United States Air Force NCO DLC - Course Foundation Quiz

TSgt Browning's actions of reviewing her test results and thinking about how to use the information to improve herself and her work center demonstrate lifelong learning. Lifelong learning refers to the continuous pursuit of knowledge and skills throughout one's life, beyond formal education. By reflecting on her test results and considering how to apply the information in her work, TSgt Browning shows a commitment to ongoing personal and professional development.

TSgt Shelby is using the keys to successful learning, which according to the Course Introduction chapter are reading (completed all assignments), taking notes (took good notes), studying (study sessions), testing , and lifelong learning. TSgt Shelby's actions will most likely enhance her effectiveness.

The statement describes a collection or gathering of individuals or objects, which is best identified as a group. A group typically refers to a number of people or things that are considered together or share a common purpose. It is a broad term that can encompass various types of gatherings, such as a team, community, or society, but the term "group" is the most general and inclusive option among the given choices.

The given statement suggests that individuals need to work together and coordinate their efforts in order to achieve a desired outcome. This concept of collaboration and synchronization aligns with the characteristics of a team. In a team, members work together towards a common goal, utilizing their individual skills and efforts in a coordinated manner. Therefore, the statement best identifies a team.

According to the Course Introduction chapter, dealing with distractions is in the same realm as self-discipline. It is the ability to deal with distractions. Most of the work is probably going to be completed on your home computer, which is a wonderful convenience. However, home can also be a source of distraction (getting everything done at home). Whether it’s children, a spouse, household projects and chores, or the television, make sure that when working on a task, you’re focused on that and nothing else (She spoke with her husband about helping out around the house and with the kids while she was doing her course work). Since TSgt Irwin dealt with the distractions, she was able to complete her coursework on time.

TSgt Moran effectively used team roles which according to team roles section, there are four roles that are typically found on teams and those roles, creators look for activities that are unstructured or abstract, and they thrive on innovation and unique solutions (SSgt Gomez, who is innovative), Advancers communicate new ideas and carry them forward (SrA Herzig, who likes to move a task along), Refiners challenge all concepts (TSgt Ceniceros, who likes to poke holes in ideas) and Executors focus on ensuring the implementation process proceeds in an orderly manner (SSgt Jewett, who eagerly awaits to put ideas into practice). TSgt Moran’s use of the team roles will most likely increase mission effectiveness.

The recovery tenet of physical fitness includes the practices you engage in that
help to restore energy to your body and counterbalance stress that could result in adverse
moods and/or deteriorating performance. The recovery tenet is evident when TSgt
Swarray says, “We should consider getting involved in activities that help us wind down
during these difficult times.”

TSgt Lacey is effectively using the keys to successful learning, which according to the Course Introduction chapter are reading (she didn’t let anything interfere with homework), taking notes (took good notes), studying (study sessions), testing (scored well on the exam), and lifelong learning (use the information once she returns to home station). TSgt Shelby’s actions will most likely enhance her effectiveness

According to the Adaption Innovation Theory chapter, the A-I Continuum is depicted in conjunction with the bell curve and it displays the distribution of style preferences from the strong adaptor to the strong innovator. Although large gaps between styles mean greater chances of conflict (i.e. Problem B), it also offers greater potential/ability to solve problems (Problem A) because of cognitive diversity.

The authority part of the Right to Lead Model is about the authority that flows from the constitution, the congress, and powers vested in you by the President, as Commander-in-Chief. These powers allow you to accomplish specific missions, and to maintain good order and discipline. Constitutional and legislative authorities, such as Title 10 of the US Code, codify in greater detail what you are allowed to do, as well as, what you are prohibited or restricted from doing and authority, based on rank, position, (understanding your place and power) and duty is ever-present, the trick is to understand the limits of your authority and to never abuse the authorities (rights) vested in you by our nation and your superiors.

According to the Five C’s of a team, in order for people to feel like part of the
team, they need feedback early and often. Make sure everyone knows what’s going on by
including such vital information in staff meetings, roll calls, and other daily/weekly get-togethers.
During these short meetings, make sure everyone has an opportunity to speak
by “going around the room” or asking if there are any questions or concerns. This is a
simple way to let your team know everyone has the opportunity to offer their perspective
and which supports cooperation. In the scenario, TSgt Duckworth was able to identify the
lack of communication. (The next day Duckworth has roll call and tells the team that he
has not provided clear guidance to them. He starts off the day with roll call at 0700 and
provides vital and clear guidance because he does understand that this exercise has been
very dynamic with constant changes).

According to the Team Building chapter, TSgt White’s supervisor demonstrated the traits of coaching by teaching TSgt White and demonstrating to him, “You’re important and I’m here to help you succeed.” (My supervisor is always training me and encouraging me to join the 5/6 because he does a lot of good things in the Top III. He praises me when I do well and also counsels me to get on the right track).

According to the Adaption Innovation Theory chapter, a Bridger is a person
willing to help other's understand the cognitive approach between those being bridged
through interpersonal skill, active listening, and effective questioning techniques. Bridgers
accomplish this through the roles of counselor, mediator, and negotiator.

According to the Airmanship chapter, Air Force Core Values are said to be our inner voice; the voice of self-control and the basis for the trust imperative in today's military. These institutional values and principles of conduct provide the moral framework within which military activities take place. By instructing the use of the overdue torque wrench, Oddo is violating the AF Core Values and negatively impacting mission effectiveness

According to the Airmanship chapter, respect in the POA goes beyond professional courtesy. It means accepting others for who they are, embracing a heightened personal sense of humility and fostering an environment of inclusiveness in which every Airman is able and eager to offer their skills, abilities, and ideas. It means treating the equipment and resources in your possession with care, understanding and embracing the power of diversity and holding those who mistreat others accountable. More than anything, you must respect the humbling mission placed in your hands by the American people, and the impact our weapons and our actions can have around the globe. In the scenario, TSgt Richardson discusses respect in the POA when she says, "Nelson, don't discount Izar's idea before hearing her out. We're a team and are owed the courtesy of being not only heard but listened to. Her idea would increase fuel efficiency and not put a strain on the engine, which will reduce breakdowns." Richardson is holding Nelson accountable for not fully listening to Izar's idea. She describes Izar's perspective as worthy and beneficial to the team and the overall mission.

According to the Airmanship chapter, Progressive Professionalism (P2) is the concept of improving oneself on the professional continuum through education, training, ethical behavior, and being morally balanced. The foundation of P2 is the DDR, a methodology of providing Airmen with direction, discipline and recognition as required. Tate is promoting that by taking the effort necessary to improve herself on the professional continuum and providing direction, discipline and recognition for her Airmen as required. This will have a positive impact on mission effectiveness.

TSgt Hernandez is in the dining hall talking to one of his buddies, TSgt White who works in another section. He asks White, “How does your supervisor provide opportunities for your growth?” White tells him, “My supervisor is always training me and encouraging me to join the 5/6 because he does a lot of good things in the Top III. He praises me when I do well and also counsels me to get on the right track. He is always there for me.” TSgt White’s comments BEST illustrate _______ and its impact on team effectiveness.

According to the Adaption Innovation Theory chapter, Innovators prefer to solve problems in a manner that is less concerned with structure and details. Creativity is exercised "outside the box." Someone that prefers this style usually breaks or goes against the current organizational paradigm when coming up with ideas.

According to the Adaption Innovation Theory chapter, Cognitive Gap is the distance between one's preferred style and the behavior actually needed in a particular situation. It is also described as the distance in a social interaction, between the preferred styles of two people, a person and a group or between two groups.

According to the CF chapter, social fitness is the domain of fitness that deals with your ability to engage in healthy social networks that promote overall well-being and optimal performance. It captures your ability to build and maintain social networks in order to deal with distress caused by stressors and demands. TSgt King comments, (you all saw during our last deployment, she related to the local community, which led to building trust with the local nationals and established lines of communication) which clearly shows she understands social fitness. This will most likely increase NCO effectiveness.

According to the Critical Thinking chapter, “When using the standard of Breadth, you should consider (think) if there’s an argument (dispute)/position (point) that hasn’t been heard (voiced) yet. A problem might meet all the previous (preceding) standards (criterions), but is only presented (offered) from one perspective (viewpoint).”

TSgt Finch final comment BEST illustrates Bridging and its impact on subordinate effectiveness. According to the Adaption Innovation Theory chapter, Bridging is reaching out to members of the team and helping them contribute even if their contribution is outside the mainstream. To be a successful Bridger, one needs to be willing to help other’s understand the cognitive approach between those being bridged through interpersonal skill, active listening, and effective questioning techniques. Bridgers accomplish this through the roles of counselor, mediator, and negotiator. This is evident when TSgt Finch states, “We’re all working toward the same goal, so even though their way may not be the way you prefer to solve problems, let’s at least consider what the others bring to the table and meet them somewhere in the middle.”

Fairness implies the treating of all relevant viewpoints alike without reference to your own feelings or interests. Because you may tend to be biased (prejudiced) in favor of your own viewpoint, it's important to keep the standard of fairness at the forefront of your thinking, especially when the situation (concerns) may call on you to see things you may not want to see...like problems you weren't aware of or issues (circumstances) that might make you look bad, or give something up you may want to hold onto...like manning or other resources (assets).

TSgt Roy's comment to the team best identifies a vision statement. A vision statement is a statement that describes the desired future state or direction of an organization. In this case, TSgt Roy is asking the team to come up with a statement that describes new concepts and technologies and gives the organization a way to explore through testing and wargaming techniques. This aligns with the purpose of a vision statement, which is to provide a clear and inspiring picture of where the organization wants to go.

By practicing skills such as critical thinking, self-awareness, and flexibility, you’re
more likely to strengthen your mental fitness…making it easier for you to adapt your
thinking and emotions to deal with stressors in a way that helps you return to your normal
state quicker. This is evident in Gomez’s comments when he says, “he has a good grasp
on acute thinking skills (critical thinking), self-awareness, and he’s shown the ability to
bounce back from diversity (flexibility)”. His actions will most likely enhance the mission.

According to the Full Range Leadership chapter, the trait-based theory of leadership looks at a person’s leadership effectiveness being influenced by their intelligence (brainpower), self-confidence (self-assurance), determination (willpower), integrity (reliability), and sociability (friendliness).

The Critical Thinking chapter states, “A statement can be both clear and accurate, but not precise. There might be information you need, but isn’t provided.” Also, the chapter states, “The goal is to get as much information as possible before you make a decision.” In this scenario, TSgt Tomlin’s misuse of Precision will most likely hinder mission effectiveness. This is evident in the lack of detail (quantity, type of consumables/equipment, etc.) that he provided in his feedback to unit leadership when previously asked to provide specifics of the purchases.

The psychodynamic theory of leadership assumes the world can be a hostile
(antagonistic), unpredictable (volatile), and unforgiving (intolerant) setting (environment),
and followers look for leaders who can make sense of such turbulent (blustery) environments
(conditions) and crisis (emergency) situations (conditions). This explanation
supports the notion leaders and followers are drawn to their roles by virtue of personality
(temperament) type.

A profession must include a body of theory and specialized knowledge, a public service orientation, and a distinct subculture. The purpose of any profession is to serve society by effectively delivering a necessary and useful service. For an occupation to be a profession, it must contain an element of selflessness, a sense that one’s personal actions serve the greater good. Each profession establishes performance standards, codes of conduct, particular vocabularies, data, and often, a distinct appearance (uniform) to maintain a desired level of effectiveness. “As you prepare yourself mentally for this overwhelming challenge, you remember that you’ve done this before…” You have embraced your role in the POA and effectively getting the mission done.

Management by Exception – Active is a leadership behavior commonly used in environments where critical, life-threatening (dangerous) situations are expected as the norm. MBE-A is a leadership behavior used to prevent problems from occurring (ensure we prevent as many problems from occurring as possible) by keeping people and processes in control. The leader monitors subordinates’ activities (I will be closely observing your work) by ensuring compliance with rules, regulations, and performance standards (to ensure you meet all work standards that I lay out for you).

Relevance means to 'weed out' the information that doesn't have anything to do with it. Since TSgt Jones is looking a wait times (Our focus is on wait times) and (According to our metrics, the wait time goal is 30 minutes or less), only the 70 complaints on wait times (Out of the 100, 70 of the complaints are focused on long wait times, averaging 45 minutes to an hour and a half) should be considered. The complaints on courtesy (Ten complaints are about the courtesy of our civilian technicians) and cleanliness (The other 20 are about the cleanliness of our area) are not relevant to wait times and should be weeded-out.

Open-mindedness is a willingness to investigate viewpoints different from your own. Being open-minded means you're 'open' to actively listening and thinking about an idea, solution, or criticism (he is willing to listen and explore their inputs) that, on the surface, you might not normally subscribe to (TSgt Willis has been in personnel for 10 years now. He knows his job well.)...even if you believe your viewpoint is the right one (he believes he has the right processes in place).

According to the Airmanship chapter, Respect in the POA goes beyond professional courtesy. It means accepting others for who they are, embracing a heightened personal sense of humility and fostering an environment of inclusiveness in which every Airman is able and eager to offer their skills, abilities and ideas. It means treating the equipment and resources in your possession with care, understanding and embracing the power of diversity and holding those who mistreat others accountable. Ohler explains to Robertson that he needs to see the issue from a different perspective by getting to know Rivera better and to include him in the task process.

According to the Critical Thinking chapter, relevance means to ‘weed out’ the information that doesn’t have anything to do with it (however, the data report reflected money spent on a project associated with his program) To establish Relevance, you could ask the following questions: How is that connected to the question? How does that bear on the issue? (He asked the questions: How is that connected to the question of money spent on my project and how does that bear on the issue?)

Transformational leaders are genuinely engaged in the follower’s personal development (goes out of her way to help with educational and personal goals), and positively influences the follower’s self-worth. Subsequently, the follower becomes genuinely committed to the cooperative effort and demonstrates commitment to the leader (I’d work for her anytime, anywhere).

According to the Time Management section, the benefits of time management helps to maintain motivation (maintained his drive) while avoiding procrastination (he didn't put it off to a later time or day). The secret to successful time management is acknowledging, setting up, and prioritizing goals (set up his goals in order of importance) that work. Through the use of time management TSgt Henderson received a 90% on the evaluation.

According to the Team Building chapter, Refiners focus on the analysis. They
challenge all concepts. They use a methodical process to analyze things in an orderly
manner to detect possible flaws and identify potential problems under discussion.
Refiners are good at reviewing ideas and implementation plans, modifying those ideas
or coming up with new ideas, and rationally reviewing them to ensure successful implementation.
Refiners use logic and a systematic approach to redesign a solution, and they
make sure that ideas are sound before moving them to the next level. In the scenario, TSgt
Tellier’s comments identify a Refiner.

SSgt Baldwin’s comments BEST identify the formative exercise which, according to the Course Introduction chapter, the formative exercise is part of the learning process and is not part of the evaluation process. It’s designed to provide feedback to you on your strengths and weaknesses. Formative exercises are considered exercises in learning, and passing them is NOT a requirement for graduation (doesn’t count toward course completion); however, you should prepare for formative exercises the same way you prepare for summative evaluations, i.e., give them the same weight or seriousness when studying, reviewing, etc. (you should prepare as if it did). That way, the formative exercises will serve their purpose, which is to give you a clear indication of where you stand for the summative evaluations (how well you understand the material prior to taking the final).

According to the Levels of Learning Section, translation is focused on restating or paraphrasing the concept, principle, generalization, or theory into your own words (puts the material into his own words). This means you must be able to think past the exact way you see the material in the reading and start to formulate it into the best way for you to understand it and store it into your memory (thinks about the best way for him to understand and retain the information).

The communication tenet of social fitness is the exchange of thoughts, opinions,
or information, including problem solving and relationship management. It includes
responding to others with positive, constructive feedback, even when you’re feeling
distress, and may tend to see only the negative. TSgt Lopez’s comments indicate the
communication tenet of social fitness when he says, “Let’s make sure we answer questions
with positive, useful feedback.”

There are several elements of time management in the scenario. According to the Course Introduction chapter, time management includes the elements of scheduling (scheduled milestones and ensured she had the time to complete them), self-discipline (stayed motivated), dealing with distractions (staying away from things that could prevent him from meeting his milestones), procrastination (didn't put things off until the last minute).

Organizational and personal core values are a part of spiritual fitness. They
are useful when dealing with stressors (tension) that might appear to be insurmountable
(unbearable). This is evident in Lopez’s comments, “When you embrace our core values as
intended, they can help you deal with the tension that might seem to be unbearable.”

According to the Airmanship chapter, Air Force resiliency is an Airman's ability to withstand, recover, and/or grow in the face of stressors and changing demands by orchestrating the use of base resources, support activities, peers and leadership. In the scenario, TSgt Keffer's comments identify resiliency.

According to the Adaption Innovation Theory chapter, to be truly successful at solving both Problem A's and Problem B's, leaders must be able to effectively manage the diversity that stems from people whose cognitive preferences range from highly adaptive to highly innovative and every point in between. MSgt Vail dismissed TSgt Wynn's suggestion without taking it into consideration. These actions have the potential to create Problem B's for the team.

Adaption Innovation Theory chapter, Style refers to “how we think,” (approach problems) our preferred cognitive approach to problem-solving and decision making. These style differences, which are normally distributed along a continuum, ranging from strong adaption to strong innovation. (Some of you may be very innovative, while others may be very adaptive.)

According to the Team Building chapter, in the Z process ideas might go back and forth several times (TSgt Maribel has been observing her team work through a project and has noticed that the team is unable to move forward). Without continuous leadership involvement and oversight, Creators are likely to continue developing ideas, gaining support from the Advancers and criticism from the Refiners (She addresses the team at the end of the project and says “team you all did a great job, although some of you were not content we were able to complete the task.”).

The competence part of the Right to Lead Model is the actual state, or level, of skills and abilities you possess (an expert in records management). When what is required (to become a more well-rounded leader) is greater than your present abilities or skills (an expert in records management) you must either develop the required skills or risk failure. It is not necessarily a bad thing to be in a position where the skill required is greater than your current abilities as this is the very essence of being stretched (pushed) as a leader in order to grow (mature) and develop (advance).

According to the Team Building chapter, stages of team development are
forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. It helps determine the progress
of the team’s development by identifying typical events that occur during each stage
and how to properly manage them. In the scenario, there are indications of the work
group going through those stages (forming: introductions and team objective; storming:
disagreements; norming: when King refocuses the group; performing: identifies the
problem and develops a plan.) and TSgt King is helping the team move along in those
stages to ensure team success.

The decision making tenet of mental fitness involves the ability to assess a situation,
determine the desired outcome, and chart a path to get there. It takes work and good
judgement. This is evident in TSgt Whites’ statement when he says “Being able to evaluate
a condition (assess a situation), conclude the desired result (determine the desired
outcome), and create a route (chart a path) to get there takes work and good resolution.”

According to the Airmanship chapter, the virtues that demonstrate one truly values integrity include: honesty, accountability and courage. TSgt McKinney says, “You’ve not been candid in your work (honesty) and you haven’t been holding each other responsible for completing tasks on time (accountability). It’s disappointing you haven’t taken any ownership (accountability/courage) and pride in this inspection to get us to pass this base wide inspection the way we should…” TSgt McKinney is talking about integrity first and how her team wasn’t utilizing this core value in preparing the sections for the upcoming base inspection.