Photo By Senior Master Sgt. Paula Macomber | Retired U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. John Troxell, senior enlisted advisor to the...... read more read more
By Staff Sgt. Walter H. Lowell
Joint Force Headquarters, Nevada National Guard
Earlier this year, Command Sgt. Maj. Michael Spaulding, Nevada National Guard senior enlisted leader, launched the “Friday Leadership Series,” a monthly Facebook live broadcast. Now, an entire year into the program, the Nevada National Guard’s senior enlisted Soldier has led discussions with leaders across the Department of Defense on subjects such as force development, respect, inclusion, character building, and even geopolitics.
“We have gaps that professional military education does not always cover,” Spaulding said. “Events like these can bridge those gaps.”
Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Kevin Nolan, now with the Purdue University Global, Military Outreach Team, will conclude the calendar year of speaker events at 8 a.m. Friday at the Speedway Armory in Las Vegas. It can be viewed, as previous Friday Leadership Series events, in person or on the Nevada National Guard’s Facebook page.
Some other notable speakers from past events included retired Command Sgt. Maj. John Troxell, former senior enlisted advisor to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Command Chief Master Sgt. Tony Whitehead, senior enlisted advisor to the chief, National Guard Bureau, and retired Command Sgt. Maj. Teresa Duncan, director of Military Programs for Cornell University, External Education.
Spaulding feels strongly that there is a culture change occurring in the military and Guardsmen must look at innovative ways to communicate from the top of the organization to junior ranking service members — all while meeting the challenge a part-time reserve force presents.
He felt that a medium such as Facebook allowed leaders to talk directly to traditional and full-time Guardsmen. His next challenge was selecting a proper time to host these sessions.
After talking to the force, he decided the Friday morning before drill provided part-time Guardsmen an entire day to watch the program and the full-time force an opportunity to watch while on duty before drill.
Like any good conversation, Spaulding says communication should go both ways. Every event concludes with a question-and-answer session.
“What I want to see is more input from the company grade officers and junior enlisted leaders,” he said. “What do they want to know more about, what are the gaps they see at their level, and what do they want to see change in the organization?”
It is often junior ranking Soldiers and Airmen who propose the best answers to challenging questions, Spaulding said.
“We always say ‘Mission First, People Always,’” Spaulding said, quoting an Army motto. “When do we do ‘People Always?’ What does that mean? These are the kinds of conversations we are trying to facilitate.”
While he acknowledged that it is crucial to accomplish the mission and maintain readiness, if leaders do not prioritize force development, Soldiers and Airmen often will not commit to their growth, Spaulding emphasized during a discussion earlier this year.
He said that innovation is vital in building agility and critical thinking, and the National Guard can’t keep doing things just because they worked in the past, he said.
“We have to get out of the mentality of, ‘That’s the way it has always been done, and that’s the way we are always going to do it,’” Spaulding said. “That’s the easy button.”
“That innovation. That spark or initiative is what’s going to carry us into the future,” he said. “If we don’t go after that, our ability to compete with our near-peer competitors is nill.”
Spaulding said he plans to continue the Friday Leadership Series with a new set of speakers in 2022.
| Date Taken: | 12.01.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 12.01.2021 19:49 |
| Story ID: | 410282 |
| Location: | CARSON CITY, NV, US |
| Hometown: | LAS VEGAS, NV, US |
| Hometown: | RENO, NV, US |
| Web Views: | 75 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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