Women from the Nebraska National Guard and Duncan Aviation attended the Women in Aviation Luncheon June 12, 2018, at Hangar B, Duncan Aviation, Lincoln, Nebraska.
The Luncheon featured women in leadership positions speaking about and answering questions of how to be a leader. Two of the speakers included Brig. Gen. Wendy Johnson, the assistant adjudant general of Nebraska Air National Guard, and (Ret.) Col. Tami Thompson, now the assistant professor and director of the Master of Business Administration Program at Nebraska Wesleyan University.
The goal of the panel was to discuss obstacles they face in their leadership positions, why they are where they are today, and why they think they are successful.
The panel talked about leading by example, encouraging and supporting each other and finding a mentor to look up to for advice.
“I hope this luncheon shows role models and conveys that women can be leaders, they can be effective,” said Johnson. “There are hurdles but they are manageable and there are mentors.”
To be a good leader, Thompson said you should figure out what you are strong at doing and find a way to fit that into your leadership role. She also said it is good to figure out what your members’ goals are and help them find a way to reach those goals.
After being asked what was difficult and what was easy for each of them as a leader, Johnson said helping people see they are a member of a team instead of an individual or an individual unit is what comes easy to her. She said being a team leader helps you get better results when your team sees the same goal and you encourage them to work together toward that goal.
She added that as an introvert, making speeches and talking in front of large amounts of people is something she finds difficult but over time it has become easier and takes practice.
Johnson and Thompson both talked about taking advantage of training that is offered by companies that can advance your skills and knowledge for better personal growth.
“Be flexible and take any opportunity that shows itself because you’ll learn a lot regardless if it’s something that you’re well-versed in or not,” said Thompson. “You will walk away from it learning.”
When talking about how she became a leader, Thompson said to not be afraid of the unknown and unplanned paths that you face in your career. She said that as a leader, it is good to be flexible and to learn from the unplanned paths that you choose to take.