Summary: <br> Leadership is tactical, operational and strategic. These are three words Colonel Brad Ruttman has learned as the framework for understanding how to help others accomplish their goals. In this week’s episode, I had the privilege of learning lessons from a fighter pilot that also apply for all leaders, including in education.<br> <br> <br> <br> <a href="https://media.defense.gov/2020/Jun/08/2002312517/-1/-1/0/200607-Z-UN332-1023.JPG">Oklahoma Air National Guard photo</a> by Master Sgt. C.T. Michael<br> <br> <br> <br> Meet Colonel Brad Ruttman <br> <br> <br> <br> Col. Brad Ruttman is a 21-year veteran of the US Air Force and currently serves as the Operations Group Commander for the 138th Fighter Wing. He has commanded at the tactical, operational, and strategic levels and is a graduate of Air War College. As an F-16 fighter pilot, Col Ruttman has 5 combat tours and over 100 combat sorties in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is the recipient of several military awards to include 2 Meritorious Service Medals, 4 Combat Air Medals, the Aerial Achievement Medal and the Iraq and Afghanistan Campaign Medals. He resides in Owasso, OK with his wife Stephanie and their five children: JJ, Christian, Coleman, Savannah, and Dawson. All five of his children attend Owasso Public Schools.<br> <br> <br> <br> A Leadership Pocketbook<br> <br> <br> <br> Listen to the entire podcast episode for the full conversation. Here is a short summary of our talk:<br> <br> <br> <br> WDP: Thank you again for being on the show. School leaders have a lot to learn from other leaders. As I think about strategic and operational leadership, I wanted to ask you to unpack areas that may help any leaders apply lessons to their own teams. Let’s jump in:<br> <br> <br> <br> Col. Ruttman: When I finished college with a degree in engineering, I was looking for my first job in the field. I always wanted to be in the military. When I realized the Air Force also had an engineering squadron, I decided to enlist for four years. I discovered I loved being in the Air Force, but I didn’t enjoy being an engineer. When I saw how much fighter pilots loved their work, I thought that is what I want to do. Through some hard work and the grace of God, I was able to do that. It definitely wasn’t the normal path to becoming a fighter pilot.<br> <br> <br> <br> WDP: First of all, thank you for your service to our country. In addition to your training as a pilot, you’ve also learned a lot about leadership. You keep a running list of lessons you think about when considering managing a new command. What are those areas, and then can you choose one or two to unpack?<br> <br> <br> <br> Col. Ruttman: In the military and in education, you go from follower to leader quickly. As I have gone through leadership training and conferences, I have kept a running list that I call ‘pocket leadership’ that I share with others in my work. At a Commander’s Development course, I heard presentations from other officers, and it inspired me to begin writing down lessons I could share with others. Here is a short summary:<br> <br> <br> <br> Leadership steps for a new command:<br> <br> <br> <br> * Set boundaries/instill discipline* Project empathy/right any wrongs* Build trust* Lead your people where they are* Seek first to understand, then to be understood (Covey)* Stay sharp<br> <br> <br> <br> * Never think “you’ve arrived”* Think like your boss’s boss* Beware of the Bathsheba Syndrome* Study Psychology<br> <br> <br> <br> WDP: From that list, can you talk about “Set boundaries/instill discipline”?<br> <br> <br> <br> Col. Ruttman: I remember going through officer training school and watching a movie about a stoic, stone-faced leader.
