Top 3 Teaching Professional Development

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Naomi M. Griego
  • 1st Special Operations Wing Public Affairs
HURLBURT FIELD Fla. --  Hurlburt Field Top-3 Professional Development team offered Dr. John C. Maxwell's "5 levels of Leadership" course at the King Auditorium on Hurlburt Field, Fla., Aug. 23.

The course aims to provide all Airmen, regardless of rank, the opportunity to gain new perspective on what makes a successful leader.

"The highest goal of a leader is to develop leaders, not to gain followers or do work," said Maxwell. He is an author and public speaker who specializes in teaching about successful leadership.

According to Maxwell, no matter what their station in life, once airmen understand their leadership determines their position and not the other way around, then they're ready to distinguish and understand the five levels of leadership - promoting their growth through each level until they've reach their highest potential.

Although the course is targeted towards the civilian population, the Top-3 Professional Development Team curtailed it to apply to the Air Force. They selected the traits that apply to our rank structure and emphasized the importance they play in our leadership.

Maxwell's pyramid's five levels are Position, Permission, Production, People Development and ends with the Pinnacle. Each level works towards a leader who successfully earns the respect of their people.

"Hurlburt Field Top-3 PD Team has developed standard curriculum using commercial leadership products. Each facilitator develops lesson plans which instill Air Force institutional competencies, regulations and instructions," said Master Sgt. Leroy Burke III, chairman of Hurlburt Field Top-3 Professional Development.

"The functionality of the curriculum is based on allowing the certified facilitators to interweave and consciously communicate Senior Leader Vision and expectations," said Burke.

According to Tech Sgt. Brandon Krueger, Top-3 Professional Development facilitator, airmen become a leader prior to the rank and Maxwell's course prepares airmen for exactly that.

"I thought it was awesome, I got a lot out of it and I learned how to be a better leader," said Tech. Sgt. Bethany Stafford, 1st Special Operations Equipment Maintenance, Non-Destructive Inspection NCO in charge.

Stafford was one of 37 students from different units on base who attended the course and listened to Dr. Maxwell explain the meaning of leadership.

Additional classes are slated to be offered with advertisements one week prior. Anyone interested in participating is encouraged to call the Hulburt Field Top-3 at 884-2450.