usually perform little or no follow up. The mindset is, "I've done my part, and it's someone else's problem to work now." If you inquire a few days or weeks later it's almost inevitable they'll have passed the onus of responsibility to someone else stating "they sent it to person X on date X," therefore you'll have to follow up with that person. If you had a family emergency or tragedy would you want someone to work it via e-mail and hope it was received or acted on in a timely manner? Or would you prefer a visit or phone call? What about important information, a base event or a mission issue? Are you willing to risk mission success on the hope everything will work perfectly and nothing will go wrong (i.e., the e-mail is delivered, received, read and acted upon)? I certainly have faith in the system and people. However, when it comes to operational or personnel issues, rest assured I'm going to personally verify. Face-to-face interactions are lost in the electronic buzz that consumes our everyday lives. It's time to change the culture and get back to face-to-face discussions as the primary source of communication. Personally, I must see a person's face to know if they understood my message. Get out and talk to people or at least pick up the phone and call so you can ensure the right tone is conveyed and the message is clearly understood, subsequently reducing non-value-added e-mails. Use e-mail as a last resort, back up or matter of record. Personal interaction also enables us to get to know each other better and ultimately facilitates a more cohesive, stable work environment. It makes us better leaders, mentors and followers ... a win-win for everyone. I remember a time when Chiefs and Senior Noncommissioned Officers were regulars at Airman and Dorm Council meetings, Top 3 meetings, and several other professional and private organization meetings. They attended not to run or take over the meetings, but to support and promote the organizations, witness and hear first-hand what issues exist, provide encouragement or guidance, remove obstacles or barriers, etc, as required -- all vital to the professional development of our enlisted force. I've also watched records-only boards become the norm rather than the exception because it's convenient for many leaders to hide behind calendars and justify how they're too busy to sit on a board. Quite often the time and effort spent avoiding a face-to-face board is more than what would be required to conduct or participate in one. When I was coming up, the whole idea of meeting a board was to display pride, professionalism, customs and courtesies ... not necessarily provide the right answer to a question. You were also evaluated on how well you thought on your feet in an unfamiliar situation. These qualities can't be judged from an awards package and often set truly deserving members apart from others who may simply benefit from supervisors who are gifted writers. Face-to-face boards help grow and develop our Airmen into tomorrow's leaders. In fact, the 78th Air Base Wing now conducts quarterly and annual face-to-face boards in line with AFMC's annual awards. Feedback from supervisors, board members and participants alike has been overwhelmingly positive and approving. Following are a few additional communication guidelines which have served me well: Information must be timely, accurate, reliable and actionable. Don't be afraid to tackle issues head-on and immediately, as they don't usually go away or get better with time. The chain of command is for more than just discipline. Use it to distribute information up, down and laterally so all levels are informed in a timely manner. Put yourself in your boss's boss's shoes (think 2 to 3 levels above you) and anticipate what he or she will need or expect. Remember, given more or better information your boss reserves the right to change their mind. Last, research the particulars: who, what, where, when, why & how. There's nothing worse than going to your boss with an issue and not having the answers you should to the questions he or she will ask or coming away with more questions then you started out with.