BUCKLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- Col. Carolyn A. Stickell is the commander of HQ RIO. She assumed command June 24, 2015.
What is one thing you've learned about leadership in the past year?
Trusting and empowering your people is a powerful leadership tool. We have an incredible team of professionals with great ideas and tremendous work ethics. Giving people the opportunity to act on their ideas and help make the organization better has resulted in HQ RIO really taking some big steps forward and enhancing the service we can provide to our IRs.
You were an IMA prior to taking command. How did your experiences influence the direction you wanted to lead HQ RIO?
I loved the flexibility of being an IMA! However, some things were just really difficult, and I didn’t understand why it had to be that way. My experiences as an IMA fed directly into the ideas I had for leading HQ RIO. More than anything, I’d like to get rid of the “I’m Alone” feeling that so many of our IMAs experience.
You hit the ground running at HQ RIO - how did you prepare for your role as the new commander?
I was incredibly fortunate because I was the IMA to the Vice Commander at ARPC at the time and could watch the standup of HQ RIO, even though I wasn’t part of the organization. This allowed me to become familiar with the challenges and growing pains the new organization was facing. I had time to watch it was going through and develop some ideas about what I’d like to do before I officially took over. I had also been an IMA for 15 years, so I was really familiar with what RIO’s customers experience on a daily basis. The key was garnering the support of both the HQ RIO staff and my Det Commanders. I spent a lot of time talking to my staff and to the Det Commanders during my first week as commander. I listened to what they had to say and took their suggestions to heart.
At the very start you empowered personnel to be leaders and make decisions -- do you have specific examples of success based on this philosophy?
Absolutely! I was able to talk to all my Det Commanders within my first week in the seat. I had a list of questions I asked each Commander. Among other things, I asked them what some of their biggest concerns were, and if they were in my shoes, what would they address? Those two simple questions led to a bunch of quick wins. Some were just decisions they wanted me to make, so we made them. A more time consuming effort, which has almost come to fruition, involves having orders writers in the Dets. Because of the experience and judgement of the Detachments, we decided to go with orders writers embedded in the detachments rather than the original plan of having a centralized “orders writing cell.”
What were some of your one-year objectives and goals -- Do you feel you've made progress in these areas?
I had (and still have) three main priorities for HQ RIO: (1) Fill our vacancies. We can’t have a viable IMA program if we fail to fill our vacancies. We have got to get qualified faces into our empty spaces. (2) Take care of the faces. This includes caring for our Individual Reservists and the active component units they serve, along with caring for every member of HQ RIO who works so hard to serve our customers. (3) Be ready to mobilize our IRs. IRs are trained to help meet and complete the active component mission. HQ RIO has to be ready to get them to fight when called upon.
We have definitely made progress in all three of these areas. With regards to the first priority (vacancies), we haven’t filled our vacancies as quickly as I would have liked, but we have multiple initiatives underway that will eventually help us achieve the results we’re looking for. When it comes to the second priority (faces), we have made significant improvements in caring for our Individual Reservists. We have developed a Detachment-specific welcome program, where the IR’s Detachment briefs all our new IRs on what the Det does for them. Once that is complete, we bring the IR here to Buckley for an IR Orientation, which builds upon the information the Det initially provides. We’re also constantly growing the resources available for our IRs: we have a great website, an iPhone app, YouTube videos on confusing processes, and truly dedicated individuals in each of our Detachments to help our IRs navigate our somewhat complicated landscape. We are also actively engaged in educating our active duty partners through online and in-person trainings. Finally, to meet our third priority (mobilization), we hold exercises throughout the year to ensure we are always able to answer our nation’s call.
HQ RIO 'Smile Moments' have increased exponentially since you took command -- how do you explain this upward trend in RIOs organizational reputation?
This is all due to the willingness of the professionals throughout our organization to “go the extra mile” when helping our IRs. It shows how much our people genuinely care about helping our customers. I’m so proud of every person in HQ RIO who has taken our customer service initiatives to heart, and the result of their caring attitude is paying huge dividends.
Where does the term “Smile Moments” come from?
I just made it up! I was on a commercial flight, and there were three totally separate things that happened on that flight that made me smile. None of the things that happened even involved me, but they were really cool things to do for the passengers who were affected, and they just made me smile. I found myself reflecting on those “Smile Moments”, and thought it would be a great term for what we’re trying to do for RIO’s customers.
What changes do you still want to make as you enter year two as commander?
There is so much work that still needs to be done! There are so many processes that are still unnecessarily painful for the Individual Reservist. I want to continue focusing on those and trying to make things better. We will be moving the IMA Travel office to Buckley, which will consolidate the Military Pay and Travel Pay functions under one roof. I expect our pay functions to vastly improve as we bring these teams together and leverage all their experience under the expert guidance of the ARPC/FM team. Orders also continue to be a challenge. We will continue working to streamline the process and try to find a better way. The opportunities for improvement are endless!
What legacy do you hope to leave behind with the IMA Program?
When I leave, I hope the IMA program is a little better than when I started. I hope some of the initiatives we undertook really do make life easier for our IRs. I hope all of our customers and all the professionals within HQ RIO recognize and understand what they do for our country. I hope they can think of “smile moments” and can take a few seconds to be proud of what they do.
Your father was a commander, how did the experience of watching him influence the way you lead?
When I took over as the RIO Commander, I joked that if you don’t like my leadership style, you could blame my dad. He has always been an inspiration and a stellar example of what an Air Force Officer should be. He just has a way with people, a genuine leadership style, and a quiet confidence. I don’t think a child knowingly picks up on that stuff – it must just develop by watching that example throughout your life.