An interview with Brigadier General John Teichert of The United States Air Force
Communicate, Communicate, Communicate — There are various stakeholders that are eager for your time, energy, and attention during a crisis. A leader needs to prioritize these stakeholders and communicate proactively to them as much as possible. This will include communication to your team, to your boss, to your mission partners, and to your peers. It may include communication to the government and to the media.
Inthis interview series, we are exploring the subject of dealing with crises and how to adapt and overcome them. Crisis management is one characteristic that many successful leaders share in common, and in many cases, it is the most important trait necessary to survive and thrive in today’s complex market. I had the pleasure of interviewing Brigadier General John Teichert, United States Air Force, Retired.
John is a recently-retired brigadier general, a national security expert, and a champion for inspirational, innovative, integrity-filled leadership. He has vast whole-of-government leadership experience that includes military, diplomatic, intelligence, and industrial instruments of power — from cutting-edge technology to our nation’s most sensitive international relationships. He is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University, a combat pilot, a test pilot and has commanded Joint Base Andrews and Edwards Air Force Base.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would love to get to know you a bit. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood “backstory”?
Thank you for having me!
I grew up in the Pacific northwest on the rainy tip of the country. While I never came across any vampires, I was bit by an early passion to serve my country. Watching TOP GUN in a small Port Angeles theater cemented my desire to fly fast jets and live a life on the edge of the danger zone. After graduating from college, I eagerly swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States and entered the United States Air Force. It is the fulfillment of that oath, that I first took as a 17-year-old ROTC student in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that describes the mission of my lifetime.
And what are you doing today? Can you share a story that exemplifies the unique work that you are doing?
I am the founder and president of Capital Leadership LLC, passionately developing the leaders our nation needs. This forum allows me to speak, write and consult extensively and globally on leadership, innovation, risk management, national security, security cooperation, and international affairs. I pursue these important but eclectic activities alongside my amazing wife Melonie and our three remarkable children.
The first engagement through Capital Leadership began around the time I retired from the military. I have several friends who are staffers on Capitol Hill, and they had asked me for mentorship and leadership development. Shortly after beginning, they asked me to start mentoring and developing their colleagues. After all, the young people who run the offices in Congress are extremely capable, have an oversized impact, work extremely hard, and have a bright future. Yet, nobody was developing them into the leaders that our nation needs.
As a result, I committed to providing free, monthly, non-partisan, high-quality leadership development for all staffers on the Hill. It is intended to ignite a passion for leadership growth among the staff on both sides of the aisle, strengthen the staffs for each Member of Congress, and create a venue for bipartisan networking among the remarkable staffs who serve our great nation.
Can you tell us a bit about your military background?
I ended my service to the Air Force as the Assistant Deputy Undersecretary of the Air Force, International Affairs. In that position, I was responsible for world-wide international engagement on behalf of the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force while leading the services’ entire $240 billion security cooperation portfolio. Prior to that, I was deployed to Iraq for 14-months as the Senior Defense Official and Defense Attaché, leading on the front lines of whole-of-government national security strategy and policy in the most challenging of security and COVID conditions. I have been an F-15E combat pilot and an F-22 test pilot, and commanded Joint Base Andrews (also known as America’s Airfield) and Edwards Air Force Base (also known as The Center of the Aerospace Testing Universe).
While I relished my assignment adventures, fighter pilot combat successes, and harrowing test pilot activities, I quickly grew most interested in becoming an inspirational, innovative, and integrity-filled leader. It was a true joy to serve my country through the Air Force for 28-years while striving to maximize my impact on people and our great nation.
Can you share the most interesting story that you experienced during your military career? What “take away” did you learn from that story?
During my recent 14-month deployed to Iraq, I had the opportunity to meet weekly with the Iraqi military’s Chief of Defense, their equivalent to our Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It was my responsibility to do so as the designated representative of the U.S. military to Iraq. He was a highly-decorated member of the Iraqi Army, known as a stern leader and a brave warrior. He was also known to be someone closely affiliated with the Iranian aligned militia groups that hated the American presence in Iraq. As he took his position shortly after I arrived at my deployment, I knew my challenges in dealing with him could be significant as I was the personification of his animosity. My team and I joked that if given the chance, he would kill me.
Interestingly, these meetings were overwhelmingly positive and professional. While they were at times tense and heated, it became a highlight of my deployed schedule. Our success stemmed from two primary factors that are applicable to all of us and that I intentionally nurtured. First, we deliberately found ways to connect to one another at the personal level. Second, we intentionally found ways to explore and meet common interests, especially revolving around providing improved sustainable capabilities for his proud military force in their fight against ISIS.
The lesson for all of us in our engagements with others is to be emotionally intelligent and strategically savvy. We need to be able to work together as human beings, and we need to be savvy enough to strategically understand the overlap of interests where we can explore the fertile ground of mutual benefit. When we combine these characteristics, we allow our teams to expand our efforts through win-win solutions that harness shared humanity and mutual benefit.
We are interested in fleshing out what a hero is. Did you experience or hear about a story of heroism, during your military experience? Can you share that story with us? Feel free to be as elaborate as you’d like.
I experienced heroes every day during my time in the military. A hero is someone who sets aside their own interests to meet the interests of others, especially when doing so is costly. The Air Force core value of Service Before Self calls for such a sacrifice in its members and their family members. Four individuals, close friends and trusted colleagues flash to my mind as I think of the manifestation of heroism — Chief Master Sergeant Joe Hubbard, Major William “Salty” Watkins, Captain Eric “Boot” Das, and Mr Dave “Cools” Cooley. They are true heroes whose Service Before Self yielded the ultimate sacrifice.
Based on that story, how would you define what a “hero” is? Can you explain?
A hero is someone who sets aside their own interests to meet the interests of others, especially when doing so is costly.
Do you think your experience in the military helped prepare you for business or leadership? Can you explain?
Leaders of all types are ultimately in the people business — helping the members of their team become the best possible version of themselves. The military does a superb job of intentionally developing leaders to replicate themselves. From my time in my first squadron, the leaders of the unit deliberately replicated themselves by pouring their thoughts, perspectives, and experiences into those of us who would carry the torch of leadership after they passed off the scene. That priority of replication is the way that all of our institutions can grow and thrive.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
I am profoundly grateful to my wife Melonie, and our kids Summer, Tiffany and Noah. We call our family Team Teichert because we recognize the special bond needed to handle the unique challenges of a military lifestyle.
My family didn’t just support me as I served. That phrasing would marginalize their service and sacrifice. Instead, it is proper to say that they served alongside of me.
Some of my greatest memories of my time in the military are from serving alongside of Melonie, Summer, Tiffany, and Noah. I joyfully remember attending military activities with them or using a military ceremony as a date night with my wife or children. It brings a bright smile to my face to remember the times we served together at the base dining hall to demonstrate our appreciation to the younger members of our team during holiday meals. It also brings back great thoughts remembering the many holidays that we drove around our sprawling base on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas or New Years to visit members of our team whose positions required them to work on those holidays.
My wife and children weren’t officially on the rolls of the United States Air Force, but their service alongside of me was a force multiplier that positively impacted people and our great nation, and I am extremely grateful to them.
Ok, thank you for all that. Now let’s shift to the main focus of this interview. We would like to explore and flesh out how to survive and thrive in a crisis. How would you define a crisis?
A situation that reveals or threatens significant loss, danger, or risk.
Before a crisis strikes, what should business owners and leaders think about and how should they plan?
Leaders at all levels should thoroughly consider the possible sources of loss, danger, or risk in their organizations and their environments. Then, they should role-play, exercise, red team, and table top those potentialities as a team in order to discover ways to avoid them if possible, mitigate them if prudent, and absorb them if necessary.
There are opportunities to make the best of every situation and it’s usually based on how you frame it. In your opinion or experience, what’s the first thing people should do when they first realize they are in a crisis situation? What should they do next?
Breath deeply!
There is a concept that you learn in pilot training called “wind the clock”. Even modern-day aircraft often have a small manual clock in their cockpit. We are told from the earliest time in our flight training that the first item we should do whenever we face an airborne emergency is to wind the clock.
You don’t do so because the clock needs winding at that moment, but it is a metaphor for making deliberate and well-thought-out moves to follow. Rushing in response to a crisis can often exacerbate the problem and enhance the likelihood that the crisis will become realized loss, danger, or risk.
What do you believe are the characteristics or traits needed to survive a crisis?
I’m going to fall back on a flying analogy to answer this question like I did the previous one. In addition to “winding the clock”, the steps to follow in responding to an airborne emergency are:
- Assess the Situation
- Take Proper Action
- Communicate as Conditions Permit
The characteristics of Assessing the Situation include: thoughtful and intentional prior planning, adherence to foundational values and guiding principles, sound judgement, and a calm and deliberate demeanor. The characteristics of Taking Proper Action include: fully utilizing your team and your resources, courage, resolution, clear-headedness, and trust of yourself and others. The characteristics of Communicating as Conditions Permit include proper prioritization and avoiding distraction. These characteristics thoroughly cover those necessary to properly absorb and respond to a crisis, and maybe even create an ability to turn the crisis into an opportunity for your team.
When you think of those traits, which person comes to mind? Can you explain why you chose that person?
Lieutenant Colonel Dan “Moose” Daetz was my F-22 squadron commander when we had a fatal crash during a flight test mission that tragically took the life of Mr Dave “Cools” Cooley. In the midst of the crisis and the turmoil associated with such a tragedy, I vividly remember Moose embodying the characteristics explained above as he “Wound the Clock”, Assessed the Situation, Took Proper Action, and Communicated as Conditions Permitted. His leadership on that day created a foundation of organizational healing that ultimately allowed that unit to bounce back from this tragedy stronger than before.
Did you have a time in your life when you had one of your greatest setbacks, but you bounced back from it stronger than ever? Can you share that story with us?
Days after I became a Squadron Commander, my boss made clear to me that he was not happy with my selection for this position. My selection had been made at a higher level than him, and he essentially said that he would ensure that it would be the end of my career. While I wasn’t sure of his motivations for saying and believing such a thing, it caused me to face a personal crisis. I remember going home that night and telling my wife about the newly discovered end-point in my otherwise promising career. We talked about it, we thought about it, and we prayed about it. And we came to one overall conclusion — because I didn’t have to worry about a future promotion, I could be a completely selfless leader for my team.
There was nothing for me to personally gain out of this position, but it gave me the rare opportunity to be the leader that my organization deserved without an ounce of self-interest. It wasn’t easy at times as I interacted with my boss, but it created a two-year habit pattern of selfless leadership that has pervaded my leadership style ever since.
And, as things would work out in ways that can only be described as a miracle, I was promoted two-years early to Colonel out of that position. Yet, the principles of selfless leadership stuck with me and are internalized within me to this day. It was a challenge and a crisis that turned into a priceless opportunity.
Here is the main question of our discussion. Crises not only have the potential to jeopardize and infiltrate your work, but they also threaten your emotional stability and relationships. Based on your military experience, what are 5 steps that someone can take to survive and thrive in these situations? Please share a story or an example for each.
1) Prepare ahead of time
As described previously, leaders at all levels should thoroughly consider the possible sources of loss, danger, or risk in their organizations and their environments. Then, they should role play, exercise, red team, and table top those potentialities as a team in order to discover ways to avoid them if possible, mitigate them if prudent, and absorb them if necessary. While your preparation for a crisis may not exactly match the crisis that comes, the methodology of thinking through the possible crises will allow you and your organization to be much more practically, mentally, and emotionally prepared for whatever you may ultimately face.
2) Wind the Clock
Also as described previously, there is a concept that you learn in pilot training called “wind the clock”. Even modern-day aircraft often have a small manual clock in their cockpit. We are told from the earliest time in our flying training that the first item we should do whenever we face an airborne emergency is to wind the clock.
You don’t do so because the clock needs winding at that moment, but it is a metaphor for making deliberate and well-thought-out moves to follow. Rushing in response to a crisis can often exacerbate the problem and enhance the likelihood that the crisis becomes realized loss, danger, or risk.
Additionally, the demeanor of a leader, for good or bad, will be contagious within the organization. This is especially true during a time of crisis. A leader’s deliberate calmness during a crisis will create the organizational conditions to properly absorb and respond to a crisis, and maybe even create an ability to turn the crisis into an opportunity for your team.
3) Snap Back To Guiding Principles and Organizational Vision
The best way to make crisis decisions is to rely on the foundation that has guided the organization during the normal times. Those guiding principles and that organizational vision should have been practiced and internalized, and will provide a beacon of light that will clear away the fog and friction of chaos that sometimes accompanies a crisis. It will allow all decisions to be better ones because they are rooted in something deeper than the immediate, the enticing, and the superficial. Furthermore, it will be a shared rallying point for an organization that is looking for stability in the midst of uncertainty.
4) Don’t Forget About Your People
This should dovetail with my previous point because people are your greatest asset, most valuable resource, and highest priority. Unfortunately, they sometimes improperly fall off the priority list when diverted by a crisis. Don’t let this happen!
People arrive at a range of emotions during a crisis: sad, angry, concerned, anxious, uncertain, and defensive. Even more so than in normal times, they need your focus and attention as a leader during a crisis. They were with you before the crisis, they are with you during the crisis, and they will form the backbone of recovery after the crisis. A leader must never forget that regardless of the conditions of the crisis, genuine care and concern for your people should be paramount.
5) Communicate, Communicate, Communicate
There are various stakeholders that are eager for your time, energy, and attention during a crisis. A leader needs to prioritize these stakeholders and communicate proactively to them as much as possible. This will include communication to your team, to your boss, to your mission partners, and to your peers. It may include communication to the government and to the media.
People are quick to judge during a crisis, and the better you proactively communicate, the most trust others will have in you and your team as you endure the crisis and ultimately emerge from it.
Ok. We are nearly done. You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
In many ways in America, we have forgotten about the important ties that bind us together — our shared humanity, mutual interests, and common principles. It has eroded our commitment to community, family, religion, patriotism and one another. We need a movement that resurrects the things that should bring us together so that we can collectively solve the significant challenges that we all face.
We are blessed that some very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them 🙂
Senator Tim Scott from South Carolina. I recently read his book, “America, a Redemption Story”, and it inspired me more than I had been in quite a while. He provided a message of hope for our country and our society. Without neglecting our faults, he describes a nation that is moving forward in accordance with its founding principles. It is this type of leadership — collaborative, positive, realistic, hopeful, inspirational, and principled — that we need much more of in our day.
How can our readers follow you online?
My activities can best be followed through johnteichert.com and on LinkedIn.
Thank you so much for these amazing insights. This was truly uplifting.
Thank you! It was an honor, a joy, and a privilege to join you.
Originally posted on Medium, May 16, 2023.