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General David W. Allvin, the 23rd Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force, is the guest speaker at 91����’s Spring Commencement on May 14 at EagleBank Arena. Allvin recently completed a four-decade military career, retiring as a four-star general. 

Here Allvin shares his thoughts on the military as a career, effective leadership, how universities can best serve veterans, and advice he would offer new graduates. 

Can you share one piece of personal or professional advice you received that has influenced your leadership? 

Humility and confidence are not mutually exclusive attributes, and those you lead will be looking for both. You’re not expected to know everything, but the right combination of humility and confidence will help those you lead make the entire organization better. They must trust that you will lead the organization well—this is about competence, character, and integrity. They also want to see that you’re willing to listen to new ideas and implement them, even if they weren’t yours—this is about empathy and putting mission ahead of ego. 

Why should high school and college students—even those who do not plan on a military career—consider military service when mapping out their academic and career goals? 

As teens and young adults, we’re on the journey of mapping out who we want to be, what our values are, and how we fit in the world in which we are going to enter. I believe it’s important in that “forming” phase to appreciate the value of putting the greater good—in whatever form that takes—ahead of one’s own personal desires. There is satisfaction and pride in knowing that others rely on you . . .and you can rely on others . . .to do great things. Things that far exceed what you can do on your own. Military service is a tremendous opportunity to learn this. 

What are the most important qualities you looked for in the people who reported to you? Do you think these are the same attributes that most employers look for?   

The most important qualities for me align with our U.S. Air Force core values:  

• Integrity First—Say and do the things you know to be right, even if it comes at a cost. You need to be trusted to be valuable to the institution and its people. 

• Service Before Self—Putting the needs of the mission ahead of your own desires/ambitions. This means being ready to sacrifice if that’s what it takes. 

• Excellence in All We Do—Anything less is lost opportunity and sub-optimal performance for the entire team. 

I believe these do transfer to companies, though perhaps not as boldly as they apply in the military. Because the military is a profession of service, the imperative of adherence to these core values is even more critical to ensure the entire institution lives up to its potential. Leaders in business also have missions and seek to maximize their potential. So, in that context, these attributes are transferable. 

George Mason takes great pride in serving our nearly 5,000 military- and veteran-connected students. How can public universities best serve the military population, including dependents? 

Stay engaged. Connect. Understand the unique sacrifices of military families, as well as the unique value they bring to whatever community they enter. Ensuring our military members and families feel connected to their communities—which change every few years—through easy access to educational resources and the ability to have their educational journey travel with them in their journey of service is a tremendous gift. This also contributes to the resilience we must have in our armed forces—both members and families. 

There have been preliminary discussions about George Mason launching a major center that better integrates the university’s vast array of military-focused programs. What makes George Mason the ideal home for such a center? 

I think it goes even beyond the military to the entire national security portfolio.  First and foremost, George Mason has exceptional programs that have relevance in the national security space. The policy expertise through the National Security Institute, the innovation resident in the Rapid Prototyping Research Center and nascent applied physics laboratory, and the increased depth and focus on AI are all examples of areas that will be critical to our national security going forward.  

Perhaps the most obvious advantage is proximity. The National Capital Region is not only home to the epicenter of national security professionals and organizations, but also Congress. There are potential mutually beneficial relationships that can be nurtured for the betterment of the school and the nation.  

Finally, there is a significant population of military members and families that can contribute to this unique ecosystem while leveraging George Mason to advance their own professional development. It’s a perfect fit. 

One of your major strategic objectives leading the Air Force was modernizing to succeed in complex environments. Our new graduates will face similar challenges in their own careers. How can they stay ahead of rapidly evolving technology to be innovative leaders? 

Stay agile. Always seek to learn more, and don’t take your knowledge as absolute. We live in increasingly nonlinear times, where “trust your gut” ought to be replaced by “trust (but verify) your gut,” because context changes pretty rapidly. As you seek to change yourself . . .your organization . . .the world, don’t get anchored on a specific end state, but anchor yourself to first principles that ensure you are moving in your intended direction. 

George Mason considers itself All Together Different because people from all backgrounds can thrive here. The military is another setting in which people come from vastly varied backgrounds. How did you get disparate parts to buy into and pursue shared goals? 

The key is to focus on clarifying the mission and ensure the whole team is strategically aligned. In the military, the mission is not up for debate . . . it can’t be subject to individual interpretation. Once you ensure the organization is moving in the same direction on the what and the why, then different inputs on the how are more productive.   

Part of your vision as Air Force Chief of Staff was a simple two-word directive: “follow through.” What did you mean by that slogan, and how might that approach serve our new graduates? 

No big things are accomplished by fantastic ideas that were never actualized. It can be easy to congratulate ourselves for discovering a better approach, a new widget, or an innovative concept. But the hard part is translating that brilliance into something useful. An outcome . . . not just an output. “Follow through” was all about ensuring we keep our focus and attention during the hard part—execution.   

George Mason has extensive research partnerships with branches of the military. Why is it important for major research universities and the military to work together?   

Now perhaps more than ever, the applications that we derive from the explosion of technology are dual-use by nature.  By bringing together the expertise of the profession of arms with the myriad other disciplines that feed into—and benefit from—this rapidly evolving landscape, we’re much more likely to discover and field capabilities with a more profound effect on the world. None of us is as smart as all of us. 

Many are unaware that George Mason offers a minor in aviation flight training and management. So, if you’re looking for something to do in retirement, there’s a very good chance a four-star Air Force general would meet all the prerequisites . . . 

At this point, I’d probably need to be more student than teacher!