MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. -- The Air Command and Staff College hosted the Leadership Education and Development Experience here Wednesday and Thursday.
Organizers took a more modern approach to the event, providing a more of a TED Talk-like experience, to provide a unique opportunity to connect with various generations within the Department of Defense and corporate industries.
Guest speakers had the opportunity to provide insights into their personal leadership specialties, which focused on innovative thinking and encouraged modernization.
“Over the course of my career, I’ve seen that effective leadership makes the difference. The title of this talk is ‘Leading in a VUCU (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) World,’” said retired Army Gen. George Casey Jr during his briefing. “That is your world, whether you like it or not, and it’s a different world than the world that I served 40 years in, and it’s the one you will have to lead in. ”
Most of the guest speakers covered information on how individuals can work to better themselves by enhancing their own leadership skills in ways that will benefit a new generation of leaders. Some of these ways included learning how to balance personal and professional lives in the face of stress.
“I’m very appreciative when I have the opportunity to take the risk of doing something different,” said Maj. Gen. Michael Rothstein, Air University President and Commander. “This is LEDx 1.0, so I know we will only get better at this, but I am passionate about leadership and so I appreciate that ACSC is just as passionate about it as I am. Take advantage of this time you have here.”
Although this is the first event of its kind at Maxwell, the organizers of LEDx plan to learn from this outcome and evolve it for next years’ experience.