Photo By Leejay Lockhart | Brenda McCullough, director of Installation Management Command-Readiness, answered...... read more read more
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. – Brenda McCullough, director of Installation Management Command-Readiness, attended a Leadership Fort Campbell 2.0 luncheon hosted by Col. James “Rob” Salome, garrison commander, March 28, 2017, at the Soldier Support Center.
During the luncheon, Salome and other members of LFC 2.0 briefed McCullough on the progress the garrison has made in engaging employees across Fort Campbell. The briefing also covered how LFC 2.0 develops participants into leaders with a mastery of complex problem-solving techniques, which they can use to find solutions that will lead the garrison into the future.
The briefing covered numerous topics including mission command, the science of control, anticipating adaptive challenges, fostering transformational change, communication and professional development.
Salome said employees on Fort Campbell had used Army Design Methodology to systematically examine the problems that face the garrison. One of the first things the groups had to do after learning how to apply ADM as a problem-solving technique was to determine Fort Campbell’s current trajectory.
“Our propensity, so that means what would happen if we did nothing,” Salome said. “We would just incrementally solve these problems. So, we knew that we needed to make some bold shifts.”
One of the biggest problems facing the garrison was communication issues. Knowing how to get the right information to the right people so the organization can accomplish its mission, even in times of resource constraints, is challenging, not just for Fort Campbell, but for most organizations.
It has been and ongoing process for many people involved in LFC 2.0.
“We know that employees interacting with Soldiers and Families have information that we in the headquarters and IMCOM want, and likewise, we have information that they want, but how are we ensuring that that exchange actually takes place?” Salome said. “This group that’s their capstone project.”
One of the tools that Fort Campbell employees developed because of the feedback during their problem-solving sessions, was the Civilian Employee One Stop Shop. It is a website that consolidates mandatory training, the civilian education system, professional development and on-boarding resources into a single location. The goal of the One Stop Shop is to deliver training in an easier, more efficient way, which saves employees time that can then be invested back into making Fort Campbell the best Soldier and Family experience.
Scott Galbraith, a training officer assigned to Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security, demonstrated to McCullough what employees could do one the website. After the demonstration, she heard feedback from employees that have participated in LFC 2.0.
She said one of the goals for IMCOM is developing the next generation of leaders.
“It is our job to groom you to take our place and I see that Fort Campbell is doing that,” McCullough said. “What you’re doing is this awesome process we’re continually building the bench of those influencers, those leaders, those folks that will lead IMCOM into the future.”
As she took questions from participants, she said that fear is an obstacle to having effective communication. Leaders often must share difficult information with employees and that is one of the sources of fear.
“We don’t get paid to do the easy work and a lot of times what that means is we have to talk to you and tell you things that are not so easy for you to hear and we know that,” McCullough said. “Sometimes it’s not so easy ... so we are reluctant to share bad news. With my team, I have made it very clear that bad news does not get better with time.”
However, fear of delivering uncomfortable news is not the only challenges leaders face.
“It’s also fear in how we deliver the communication,” McCullough said. “Because not all of us communicate the same way. Not all of us receive it the same way. So, what I like to tell people is if there is a miscommunication it is obviously in the way I delivered it, because I only communicate as well as you receive it.”
She said that improving communications requires self-reflection and for people to be brave.
She thanked LFC 2.0 participants for making a conscious decision to participate and solve the complex problems facing Fort Campbell and other garrisons.
She closed the luncheon by saying that Fort Campbell’s approach would be something IMCOM leaders considered as they planned for the future.
“I am going to see how we make this part of our solution and move things forward,” McCullough said. “So, you are going to be the baseline in what we do.”
| Date Taken: | 03.30.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 03.31.2017 12:58 |
| Story ID: | 228763 |
| Location: | FORT CAMPBELL, KY, US |
| Web Views: | 77 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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