Speaker: Justin Thomas, Unit Chaplain, US Air Force
In comparison to other trainings you've attended, what stood out to you and made it particularly impactful?
Justin Thomas: What really stood out for me with this training was just how well it was able to create a safe space for us to navigate through the material. While at the same time being vulnerable with things that are going on ourselves and how we can utilize what is being taught for our personal growth and development, not just for what we want to do as facilitators. And so just the ability to bring strangers from all over into one room and produce this level of connectedness in such a short period of time. Um was fascinating and I, I really appreciated it. I really grew a lot from it and I really enjoyed it.
A lot of trainers only attend Level 1 - what would you say is the biggest benefit of going to Level 2?
Justin Thomas: So for where I stand, level one is where we start, that is introduction to what is emotional intelligence. What does it mean? What does it look like? How do we measure this out? Where am I currently or whoever is in the workshop? Where do we currently stand in different levels as far as the assessment tool? Um When it comes to our emotional intelligence, level two goes deeper, it allows us to really explore what is happening beneath the surface to really start to tackle the root of some issues. And so level two really creates that space to be vulnerable, to be transparent, to really show, you know, to really explore more. So, hey, here is where I am here is where I got, here's how I got here and here's what I can do to improve on these things so that I can reach the goal that I'm setting or we can reach the goal that we're setting. So level two takes it to another notch. It, it really allows the participate to do a deeper dive into themselves to produce the outcome that they're looking for. And so I think stopping at level one in my opinion might just be doing a disservice to the people who we provide these workshops to if we don't have the ability to do a follow up with level two. So I think level two is important and it's a must for all facilitators.
What potential impact would this program have inside your organization?
Justin Thomas: Recently, Emotional Intelligence has been spotlighted quite a bit within the United States Air Force. It's even gotten to a point where on our annual work assessment, that one thing that we are being evaluated on is our emotional intelligence. Because our leaders have come to realize or start have started to see the importance of emotional intelligence and how it impacts our work, our personal life and what we're able to provide to the mission. That's at hand being a chaplain within the United States Air Force, I work alongside airmen every day coaching them on various things. Emotional intelligence being one of the main things I've been co coaching them on and how to develop them and how to improve that. This program really helps me to be able to take it to a greater level because now I can start to facilitate workshops in a group setting, highlighting the value and the importance of emotional intelligence, what it is and what does it mean in our context and how does it impact us as we go out to do the mission? I'm able to do it in a group setting, not just on a one on one setting and I'm able to really show even leaders. Hey, here's what we're providing, here's what we're talking about. Here's how it's impacting your airmen and here's how it's impacting the mission at large. So this program really allows me to be able to provide something to my unit. We currently don't have and create something that's new to produce and yield better results and do the things and empower our airmen to do the things that they're were brought into this military to do, to accomplish whatever that mission is at hand. And so I think this program, this workshop will help me to be able to help others thrive in a personal and a professional Southern.
