AFCEC directorate lead talks grand essentials, leadership

  • Published
  • By Capt. Ashley Walker
  • AFCEC Public Affairs
JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas --  Leadership. Although the word is often used, its meaning remains heavily debated.

Eldon Hix, director of the Air Force Civil Engineer Center Environmental Directorate, sat down June 13 to discuss his take on leadership and his approach to challenges and building tomorrow's leaders.

"Three grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for," is a quote by Joseph Addison that Hix says best describes his understanding of leadership.

This quote, he said, can be roughly translated to mean a leader has to help develop the vision, keep that passion for the vision alive and work toward that vision.

"Once I have the vision for our team, I don't deviate," Hix said. "I don't waste time rethinking or going over the decision process. The implementation is all in the right people you pick to support and carry out the vision."

To communicate his vision to a large organization, Hix said he has to be persistent and consistent with his messages.

"One of the bigger challenges is keeping people passionate and focused on the vision for a long time, especially when it takes five years to complete a project," he said.

When it came to honing his leadership and counseling skills, Hix said his children helped him.

"When kids get older they don't want answers, they just really want you to listen," he said. "From my kids, I've learned how to provide counseling that is not prejudicial."

The most challenging aspect of leadership is enabling and developing others to have self-confidence and self-reliance, Hix said. When obstacles appear, he said he believes many workers aren't sure what to do so they do nothing.

"I'm not interested in jumping in and fixing an issue," he said. "I'm interested in developing people who can fix problems."

"Leadership in the 21st century is different with the boom in technology. It seems things happen instantaneously," he added. "I focus on developing people who can fix problems because they will be the ones solving the new challenges that 2020 will bring."