National Academies Press: OpenBook

Strengthening U.S. Air Force Human Capital Management: A Flight Plan for 2020-2030 (2021)

Chapter: Appendix E: U.S. Air Force Competencies

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Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: U.S. Air Force Competencies." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Strengthening U.S. Air Force Human Capital Management: A Flight Plan for 2020-2030. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25828.
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Appendix E

U.S. Air Force Competencies

TABLE E-1 Definitions of Foundational Competencies

Competency Definition
Accountability Accepts full responsibility for self and team; displays honesty and truthfulness.
Teamwork Builds cohesive teams within and across units. Ensures team members feel valued and approved.
Develops People Invests in others to maximize their contributions to the mission by inspiring and providing an environment of continual feedback and learning opportunities.
Communication Clearly and effectively articulates, presents, and promotes ideas and issues before a wide range of audiences, in both speaking and writing.
Resource Management Carefully and responsibly administrates resources placed under an Airman’s control with the intent to maximize readiness and lethality and improve organizational performance.
Perseverance Displays grit in accomplishment of difficult long-term goals. Works strenuously toward challenges; maintains effort and interest over years despite failure, adversity, and plateaus in progress.
Strategic Thinking Considers and organizes activities and resources to achieve a desired goal; thinks on a large and small scale, long- and short-term
Decision-Making Makes well-informed, effective and timely decisions. Uses sound judgment to integrate and weigh situational constraints, risks, and rewards.
Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: U.S. Air Force Competencies." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Strengthening U.S. Air Force Human Capital Management: A Flight Plan for 2020-2030. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25828.
×
Competency Definition
Service Mindset Desires to help or serve others to meet their needs; makes and focuses efforts to discover and meet others’ needs.
Results Focused Demonstrates concern for working well or for competing against a standard of excellence.
Flexibility Adapts to and works with a variety of situations, individuals, or groups effectively.
Change Management Adapts, helps others adapt, or implements change with the goal of ensuring unit goals are properly aligned to the desired end state.
Self-Control Keeps emotions under control and restrains negative actions when under stress.
Creative Thinking Develops new insights into new situations; questions conventional approaches; encourages new ideas and innovations.
Leadership Intentionally takes a role as a leader of others.
Initiative Prefers taking action; does more than is required or expected; does things that no one has requested that will improve or enhance job results and avoid problems; or finds and creates new opportunities.
Precision A concern for order, quality, and accuracy with an underlying drive to reduce uncertainty in the environment.
Analytical Thinking Identifies problems; evaluates alternative perspectives/solutions; makes timely/effective recommendations; and identifies courses of action.
Information Seeking Demonstrates an underlying curiosity; desires to know more about things, people, oneself, the mission or issues; an eager, aggressive learner.
Influence Intends to persuade, convince, or impress others to elicit their support to make specific impacts or achieve particular effects on others.
Fostering Innovation Builds a culture of behaviors and business practices that encourages, champions, and rewards creativity and informed risk taking; is open to change; and rapidly adapts to new conditions and technologies.
Resilience Negotiates, manages, and adapts to significant sources of stress or trauma.

SOURCE: Reprinted from document provided to committee by Dr. Laura Barron, Air Education and Training Command (AETC) (March 9, 2020); document created by Col. Mark Coggins, USAF, AETC (May 17, 2019). Available by request through the study’s public access file.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: U.S. Air Force Competencies." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Strengthening U.S. Air Force Human Capital Management: A Flight Plan for 2020-2030. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25828.
×

TABLE E-2 Crosswalk of Foundational Competencies and Institutional Competencies

Institutional Competencies
Competency Sub Competency
Employing Military Capabilities Operational & Strategic Art
Leverage Technology
Unit, Air force, Joint, and Coalition Capabilities
Non-Adversarial Crisis Response
Enterprise Perspective Enterprise Structure & Relationships
Government Organization & Process
Global, Regional, and Cultural Awareness
Strategic Communication
Managing Organizations & Resources Resource Stewardship
Change Management
Continuous Improvement
Strategic Thinking Vision
Decision-Making
Adaptability
Leading People Develops and Inspires Others
Takes Care of People
Diversity
Fostering Collaborative Relationships Builds Teams & Coalitions
Negotiating
Embodies Airman Culture Ethical Leadership
Followership
Warrior Ethos
Develops Self
Communicating Speaking & Writing
Active Listening
Foundational Competencies
Competency Group Competency
Developing Self Accountability
Resilience
Communication
Decision-Making
Initiative
Results Focused
Self-Control
Information Seeking
Developing Others Leadership
Teamwork
Perseverance
Service Mindset
Flexibility
Precision
Develops People
Developing Organizations Strategic Thinking (Planning)
Change Management
Resource Management
Developing Ideas Analytical Thinking
Creative Thinking
Fostering Innovation
Influence

SOURCE: Reprinted from document provided to committee by Dr. Laura Barron, AETC (March 9, 2020); created by Col. Mark Coggins, USAF, AETC (May 17, 2019). Available by request through the study’s public access file. Institutional Competencies were published in U.S. Air Force, 2019, Total Force Development and Management, Air Force Policy Directive 36-26, Attachment 2. Available: https://static.e-publishing.af.mil/production/1/af_a1/publication/afpd36-26/afpd36-26.pdf.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: U.S. Air Force Competencies." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Strengthening U.S. Air Force Human Capital Management: A Flight Plan for 2020-2030. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25828.
×

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Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: U.S. Air Force Competencies." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Strengthening U.S. Air Force Human Capital Management: A Flight Plan for 2020-2030. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25828.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: U.S. Air Force Competencies." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Strengthening U.S. Air Force Human Capital Management: A Flight Plan for 2020-2030. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25828.
×
Page 240
Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: U.S. Air Force Competencies." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Strengthening U.S. Air Force Human Capital Management: A Flight Plan for 2020-2030. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25828.
×
Page 241
Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: U.S. Air Force Competencies." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Strengthening U.S. Air Force Human Capital Management: A Flight Plan for 2020-2030. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25828.
×
Page 242
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The USAir Force human capital management (HCM) system is not easily defined or mapped. It affects virtually every part of the Air Force because workforce policies, procedures, and processes impact all offices and organizations that include Airmen and responsibilities and relationships change regularly. To ensure the readiness of Airmen to fulfill the mission of the Air Force, strategic approaches are developed and issued through guidance and actions of the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Manpower, Personnel and Services and the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Manpower and Reserve Affairs.

Strengthening US Air Force Human Capital Management assesses and strengthens the various U.S. Air Force initiatives and programs working to improve person-job match and human capital management in coordinated support of optimal mission capability. This report considers the opportunities and challenges associated with related interests and needs across the USAF HCM system as a whole, and makes recommendations to inform improvements to USAF personnel selection and classification and other critical system components across career trajectories. Strengthening US Air Force Human Capital Management offers the Air Force a strategic approach, across a connected HCM system, to develop 21st century human capital capabilities essential for the success of 21st century Airmen.

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