Ever wondered how high-performing teams are built in some of the world’s most demanding environments? In this episode, Jason Watkins, a Colonel in the United States Air Force, dives deep into the psychology, challenges, and surprising humanity behind creating cohesion and trust in military teams—revealing actionable strategies anyone can use to spark stronger connections and elevate performance, no matter where you work. His comments and opinions are his own and do not represent the DoD or the Department of the Air Force.

Col W. Jason Watkins is the Commander at the 22d Air Task Force, Fairchild AFB, WA. In this role, he leads a scalable, deployable formation of up to 2,500 personnel consisting of a command element, air base support element and multiple mission generation force elements. This pathfinding effort will develop the Air Force's force presentation model and support the Secretary of the Air Force's objectives to provide a definable unit of action, establish a sustainable force generation posture, and improve future combat wing structure.

The Colonel originally enlisted into the Air Force in June 1995 in F-15E maintenance, and then completed his education through an enlisted commissioning program, graduating in 2001 from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. He received his commission through Officer Training School in May 2002, then completed undergraduate navigator training in November 2003, and finally, the F-15E Basic Course as a Weapons Systems Officer in Nov 2004.

Throughout his career, Col Watkins has participated in eight contingency deployments in the INDOPACOM and CENTCOM AORs. Col Watkins is a master navigator and a master academic instructor, accumulating more than 2,100 flying hours and 2,000 contact hours of classroom instruction. He has led missions in Operations ENDURING FREEDOM and INHERENT RESOLVE.

Prior to this assignment, the Colonel was the Director for the Commander's Professional Development School, Ira C. Eaker Center, Maxwell AFB, AL where he oversaw execution of the Dept. of the Air Force's-mandated Wing, Deputy Wing, Group Commander, and Squadron Commander pre-command training for over 2300 students per year.

Below are the key takeaways from this episode:

• Human Connection Comes First: High-performing teams start with building genuine personal connections and trust among members before focusing on tasks.
• Healthy Friction Is Crucial: Conflict and friction, when navigated thoughtfully, actually strengthen trust and cohesion within teams.
• Effective Communication & Norms: Setting clear group norms and adapting communication styles are essential for maintaining cohesion, especially in diverse or fast-growing organizations.
• Leaders Must Stay Engaged: Strong leaders are actively tuned in to group dynamics, quickly acknowledging and addressing issues to maintain team health.
• Cognitive Agility Is Key: The ability to reflect, adapt, and shift perspectives—“cognitive agility”—helps leaders and teams thrive in complex, uncertain environments.

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