FOCUS ON LEADERS ~ Thoughts on Leadership, By A. Wade Doss, Director of Engineering

Photo By Catherine Carroll | A. Wade Doss, U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville engineering director, works at his desk during the COVID-19 response effort, April 2, 2020.  

HUNTSVILLE, AL, UNITED STATES

06.21.2020

Story by Catherine Carroll 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville

As I mark my 25th year working in the engineering and construction industry – 23 of those with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – I think back on many of the great leaders I have worked with. I have taken a little wisdom and positive attributes from each one, and probably a few of the negative ones too.

I think the number one thing you must be as a leader is likeable, approachable, and accessible. Your time is really not your time anymore – keep the door open; you have to be a people person. And you must remain flexible. You must keep a positive attitude in the midst of tough times. Folks are watching how you react and will follow your lead. You must also be self-aware and understand/admit your weaknesses. Then, surround yourself with staff who offset those weaknesses – the power of diversity!

A personal and professional goal of mine was to become the Director of Engineering for the U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville. And last October, I was honored and humbled to be selected for the position. I don’t take it lightly.

I said it in the interview but will state it here again: Huntsville Center is the Crown Jewel of Engineering resources within USACE. We house and maintain more niche technical specialty expertise than anyone else in USACE or the country for that matter. Time and time again, USACE and the county depend on the Center for the solution to a complex problem. The most recent example is the COVID-19 response.

Our dedicated and talented medical design and construction experts developed the concepts the rest of USACE (and some states) executed to build alternate care facilities all over the country to combat the potential hospital bed shortages. And they did it in hours and days, not weeks or months. If we had not been ready and answered the call to do it, I wonder who would have.

I have tried hard over the years to base my leadership style on two things. First is building relationships of trust and credibility with folks at all levels – those equal to me, subordinate to me, and those I work for. The second is I try to be goal-oriented. I try to have personal and professional goals, and I encourage my staff and the Engineering Directorate PDTs to do the same.

The business we operate in and the problems we solve are complex, and it often takes years to change or improve the way things are done. I have found in leading organizations you must set a vision and then set short-term goals and then stretch goals. And you must maintain regular emphasis and azimuth checks to help the team achieve those goals.
Here is Webster’s definition of leadership: “The art of motivating a group of people to act toward achieving a common goal.” Notice it didn’t say “science.”

Leadership is simply about providing a purpose and motivation to a group to get results and accomplish a task or tasks. And there are many ways to do it. As I said before I think great leadership is always rooted in great relationships. It takes time to build good relationships and hence trust and credibility with those beside you, beneath you, and above you on the organization chart.

I think great leaders are also great managers – they keep up with the details and stay on top of administrative tasks too. They ensure the routine gets done routinely so folks can focus on strategic tasks. I also believe great leaders are collaborative. They get groups together and sit and listen to the team for a long time before they ever speak or try to influence the situation.

Here is one thing I have tried to do over the years, especially when a group of folks comes in to my office with a conflict: I try to not focus on the specifics of the problem or direct a solution to the problem, but I listen to understand how the team is functioning.

I am thinking about the following questions: Does everyone have a valued voice? Why did the issue get elevated to me to begin with? It could be that they just needed my help to make a call or a decision or leverage my experience, or it could be that the PDT is not functioning correctly.
A leader who can remain quiet and create an environment where folks feel free to speak up will get a lot of info and wisdom about the ground truth in their organizations.

Our leadership focus in Engineering must be to predict, acquire, develop, maintain and improve the niche technical competencies the Center needs now and, more importantly, what the Center will need five or 10 years from now. I tell all the managers who work for me that if we are not doing the deep thinking on the stretch goals five to 10 years out, no one is.
Staying in tune with the latest technology in industry and academia, and then trying to leverage those, are key. Some current technologies we are working though include AGC – Advanced Geophysical Classification methods – and UAS – Unmanned Aircraft Systems. These are just two examples. There are more and will be more.

I will close by emphasizing leadership has nothing to do with your spot on an organization chart. It has to do with your knowledge and how you interact with others. We have junior-graded folks in Engineering who are considered subject-matters experts in their fields and have successfully provided technical leadership to PDTs across the globe. And they supervise exactly zero staff.

And folks really listen to them b/c they have perfected their technical craft, and they have great interpersonal skills. They speak with confidence – not arrogance – and they know how to inject their technical opinion into the PDT without alienating anyone. Sure, it takes some time to gain experience and knowledge to be an SME, but there’s no better time to start than now.

My challenge to each of you is work hard daily to perfect your craft and hone your interpersonal skills. Be responsive and relevant! Make a difference! Essayons!

• Date Taken: 06.21.2020
• Date Posted: 06.21.2020 13:03
• Story ID: 372551
• Location: HUNTSVILLE, AL, US