NCOS - Advanced Leadership Course 1_2022 in Switzerland/ Kriens
there is no right no wrong, but the genuine one
Chief Master Sergeant Francesco Manzara ITA
I am Chief Master Sergeant Francesco Manzara, 26 students from 23 different countries gathered around the table on a Monday morning with a beautiful view of snowy Swiss mountains behind them and in their eyes the desire to get to know each other and create a team over the next two weeks. The official presentations together with the organizational briefing created, immediately, within each of us the awareness that in the next two weeks we would have to work on ourselves and as a team. Thus go straight to day 2 and so on for the entire week, a perfect mixture of Media Training, Communication, Ethics, Culture Diversity and Change Management and the icing on the cake has been deal with the own DISC, for sure nothing related to music or similar, but a challenge tool to understand who we are. Drawing and coloring own kite, sharing with the others and discover that people are different than perceptive at first sight it was the first milestone in this course, lesson number one: Compete with yourself before starting communicate with others. The week was full and challenging, but we knew this, we understood it from the beginning, and we were there for it. Day after day, meeting after meeting, syndicate after syndicate, we grew as a team and became more confident in our ability to observe, analyze and communicate. After a few days you think you are beginning to master your emotions and the environmental situations that arise, you feel confident, but then comes the day of your interview with journalists and professional reporters there to teach you how to master in front of a camera and all those certainties fall. Seeing each other again, along with the others, and laughing at all the grimaces and body movements and sometimes ridiculous responses made us realize that the road was still long and narrow and that we were just at the beginning of a long and arduous process. I would say a little bit frustrated but, nothing that a good coffee and a Swiss chocolate can't help. The second week practically flew by as we got into a rhythm and without even having time to think, the day of the Ceremony arrived. I sat outside in the courtyard and with my eyes turned towards the snowy mountains I simply closed them and as if by magic in my mind all the major topics covered in these two weeks came back to me, but this time each one in the right place as in a puzzle. I realized that being a leader is not a status quo' you don't become one simply by reading books or because you've reached a certain seniority, Anyone can sit in a corner office and delegate tasks, be a great leader take times, effort, patience passion. One of the most important elements, I have learned, of effective leadership is creating an open line of communication with your team members. To be a great leader, now I know, I need to be able to customize my interactions and communication style to suit each situation and team member, based on individual preferences. This means we as Senior NCOs need to take the time to figure out which communication mode is preferred by each team member. Furthermore a leader sits at the center of information gathering networks fed by their subordinates, environment own perception, allies and social media nowadays. This course gave to me so much useful information and tools than I expected, especially in Counseling, Coaching and Mentoring. I have realized that these are three leadership development tools that enable one to develop leadership abilities. I have learned that there are many leadership style, there is no right no wrong, but the genuine one.
See you soon
Francesco
