Leading Change and Leading People

Leading Change and Leading People

For more than 20 years, I have been a leader in both the government and in the private business environment. This encompasses both work in the United States Army as a noncommissioned officer, and work in the civilian world within the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Leading change requires a great deal of initiative and more than just having a vision for the future. This is an important lesson that I have learned through the experiences in my life and the work that I have done for myself and others throughout my career.

I have been fortunate enough to have been mentored by some very outstanding individuals during my career, and have been promoted 10 times to attain my current grade of GS-15, which indicates that I am able to lead both people and change, get support for programs, influence resources, build relationships, and get results. As I result of this, I have received numerous honors for my performance. One of the most important honors, however, has nothing to do with medals or certificates, instead it has to do with how people think of me and what they see when they look at me. I have gained the reputation from my colleagues and staff of being a 'continuous learner.' I have been a student, working professional, wife, mother, and soldier, but throughout all of that I have also been someone that works to enhance my skills and the skills of others.

I am driven to continue to learn in whatever capacity I can for as long as I can. It is a goal that I have set for my life and a goal that I would also encourage in others, as there is so much to be gained from it. I have been able to complete several formal educational programs that have helped to enhance the contributions that I can make as a leader and have helped to set an example for my staff and my peers. By gaining knowledge, I have been more prepared for the challenges that I have faced and I have been better able to support my organization. In addition to this, all of the learning and skills that I have picked up by dedicating myself to lifelong learning has allowed me to increase my mentoring abilities and therefore made me a better mentor to others.

The area of leading change is one where I have skill, but I feel that my skills can always be improved and I am therefore committed to doing this. Recently, I completed a master of business administration with a concentration on human resource management from the University of Phoenix. I feel that having this degree will provide me with techniques and tools that are the most current which will assist me in making even larger contributions to my organization and to those that I work with and for. Where these skills will be the most valuable are in the areas of defining and solving problems, assessing information, considering alternatives, and choosing the best solution to the problems that I may face in the Department or in other areas of my life.

Completing this program also emphasized how much complexity there is in human interaction and communication, which is something that I was aware of but had not yet fully realized until I was involved with it on such a strong level. The course that I took on the fundamentals of executive management is the course that I remember most strongly as improving my skills in many different areas of being a leader. I have used the skills that I have acquired for many different things and have been involved in various projects that I would not have been able to complete as thoroughly and as well if it were not for what I have learned. Every time I deal with a new project I gain more skills, and every time I do this I also learn something. The coursework that I have been involved in and the degree that I have recently attained not only taught me even more skills but also showed me how to best use the skills that I have already learned elsewhere, making me a more valuable employee and a better mentor to those that come after me.

The skills that I have acquired through continuous learning have helped me in many different positions. I have been able to utilize many of the concepts that I have learned, such as benchmarking and best practices, for various issues such as dealing with protocol and working with others to create conferences and events that needed to be scheduled rather rapidly. Teamwork was one of the most important issues I learned and I was capable of organizing, planning, controlling, and executing activities on the cabinet level, executive actions, and special events. Ensuring the proper usage of resources was also very important to me and I led the organization in saving more than 50% of the reception fund budget.

Other significant events where I used my skills included the annual observance of Veterans' Day, nursing awards, chaplains' awards, socioeconomic awards, presidential rank awards, and visits from foreign dignitaries, among others. I was also requested by the deputy assistant secretary for human resources to participate in a task force that dealt with the employment and advancement of women. I received a commendation medal for this based on the efforts that I put forth on this task force. I have learned many business concepts both in my formal education and in the work environment and these concepts have enabled me to have a strong and positive impact on each one of the organizations that I have been involved with throughout my career. This includes the Department of the army, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Veterans Affairs.