Your team didn’t wake up cynical.

They learned it.

When standards feel flexible, decisions feel opaque, and feedback feels empty, people stop believing the process is about performance. They start believing it’s about proximity.

That’s when effort drops, trust erodes, and your program earns a label you never intended: a good ole boy process.

If your best people are disengaging, the issue isn’t motivation.

It’s the system they’ve experienced.

LEADER SELF-ASSESSMENT CHECKLIST

Use this to pressure-test any awards, development, stratification, or selection process you own.

Clarity

Are the standards clearly defined, published, and understood before the cycle begins?

Could a junior member articulate what “right” looks like without guessing?

Consistency

Are standards applied the same way regardless of name, rank, or relationship?

Would similar performance produce similar outcomes across the board?

Transparency

Can you explain how decisions were made without hiding behind generalities?

Do participants understand not just what happened, but why?

Feedback

Does every participant receive specific, actionable feedback tied to observable performance?

Would that feedback help them improve for the next cycle?

Documentation

Are decisions recorded in a way that can be reviewed and defended later?

Could another leader step in and understand the rationale without re-creating it?

Alignment

Do the behaviors you reward clearly reinforce mission execution, professionalism, and trust?

Are you developing people, or just selecting winners?

Trust Check

If outcomes were shared without names attached, would they still make sense?

Would you be comfortable explaining the results to the person who fell just short?

If you answered “no” or hesitated on more than one of these, your process may already be teaching lessons you never intended.

Fix the process, and you fix the perception.

Protect the process, and you protect the culture.

Real talk for real Airmen. I drop blunt, battle-tested insight on leadership, excellence, discipline, and the warrior ethos.

No fluff, no shortcuts, no easy bus. Just the truth, the standard, and how to rise above average. Charge into the storm & Stay hard to kill.

Stay in the Fight: Building Mental Durability for Airmen

In this episode of The Informed Airman, we dig into what it really means to be ready for the fight, and to stay in it.

Chief Vaden sits down with Capt Sam Alex, U.S. Air Force Clinical Psychologist, to break down the mental and emotional foundations every Airman needs to endure and perform under pressure.

Together they unpack:

How to build a strong psychological foundation that supports mission readiness.

What it means to be resistant and durable — not just resilient after the fact.

Why “coping ugly” can actually be a healthy, adaptive response when life hits hard.

How leaders can create environments where toughness includes transparency.

Capt Alex also shares insights from current research and key readings, including:

📘 The End of Trauma by George A. Bonanno

📄 Nature Human Behaviour: Resilience and Recovery After Stress

Whether you’re an Airman in the arena or a leader guiding others through it, this episode is about staying mission-ready: mind, body, and spirit.

🦅 🦬 Be the Buffalo. Face the Storm. Hard to Kill.