Air Force NCOA Mod 1 Course Foundation

According to the Keys to Successful Learning section, Lifelong Learning is not making your primary concern a test score, but rather focus on becoming a more effective leader by doing your best to comprehend lesson concepts and principles. With this in mind, analyze your test results (reviews her test results) and use the information to improve (thinks about how she is going to use this to improve herself). Your true goal should be to apply the information after graduation (She also thinks about how she use the information she learned in her work center). Graduation should not mark the end of your learning, but rather the continuation of your experience as a leader, manager, and NCO.

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.

The given statement describes a collection or gathering of people or objects in one place. This aligns with the definition of a group, which refers to a number of individuals or things that are considered together. Therefore, the correct answer is group.

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 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.

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.”

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.

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).

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).

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.

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.”

TSgt Roy's comment to the team best identifies a vision statement. A vision statement is a statement that describes the long-term goals and aspirations of an organization. It provides a clear direction and purpose for the organization and guides decision-making. In this case, TSgt Roy is suggesting that the team 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 idea of a vision statement, as it outlines the future direction and goals of the organization.

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.

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.

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.

The statement suggests that individuals need to work together in a synchronized manner to achieve a mutually desired result. This implies that they need to collaborate and coordinate their efforts, which is a characteristic of a team rather than a group. In a team, members have a shared goal and work together towards achieving it, whereas in a group, individuals may work independently without a common objective. Therefore, the statement best identifies a team.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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).

According to the Team Building chapter, there are roles that people find most comfortable fulfilling based on their most natural thought processes and behavioral tendencies. In the scenario, TSgt Rust effectively used team roles. He used his understanding of team roles to pick creators, refiners, and advancers to give his team the best chance for success. Because TSgt Rust used his understanding of team roles to build his team, this will most likely enhance mission effectiveness.

According to the Airmanship chapter, Airmanship is a mindset. A certainty you feel in everything you do. You believe in your oath to serve your country. You embrace the Air Force Core Values and you’re ready to achieve whatever the Air Force asks of you. You know the standards of behavior, the way to wear your uniform, and you help your fellow Airmen if they forget. Your Airmanship is the most important part of the United States Air Force. In the scenario, TSgt Birmingham outlines Airmanship to SSgt Peters.

Having Intellectual Humility means adhering tentatively to recently acquired
opinions; being prepared to examine new evidence and arguments even if such examination
leads you to discover flaws in your own cherished beliefs; to stop thinking that
complex issues can be reduced to matters of right & wrong (totally accurate or totally
incorrect) or ‘black & white’, and to begin thinking in terms of ‘degrees of certainty’
(amounts of confidence).

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 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 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).

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 ranges 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.

MBE-P is more active than laissez-faire behavior because the leader holds subordinates accountable (intervenes) if they fail to meet standards of performance or disregard policies and procedures (only when someone infringes on the rules). MBE-P is laissez-faire…with a follow-up if there’s a problem. The leader does not put much effort into preventing these events from happening (Why mess with something that’s working?). This will most likely hinder NCO effectiveness because the non-verbal message communicated is: the passive way of doing things is acceptable, or perhaps even expected.

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 Introduction to the IDDP Structured Thinking Process, differentiating allows you to demonstrate your ability to distinguish whether actions, decisions, or behaviors described in the scenario are appropriate or inappropriate, or effective or ineffective according to the chapter concepts and principles. There’s no degree of appropriate or inappropriate; something is either right or wrong whether the behaviors were right or wrong).

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).

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.”

The scenario BEST identifies the Warrior Ethos. TSgt Goodgame emphasizes the importance of willpower and staying focused during adversities, which aligns with the Warrior Ethos of never quitting and persevering through tough times. SSgt Rosemond's statement about taking care of family also reflects the Warrior Ethos, as warriors are expected to prioritize the needs of their team and loved ones. This scenario highlights the values and mindset associated with the Warrior Ethos, making it the correct answer.

To think freely, you must restrain your desire to believe because of social pressures
to conform (TSgt Lenz is being pressured by the other section NCOICs to follow their
way of processing). You must be willing to ask if conformity is motivating your belief or
opinion (He thinks he has a better way of doing things but does not want to upset the
other NCOICs), and if so, have the strength and courage (nerve) to at least temporarily
abandon your position until you can complete a more objective and thorough evaluation
(do an inquiry of all of the processes currently in place). This will most likely enhance
mission effectiveness.

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.

According to the Course Introduction chapter states, you need to know what you must be able to do to show evidence of reaching the intended outcomes (demonstrate you have reached the planned outcome). The terminal cognitive samples of behavior explain the knowledge, skill, or attitude you’re expected to demonstrate during and at the end of a chapter (studying the knowledge, skill, or attitude for each lesson).

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.

This document is described as containing a great deal of expectations and serving as a foundational document for all EPME curricula. This suggests that it is focused on the development and management of institutional competencies, which refers to the skills, knowledge, and abilities needed for effective performance within an organization. Therefore, the correct answer is Institutional Competencies Development and Management.

The adaptability tenet of mental fitness is the ability to adapt to changes associated with military life, including flexible roles within the family. This is evident in TSgt Ford’s statement when he says “number of deployments he’s had lately” (changes associated with military life), and “caused a lot of stress on him and his family if they haven’t been prepared for the changes” (including flexible roles within the family).

The core values tenet of spiritual fitness includes organizational values (core
values) and also personal values that can help form the framework for our attitudes and
how we see/approach life in general. They’re a reflection of what’s important to us as individuals.
TSgt Study’s comments indicate the core values tenet of spiritual fitness when he
says, “…we all have principles (values) that form the framework for our approaches (attitudes)
and how we see life in general. They’re a reflection of what’s important to us as
individuals.”

According to the stages of team development section, to keep the team progressing, team leads should maintain this level of collaboration and dynamics by doing things such as monitoring performance and rewarding or correcting as needed; resolving negative conflict; keeping the team focused on goal; and adjusting roles as required to maximize performance. In the scenario, the team welcomes SrA Lewis and focuses on accomplishing the mission. TSgt Herzig’s monitors the team’s progress and ensures collaboration occurs. Finally, Herzig recognizes Lewis’s great work in the development stage of norming. Her effective actions as an NCO lead to the creation of a monthly recognition program.

The characteristics "Minimum shared feelings and feedback" and "Little or no conflict" are matched with the stage of "Forming" in team development. During the forming stage, team members are just getting to know each other and are focused on establishing their roles and responsibilities. There is usually a lack of shared feelings and feedback as team members are still getting comfortable with each other. Additionally, conflicts are minimal or non-existent during this stage as everyone is still trying to maintain a positive and harmonious environment.