Here's a relevant quote from a former Air Force leader. He should not hang back because his idea may appear radical or because the bulk of the crowd may not agree with him. That was Gen. Curtis LeMay. He is generally recognized as a pretty successful leader. A long time ago, he understood the concepts of empowerment, initiative and innovation.
Leadership is the key to quality.
Air Force leaders must reward the contributions of their top performers. They've got to do it in a lot of ways. They've got to encourage them to take a stake in their unit's performance. They need to create a quality Air Force that is characterized, as our credo says, by trust, by teamwork, by empowerment, by ownership, and yes, by continuous improvement. We cannot expect our troops to realize their full potential if they're operating in a threatening environment.