Thursday, March 12, 2015

Diversity Thursday

Another DivThu that simply writes itself.

OK you USAF types, think about all the challenges you face. Think of what you want your leaders evaluated on, what you want their efforts focused on, what you want scarce resources allocated to.

Secretary of the Air Force Deborah James has decided to celebrate Women’s History Month by announcing a set of nine initiatives to increase diversity and inclusiveness in the service. The most notable is a new requirement that unless those aspiring to leadership roles can demonstrate their commitment to diversity and inclusion, they will not be considered for promotion.
So, how are you going to operationalize this?

More importantly, what metrics are you going to use?

Think about the implications here. The entering argument from the Secretary of the Air Force is, simply, that the present USAF leadership does not support "diversity" as she defines it. OK, if true, let's have some names. Let's get some Article 15s going. Let's see some Court Martial scheduled.

It is almost as if she is requiring people to prove that they aren't a bunch of racists, sexist homophobes. You cannot prove a negative. So, what will people do?
According to James, while there’s been some movement toward diversity in the past, it hasn’t been enough. This new strategy will ensure that the service is able to continue to attract the most talented and able minds. Career-field-development team chairs are now required to conduct analyses to figure out what is blocking “airmen from reaching their highest levels of performance ...
So, they need to publish self-criticisms?

This is all simply madness. This will drive many of your best away as they have one more example where it isn't about performance, warfighting, or service. 

It is all about matching someone's else's non-performance based metrics. Shame on every civilian above the chain of command from James.

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