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SPOTLIGHT ON LEADERSHIP LESSONS FROM THE MILITARY

When the Grand Forks Air

Force Base had to give up its
large fleet of manned aircraft
Positive Psychology as a
and handle the personnel
crisis that ensued, local
Catalyst for Change
leadership reinvented the
organization to keep it by John E. Michel and Andreas Neuman
relevant. •

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2020 to May 2021.
 When the Grand Forks Air Force Base had to give up its large fleet of
manned aircraft and handle the personnel crisis that ensued, local
leadership reinvented the organization to keep it relevant.

SPOTLIGHT ON LEADERSHIP LESSONS FROM THE MILITARY

Positive Psychology as a
Catalyst for Change
by John E. Michel and Andreas Neuman

In 2005, the U.S. Air Force’s 319th Air Refuel- sources weren’t sufficient to help these airmen
ing Wing, located on North Dakota’s Grand build the basic life and relationship skills they
Forks Air Force Base, found itself in a precari- needed but lacked. Something had to change
COPYRIGHT © 2010 HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL PUBLISHING CORPORATION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

ous position. Three years earlier, a decision
had been made to replace its large fleet of
tanker aircraft with an important but smaller
group of Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehi-
cles. With the entire manned fleet scheduled
to be redistributed in short order, we were left
with a vast infrastructure, an underutilized
but very capable workforce, and a base and ci-
vilian population facing an uncertain future
due to our pending change in mission.
Much of the staff worried about the base’s
viability. Morale declined, and both military
and civilian personnel began to exhibit an in-
crease in destructive personal behaviors. Over
the next four years, significant numbers of em-
ployees were referred to mental health or alco-
hol abuse counseling, and suicides exceeded
the U.S. Air Force average. Furthermore, disci-
plinary actions were disproportionately high
for the most junior personnel. Traditional
classroom training and our other available re-
to move these young, impressionable people
from merely surviving to thriving. Failing to
address employees’ concerns about future em-
ployment would only exacerbate the problems.
With limited financial resources, the base’s
senior leaders sought insights from business
leadership philosophies—most notably posi-
tive psychology, positive deviance, and appre-
ciative inquiry—to energize dispirited person-
nel and position Grand Forks to compete for
additional mission opportunities, should they
arise. The idea was to inject new life into the
organization and reinvent it in a way that
translated into meaningful service for every-
one who called the base home.
In a matter of months, the ailing culture
began to recover, and the behavioral trends re-
versed enough that the base became a con-
tender for new opportunities. The DUI rate fell
by two-thirds, to its lowest in our 50-year his-
tory. Suicidal behavior dropped dramatically—

harvard business review • november 2010 page 1

This document is authorized for use only in Mr. Rahul R Lexman's Organizational Development Subject-K-(2020-21) at Xavier Institute of Management & Entrepreneurship (XIME) from Nov
2020 to May 2021.
 Positive Psychology as a Catalyst for Change •• •S POTLIGHT ON L EADERSHIP L ESSONS FROM THE M ILITARY
John E. Michel, a colonel in the U.S. Air
Force, serves as the executive officer to
the commander of Air Mobility Com-
mand in Illinois. He was previously the
commander of the 319th Air Refueling
Wing, the host unit of Grand Forks Air
Force Base in North Dakota. Andreas
Neuman, an Air Force captain, is in
training to become a mission com-
mander for the Global Hawk unmanned
aerial system. He previously served as
the executive officer to the 319th Air Re-
fueling Wing’s director of staff. The views
expressed in this article are the authors’
and do not necessarily reflect the official
policy or position of the U.S. Air Force or
the U.S. government.
harvard business review • november 2010
This document is authorized for use only in Mr. Rahul R Lexman's Organizational Development Subject-K-(2020-21) at Xavier Institute of Management & Entrepreneurship (XIME) from Nov
and even as the installation’s population was
slashed by more than a third, voluntary in-
volvement in base activities more than quadru-
pled. Perhaps most important, we found a po-
tential new mission—as a federal government
center of excellence for the rapidly proliferat-
ing field of remotely operated aircraft, offi-
cially called unmanned aerial systems (UAS).
We created a hybrid organization with various
partners, such as the University of North Da-
kota, the Department of Homeland Security,
and elected civic and state officials. As a result,
the base is now on its way to becoming a nexus
of UAS research, training, and operations for
the United States.
Positive Philosophies for Change
Although positive leadership methodologies
have become fairly commonplace in the busi-
ness arena, they are only recently taking root
within the military. For many organizations
facing a significant transition, it is hard to
overcome the tendency to hunker down
within the clear, comfortable boundaries
they’ve always known. Grand Forks Air Force
Base was no different. Its “safest” approach
during this tumultuous time would have been
to stay inside the fence line and hope things
would work out for the best. But the risk of
becoming obsolete forced a change.
Positive psychology, as it’s applied in business,
emphasizes talent and fulfillment rather than
barriers and negative emotions. Leaders at
Grand Forks recognized that positive psychol-
ogy’s meteoric rise in popularity had much to
do with its ability to help organizations under-
stand how they can and should invest as much
in their psychological and emotional balance
sheet as they do in their financial balance sheet.
We developed, taught, and promoted five posi-
tive behaviors: caring, connecting, committing,
communicating, and celebrating (collectively
known as “the 5 Cs”). These behaviors, mar-
keted through a basewide program, established
a common language to help members of the or-
ganization cultivate healthy relationships. They
ranged from improving internal and external
communication to celebrating individual and
organizational successes. This campaign proved
so effective in fostering positive relational
change that other segments of the U.S. Air
Force have subsequently adopted it.
Another approach, positive deviance, in-
volves identifying and building on unusual in-
2020 to May 2021.
dividual solutions that can be used to tackle in-
stitutional problems. Grand Forks applied this
philosophy more extensively than any other
U.S. military base previously had. For example,
because the destructive and disciplinary ac-
tions had a relational component, base leaders
invited junior personnel who were seen by
peers as informal leaders to assist in cocreating
a solution that would promote desired behav-
ioral and social change. Airmen worked with
the University of North Dakota to develop a
six-hour program for all newly arriving base
personnel. It was a phenomenal success—pri-
marily because the target audience understood
it was a program for airmen, developed by air-
men, and guided by disciplined research part-
ners who could offer tools to help bring about
the desired changes. It has since been adopted
by a number of other bases in the Air Force;
more are slated to follow suit in early 2011.
Base leaders used the appreciative inquiry
framework to involve all personnel in con-
structing a shared vision for the future.
Though the natural inclination is to tighten
control in times of stress, we focused on em-
powering the workforce and creating an inclu-
sive environment to foster positive change. For
instance, we held a series of workshops that al-
lowed military personnel, civilians, and com-
munity members to come together and voice
their ideas about how to move forward. These
insights gave us a comprehensive blueprint for
the organization’s potential in a promising
market space: unmanned flight. Leaders also
developed a team invitation—as opposed to an
assignment—to participate in reshaping the
organization’s culture. People at all levels were
encouraged to voice their opinions, offer their
ideas, and respectfully challenge the status
quo. One good idea that emerged was to create
an open source platform, called Sven’s List
(akin to Craigslist but named after the base’s
Nordic mascot) so people could solicit support
for projects and programs benefitting base per-
sonnel and their families. Having the effect of
“flattening” the organization, this system en-
abled people from all levels to engage in dia-
logue on issues of mutual interest.
To infuse these positive philosophies into
their decision making, base leaders developed
a framework called 4 Yes. Designed to increase
organizational transparency, individual em-
powerment, collective agility, and shared
meaning, the framework acknowledged that
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 Positive Psychology as a Catalyst for Change •• •S POTLIGHT ON L EADERSHIP L ESSONS FROM THE M ILITARY
everyone—regardless of their place in the hier-
archy—had the wisdom, integrity, confidence,
and security to propose what was right. Lead-
ers throughout the base were told to use this
simple decision-making tool to assess people’s
ideas for change quickly and fluidly. If initia-
tives met the four organizational design crite-
ria (as appropriate), we could respond with a
resolute “yes,” and no further permission was
required for execution—as long as the actions
were legal, moral, and ethical. The base’s most
senior leader met one on one with the other
leaders to ensure that 4 Yes was universally un-
derstood and employed.
Putting the New Mind-Set into
Action
It took great effort to establish an environ-
ment of trust, the first necessary step in bring-
ing about positive change not from the top
down and from the outside in (as is so com-
mon in bureaucratic enterprises such as the
military), but from the bottom up and from
the inside out (consistent with the positive de-
viance philosophy). Essentially, the power to
make decisions affecting the future of the or-
ganization was diffused throughout the base.
This had the widespread effect of making peo-
ple at all levels feel as though they were per-
sonally and proactively involved in fostering
positive change—that they could start getting
things done, with the help of others’ insights,
rather than fixating on roadblocks.
Next, we assessed the base’s culture, using
an online survey tool to pinpoint organiza-
tional strengths as well as sources of dissatisfac-
tion. One important finding was that current
operations focused primarily on solving imme-
diate problems as opposed to exploring future
opportunities. This short-term perspective led
to a sense of hopelessness and anxiety, which
could easily contribute to an ongoing cycle of
destructive behaviors if not addressed. We also
conducted a search across the organization for
potential positive deviants—people who, de-
spite possessing the same limited resources as
their peers, still managed to achieve unusual
success and might provide replicable models of
behavior.
In our surveys seeking to understand how to
better engage employees, for instance, we
found a significant number of respondents
who enjoyed food and liked to cook and social-
ize over meals. But a lot of them lived in
harvard business review • november 2010
This document is authorized for use only in Mr. Rahul R Lexman's Organizational Development Subject-K-(2020-21) at Xavier Institute of Management & Entrepreneurship (XIME) from Nov
2020 to May 2021.
dorms, where the kitchens were not well
suited for cooking and eating together in
groups larger than three or four. Coming up
with a compelling alternative seemed like a
good opportunity to encourage greater social-
ization, build relationships, and increase sense
of belonging. With financial support from
higher headquarters, downtown businesses,
and community leaders, we converted an old
chapel basement into a professional-quality
kitchen where personnel could create meals
and enjoy them in groups; it seats up to 80
people. Architects who had for decades been
accustomed to designing for the military now
had a chance to be creative: They built a Tus-
cany-inspired space, complete with a 10-burner
stove. The area includes a large playroom for
children (the community donated toys, furni-
ture, and decorations). It’s open to the public
but reserved for airmen on holidays. One rule:
no cell phones or televisions. You have to en-
gage in personal conversations. The idea was
to give people opportunities to communicate
and connect in a more intimate setting—face
to face. They would have a place to enjoy
themselves and bring others along with them.
Recognizing that community involvement
can help build a deeper sense of purpose, the
base developed a one-of-a-kind policy that en-
couraged employees to spend four hours a
month, during the business day, volunteering
on or near the base. Typically, in a military
culture, allowing people time off from work
to volunteer was interpreted as a signal that
they must not be busy enough. Service was
appreciated—but on your own time. Now,
leaders at Grand Forks communicate that its
mission is job one, but there’s often enough
downtime to volunteer either on the base or
downtown. In one case, a nearby town had a
major flood and needed help. Airmen from
the base put in thousands of hours filling
sandbags, building dykes, and rescuing items
from a local museum.
The primary purpose of the volunteer pro-
gram is to elevate the act of serving others to
an organizational priority instead of treating it
as an individual responsibility. The airmen in
the example above happened to be serving a
local town, but employees can use their four
hours each month for any type of service they
choose. They can teach economics to fourth
graders, coach their kids’ baseball team—the
important thing is to give back. In the spirit of
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 Positive Psychology as a Catalyst for Change •• •S POTLIGHT ON L EADERSHIP L ESSONS FROM THE M ILITARY
true integration with the community, however,
they aren’t permitted to wear their uniforms
when volunteering their services off the base.
Some people are apprehensive about the
volunteer program. They worry about public
perception. The base works for the taxpayers,
who understandably want to know how per-
sonnel are spending their time. But we are con-
fident that the policy has played an important
part in Grand Forks’ turnaround, as evidenced
by the slew of remarks from airmen and com-
munity members about how it has engendered
greater esprit de corps and a newfound appre-
ciation for making service a priority every day.
Realistically, our positive philosophies had
to be complemented by more hard-line, tradi-
tional approaches. In particular, we took a
very strong stand on DUIs. Many of our em-
ployees worked in remote locations. We
wanted to provide a prepaid taxi service so that
they wouldn’t drive under the influence. But
the concern was that it would encourage drink-
ing. (Remember, many of our airmen are
under the age of 21.) So, we resorted to puni-
tive measures instead. DUI offenses were esca-
lated to the senior-officer level, which is pretty
traumatic for a young airman. We also re-
searched and posted the cost of a DUI for an
individual: upwards of $10,000 in legal fees
and a significant career interruption (including
loss of rank and potentially one’s security clear-
ance). No one could visit any of our major fa-
cilities on the base without being reminded of
the cost of making a poor personal choice re-
lated to drinking and driving.
Grand Forks Air Force Base transformed itself
from a cold-war-era installation into a model of
21st century government entrepreneurship,
stewardship, and partnership. It is currently
poised to lead the aviation community’s fastest-
growing segment: unmanned aerial systems.
The collaborative and inclusive focus of its
change efforts has generated external interest
in its success—so much so that the community
received a $5 million grant from North Da-
kota’s governor specifically to fund initiatives
supporting the base’s ongoing transformation.
The turnaround at Grand Forks shows how
any organization can apply business tools in
creative ways. Realizing that the base was in
harvard business review • november 2010
This document is authorized for use only in Mr. Rahul R Lexman's Organizational Development Subject-K-(2020-21) at Xavier Institute of Management & Entrepreneurship (XIME) from Nov
2020 to May 2021.
dire straits, leaders took a more active role in
articulating its potential to both internal and
external audiences. They pursued a host of
nontraditional practices to shake things up,
reaching outside the base’s borders to forge
mutually beneficial partnerships with universi-
ties, business owners, and even industry. This
commitment to assist government decision
makers in shaping the base’s future by step-
ping outside the confines of the status quo was
largely uncharted territory for a military
group.
But the story also illustrates how any organi-
zation going through a crisis with severe re-
source constraints can boost morale and per-
formance by appealing to workers’ sense of
purpose and desire to contribute in a meaning-
ful way. Monetary incentives are not required;
in fact, in this case they were prohibited. Any
company struggling with an outmoded or bro-
ken business model, or unable to fulfill its po-
tential for other internal or external reasons,
confronts essentially the same problem that
Grand Forks faced—a loss of mission and rele-
vance.
Of course, we didn’t win all of our battles. For
example, the civilians who worked on base (a
big portion of our personnel) were as worried
about their jobs as our airmen. They had less
job security than the military employees, and
they didn’t have all the same benefits. Since
they were positioned out of town, many of
them at least 15 miles from home, we wanted to
give them access to some services normally lim-
ited to uniformed personnel, such as use of the
commissary. But we couldn’t overcome the in-
stitutional barriers; for one, figuring out how to
tax them was highly complex. It was disap-
pointing for the base civilians and for us.
Though the future of Grand Forks, like that
of any evolving organization, is subject to un-
certainty, the base is undeniably on a path to
regeneration. In the end, positioning Grand
Forks for success came down to getting peo-
ple—military and civilian—to focus on what
we can do, not what we can’t.
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