More than 50 airmen gathered at the McChord Club for this month's Lunch and Leadership series, June 16, at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

This month, the Lunch and Learn session featured one of Team McChord's very own. Col. Anthony Clavenna, 62nd Maintenance Group commander, provided his personal thoughts on leadership and command.

"All I've got for you today is my thoughts on leadership," said Clavenna. "I am not an expert on leadership, but I will talk about some of my personal thoughts on what a good leader is and what it takes to be a good leader."

Before Clavenna gave his thoughts on leadership, he requested to be asked questions that he could answer during his lecture.

Throughout his lecture, Clavenna showed photos of people and events that happened throughout his career that helped him become the leader and mentor he is today.

Clavenna said to be a great leader, it is important to know and celebrate why you serve.

"One of the reasons I stand before you today is because of my dad," said Clavenna. "He was a Vietnam-era pilot and served twenty-three years. I grew up in an Air Force family and don't know if I would have joined the Air Force if it wasn't for him."

One airman in attendance wanted to know senior leaders' thoughts on helping airmen build resiliency.

"The way you build resiliency, you've got to keep your family balanced," said Clavenna. "No airman can serve if things aren't good at home. No family or relationship is perfect, you just have to find that happy medium and build on that. Maximizing your family time can help you stay resilient."

Another airman in attendance wanted to know what leadership was doing to help with retention.

"One way we can help retain airmen is to listen to what they are saying," said Clavenna. "We are all born with two ears and one mouth. If we as leaders would just take the time to listen to what our airmen have to say, their innovation and suggestions may be what it takes to make things better, ultimately making the unit a desirable work place."

Clavenna encouraged all leaders to get out there and work alongside their airmen.

"No matter what your career field is, you've got to get out there and work with your airmen for a couple reasons," said Clavenna. "One: You get to learn about the operations; two: You get to see the work environment first-hand; and three: Your airmen start to feel important because their leadership is out there working with them."

Clavenna closed out his lecture by thanking everyone for coming.

"Thank you to everyone for taking the time out of your busy schedule to listen to my thoughts on leadership," said Clavenna. "I really wanted this time together to be valuable for you."

To find out more information about future events, call the commander's action group at 253.982.7832.