This video marks the final installment
of our celebrating the workforce series .
The series was created by our L C MC
leadership to highlight different areas
of professional development for our
airmen . My name is Melanie Marshall
and I am the director for the
Acquisition Center of Excellence ,
which is part of the L C MC or Life
Cycle Management Center . The following
interviews are from a three part series
focusing on generations in the
workforce communication , motivation
and mentoring are all our main themes .
Motivation is the topic of the video
money is a particular motivator , but
there are so many other reasons why our
airmen work every day to advance their
products and their projects across
generations . Airmen all note a desire
to serve the American people as a major
motivator . You probably feel the same
way after introductions from A A F L C
MC command , chief chief master
Sergeant , Jamie Newman and Captain
Alexis Tadeo , you will meet three
members of our F-22 program office .
One of the three is our youngest airman
feature . So his perspective on
motivation is especially unique
motivation is the desire of someone to
do something . A common motivation
among all who serve is a sense of duty
over self and this applies to civilian
airmen as well . Our teams contribute
to a strong national defense , a more
secure homeland and support the war
fighter . I am at the Museum of the
United States Air Force . A special
exhibit focuses on 75 years of Air
Force history . Those 75 years are made
up of different generations working to
achieve the common goal of American Air
dominance across the Air Force . And
certainly within the life cycle
management center , teams are made up
of airmen from different generations .
Even those motivated by securing the
homeland and advancing aviation
technology can face periods of waning
motivation and focus . What keeps an
individual or a whole team motivated to
get a big project across the finish
line . Most teams find that relying on
each other goes a long way to staying
committed to a collective goal . When
one person feels overwhelmed or out of
sync , another can help steer the
project back on track with the benefit
of multiple generations in one
workplace . Each group can benefit from
shared knowledge , motivation and
positivity are just as contagious as
negativity being part of a high
functioning team can be infectious and
exciting F-22 modernization project
means our pilots will maintain air
dominance . Older team members will
remember things didn't go quite as
planned for the F-22 and budget cuts
meant surprise changes for the program .
Instead of being demoralized , these
airmen stayed focused now they are
teaching a whole new generation about
supporting the unrivaled tactical
fighter in the video ahead , you will
meet members of the A F L C MC F-22
team . Some are very new to the Air
Force and are thankful for the guidance
provided by Morris season and airman .
Others are experienced in in leadership
roles . Listen , as they share their
tips on how to stay motivated at work .
Money is a universal motivator but more
than money has been found to inspire
members in a workplace . Some
motivators differentiate between
generations relating to their values ,
driving behaviors and sought
opportunities . Recent decades have
embraced change and flexibility ,
creating an environment for the
currently largest working age group .
The millennials to jump between
multiple organizations or even between
careers . A Gallup poll found 60% of
millennials were open to a different
job opportunity suggesting no
attachment to their current
organization today , millennials don't
just work for a paycheck but for a
purpose they need meaning in their work
which can be found in organizations
aligned with a mission with meaning
comes a sense of purpose . Millennials
seek organizations who value them and
work to capitalize and develop their
strengths rather than solely fixing
weaknesses . While a baby boomer looks
to monetary rewards , a prestigious job
title for recognition and retirement
funding as benefits . Millennials look
for continuous recognition , flexible
schedules and time off as benefits in
the middle . We find generation X ,
they have embraced the entrepreneurial
spirit making up 55% of all startup
founders , they are generally more
independent workers valuing that work
life balance and seeking promotions
based upon competency rather than rank
or seniority . Generation Z follows in
the footsteps of millennials influenced
by an age of advanced technology . They
look for meaning in their work but also
value salary and health insurance .
They are trending entrepreneurs like
generation X taking personal
responsibility for their career and
looking for progressive organizations
who will focus on skill development and
self improvement . Technology is a
valuable motivator to generation C .
They seek education and training
through digital delivery methods . They
become best engaged if provided access
to cutting edge technology and they
seek the infrastructure to allow them
to apply technology to innovate within
their job . Let's now apply these key
tenants within a program office and
learn how team members have experienced
different motivating techniques to
progress forward .
Hello everybody . My name is uh Drew
Domer and I work for the program
integration branch of F-22 Raptor
within program integration . I function
as a core for the EPA contract . EPA
being the engineering procurement and
support services contract . I also work
with the enterprise metrics , teams to
keep updated metrics on the other
branches and compile those metrics into
dashboards or briefcases that are
easily digestible and can be presented
at a leadership level to help them make
decisions . Besides that I take care of
other miscellaneous tasks as they arise
within P Um I was born in
1998 so I'm right at the beginning of
the gen Z generation . I graduated from
college in 2021 . I've been working for
the Air Force now since last August .
So just barely over a year . Um
So being that it is a multigenerational
environment . A lot of the people I
work with on a day to day basis have
been in the Air Force for significantly
longer than me . They have
significantly more experience than me .
So for a lot of the stuff , as I'm
still learning , it's going to them and
trying to learn from them and gaining
some of that knowledge that they
possess . And in my experience , they
all , they've always been very happy
and more than willing to take me aside
and help me with the task that I'm
struggling with . Um or even if it
doesn't pertain to my immediate job ,
just take me aside and walk me through
something or show me something that
they think would be beneficial for me
to know for my future in the Air Force ,
even if it doesn't pertain to my
specific job now . Um but it's just
very helpful and all about helping you
succeed and putting you in a position
to succeed . So then the greater Air
Force can succeed and the overall air
Force is stronger because of it .
That's one of the things my supervisor
always brings up is that it's an aging
workforce . So it's important to invest
in the younger , newer generation of
employees . And he says that their job
is to , they're here to help , put us
in a , in a position to succeed and
have success in our careers with the
Air Force . So
moving on to what motivates my
generation , I really think that's in
my experience with F-22 . I think it's
not really a generational motivation ,
but it's an overall motivation for the
entire air force . I think we're one
and the same there as we have the same
motivation and that is to deliver the
best possible product to the war fire ,
best possible jet to the war fighter .
So that if the need ever arises , F-22
is prepared and will thrive .
Um Finally talking about a recent
success . This is specifically for the
P I uh the program integration branch .
Um But recently a couple of months ago ,
we had an E PM R an enterprise program
program management review um that we
held down in Lockheed Martin facilities
in Fort Worth , Texas . Uh just a lot
of planning . Um A lot of
coordination both with contractors and
government . Um just to get people from
a bunch of different branches , a bunch
of different departments , a bunch of
different companies down there just to
talk about the F-22 program and
where it needs to go and how we can
improve . Um and what we need to do to
make , be successful . And that was um
in program integration's view , a big
success as the event went on . Great
and we got a lot of good insights and
learned a lot from the um interactions
we had down there . So once again , um
my name is Drew Domer . I'm Jen Zine .
I work for F-22 Raptor . Thank you .
Hello . My name is Marty CAL . I am a
program manager with the program
integration branch in F-22 and I
am a member of the millennial
generation . And when it comes
to , I suppose , motivation , I , I've
often found myself , I guess somewhat
at odds with um my generation , I'm not
sure if I've had the same type of
motivating factors of , you know ,
trying to find a job that has meaning
for me or um being willing to move
around a lot . I've kind of maybe
perhaps absorb some of my uh parents
baby boomer tendencies of being like ,
OK , I'm getting a job and I'm sticking
with it because , you know , it's good
pay , it provides um security , those
sorts of things . Um that said I do
know that , you know , underneath it ,
there is perhaps a motivation
for that type of like recognition
and sorts of , you know ,
acknowledgement that other members of
my generation have often um
prioritized . I find myself much
happier in a job where I know that what
I'm doing is um appreciated , not
just through the uh you know ,
provision of a paycheck or what have
you , but through , you know ,
engagement with my leadership and um
just even words from my peers . So I
suppose perhaps while I've tried to be ,
um , you know , focused on the job that
I'm doing and focused on the types of
um things that would maybe prevent me
from looking elsewhere . There is those
types of uh generational differences
that perhaps are under the surface , so
to speak . Um I , I would say that
in our office or at least in the team
that I work with , it's definitely
multigenerational . The , although the
most part I would say are um our
branch in F-22 , at least is heavily um
represented by baby boomers . So it's
been not exactly , I wouldn't say
difficult , but perhaps it's been , you
know , different as far as trying to ,
you know , utilize motivation , keep
people motivated to perform . Um at
least with um my teammates that are in
that age range or that generational
range . I've found just , you know ,
being willing to , you know , have like
phone calls or trying to talk to them
face to face and has been much
better in ensuring that they're engaged
and motivated in a task . Whereas with
um some of the younger uh personnel
that are on teams like in either my
generation or Gen Z . And um
it's been easier to just , you know ,
write a text message or write um an
email and say , hey , we need to do
this is everything . OK ? Yeah , sure .
And let me go and then even with the
gen Z folks having , uh , phone
conversations with them has not always
proven to be the best and motivated
factors . Sometimes it seems like
they're more interested in just , you
know , give me the information and
let's go sort of deal . So , you know ,
you have to kind of balance that with
how you work and , um , how the team is
going to be successful . And I , I
think for the most part though , the
team has been good because that's sort
of understood , like I don't think
anybody actively resists in trying to
find ways to motivate other generations .
Nobody goes like , well , I don't think
I need to do that or what have you .
They , you know , all recognize if
nothing else as their main motivating
factor , I guess that we work for the
United States Air Force for public
servants . So we work for the
American people . My name is Marty
Calvi . I'm a member of the millennial
generation and I am a program manager
in the F-22 program integration branch .
Hi , my name is Tina Lawson and I am a
member of Generation X . I am deputy to
the F-22 Avionics branch chief and lead
program manager for modernization of
F-22 communication and navigation
systems . I'm very fortunate in that I
have a team with a wide range of life
experiences that we can draw from both
professionally and generationally . Uh
The majority of my team is Gen X uh
because supporting 1/5 gen fighter does
tend to skew a little bit older , but
since we are aggressively working to
feel new capabilities to the fighter in
response to changes in the threat
environment . Uh We are lucky that uh
particularly in the engineering
professions , uh We are starting to see
a lot of millennials join our staff .
Quite a few of our gen X and Boomer
professionals on the F-22 Raptor have
been around since the platform started
fielding . They understand the
reasoning behind decisions that were
made at the time . Uh Varying from what
type of data cables were available in
the nineties to how we made the
decisions to share the intellectual
property rights uh for the Raptor with
our prime integrator . Uh But the great
thing about having our our new
millennial teammates coming on board is
that uh they have a fresh point of view .
They are questioning those old
decisions and trying to understand why
they were made at the same time as
being able to see some of the
unpredictable downstream impacts that
came from those choices . They're also
doing a fantastic job of leveraging
their innate understanding of modern
technologies to improve the user
experience for raptor pilots or to help
introduce open systems architecture to
the platform without sacrificing
platform security , uh open source
architecture , I think is a , a big win
for the raptor and a , a great
motivating element because one of our
biggest frustrations sometimes is how
long it can take to go from conception
of a new capability to actually
fielding that capability . Um
There are definitely different
motivators by generation . Uh the
cultures of our youth , I think really
do play into that . And so do the
lessons from our parents and the
educators we grew up with . But as a
team lead , it is very important to me
that I use those as a starting point
for how I motivate my team rather than
as a sole strategy . Um a good example
I can think of is that , you know ,
quite a few boomers are now approaching
retirement or maybe even working past
retirement age . And it's very tempting
to think of them uh as stagnant or
locked into the position where they are
in their career . And I , I think that
is definitely a mistake . So yeah ,
perhaps people might want to consider a
reduced work schedule and continue
working uh just as they are few hours
fewer hours per week . But at the same
time , uh it's important to look for
those who may want to take on a new
secondary responsibility , uh something
smaller than a major career change ,
but that will let them continue
learning and remaining intellectually
challenged uh in the latter part of
their career . Uh As a member of
generation X , what motivates me uh is
work life balance uh pretty much
solidly . That is what motivates me . I
cut my professional teeth in one of
those 24 7 corporate environments and I
really never want to go back to that .
So when you talk well , to me or my
peers in Gen X , uh what we really like
to see is a flexible work schedule and
enough leadership responsibility that
it keeps things interesting , but not
so much that all we ever do is make
decisions . I think it's very important
to us to stay hands on and uh stay
fresh on what's currently happening in
our field and not just sit there at a
desk pushing paper all day if at all
possible . I am Tina Lawson . I work on
the F-22 Raptor and I am the
deputy to the branch chief for Raptor
Avionics as well as the program
management lead for F-22 communications
and navigation systems . Thank you ,
Chief Newman , Captain and our F-22
experts . Drew Domer Martin Cal
and Tina Lawson . If you missed the
other two videos in our series , they
are available now on the L C MC website .
More celebrating the workforce content
will be added periodically online ,
watch your emails for updates .