Tuesday, July 31, 2012

From my Father's side of the military

Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force James Roy says that digital technology threatens to cripple the Air Force.  "As electronic communication becomes more widely used, our face-to-face interaction skills are beginning to suffer," he says.  Leaders have learned how to text, Skype, and FaceTime, but now some of them seem reluctant to engage in a meaningful face-to-face conversation.

He urges his fellow airmen to engage more in what he calls analog leadership:
Analog leadership means temporarily putting down the iPads and Android tablets, logging out of Facebook and Twitter, and switching phones to airplane mode to stop the stream of texts coming in and out. It means shutting off the technology and talking to each other.
Face-to-face. One-on-one.
Real human interaction – yes, for some of us it may be awkward at first, but getting to know each other better is an investment that will yield incalculable returns. Stronger connections will create a foundation on which we can grow more meaningful relationships.

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