Do Your Job!

  • Published
  • By Command Chief Master Sgt. Eric Molloy
  • 97th Air Mobility Wing command chief
Do your job; do it to the best of your ability! It is just one way to go about your life. It is the one I recommend; it is also my First Pillar. Any of you who have had the opportunity (challenge) to hear me speak probably have heard me mention my Four Pillars of Success.

At face value, you might miss the grand underlying theme of this thought. It is not as simple as it sounds. "Golly Chief, I would not have thought of that! Just doing my job leads to success, really?" It is the second part of this pillar which makes the difference and provides the impact. It is not about doing enough just to get by, that Airman earns a two or three. It is a matter of giving full effort for the necessary time to see the task through to its rightful conclusion. That is the key, doing it right; giving your duty your full attention.

The work at hand is not the most important part of this thought; our concentration should be focused on how we are doing it. Each and every assigned task should be carried out with the same attention and level of zeal as the last. In the hundreds of Air Force Specialties, there are thousands of Core Tasks each with different levels complexity. While some might be more integral to your Specialty, all deserve your full attention when you are performing them.

If your current task it to guard nuclear weapons, keep the terrorists at bay. If you are repairing the air conditioning in the housing area, the residents deserve your best effort. If you are asked to clean the toilet, make it sparkle. Complexity or importance should not be the deciding factor in how well the job is done; it is the effort you expand that makes the difference. Attitude carries the day here.

Doing it right also carries into our off duty endeavors. Why volunteer to be part of an activity and then show up late, dressed inappropriately or without the full amount of cookies you were responsible for? It is a matter of deciding that you will put your name against the task. Your reputation is at stake and you will be judged by it; it will become the baseline of what everyone can expect from you.

It is when we don't give the job our utmost attention that we have the problems. Funny, I am three weeks shy of 27 years of service and I have never had to "yell" at an Airman for doing their job to the best of their ability. If every Airman (capital "A") does the best job every time, the first time on time, we will never falter and we will not fail.