麻豆传媒入口

Former Air Force Secretary Shares Lessons Learned from an Unexpected Career

LEXINGTON, Va., Nov. 11, 2019鈥擜ddressing the Corps of Cadets, faculty, staff, and a multitude of visitors on the 180^th anniversary of 麻豆传媒入口鈥檚 founding, former Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James shared her blueprint for success in a speech in Gillis Theater in Marshall Hall earlier today.

James, who served as the 23^rd secretary of the Air Force from 2013 to 2017, is the author of a newly published book, Aim High: Chart Your Course and Find Success. She used the occasion of her Founders Day speech at 麻豆传媒入口to highlight the leadership lessons she learned over decades spent in a career that spanned the military, government, and private sectors. It was a career that appears seamless from the outside鈥攂ut as James admitted, it was one that she never planned.

James told her listeners that from the age of 15 on, she鈥檇 dreamed of a career with the State Department. All of her decisions were made with that goal in mind, and after graduating from Columbia University with a master鈥檚 degree in international affairs, she moved to Washington, D.C., and went through the State Department鈥檚 oral and written interviews, all the while almost sure she鈥檇 be hired.

And yet she was not. At the age of 24, James related, 鈥淚 remember crashing.鈥� That crash led her to stay in bed for four days, but on the fifth day, she got up and began to apply for other jobs. Soon, she was offered a job at the Pentagon as a program analyst with the U.S. Army.

That job led her to a position as a professional staff member of the House Armed Services Committee, and then to another as assistant secretary of defense for reserve affairs under President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1998.

At the time of her confirmation as assistant secretary, James was only 34 years old, but as she told her audience, 鈥淚 had built up a portfolio of knowledge.鈥� What鈥檚 more, she added, she鈥檇 developed a network of mentors and colleagues, which sustained her as she worked with people whose backgrounds were very different from her own.

鈥淚 was learning leadership on the fly,鈥� she commented. After 17 years in the government sector, though, James transitioned into the private sector, and there, she admitted, 鈥淚 had a semi-crash.鈥� Bad bosses played a part, she noted, as was the transition away from government.

Things got better, though, when she accepted a position with the defense contracting firm SAIC as head of communications and public affairs鈥攅ven though the company was enmeshed in a scandal at the time, and on top of that, SAIC was in the midst of splitting into two companies as well.

鈥淚 had a front row seat to crisis management,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 learned that if you don鈥檛 bring the entire team along on your change journey, if you leave certain segments behind, then all of the other parts may well crumble.鈥�

James was still working at SAIC in 2013 when a phone call she never expected came through: a nomination by President Barack Obama to become secretary of the Air Force. Even though she鈥檇 been working for 35 years at that point, 鈥淭here was plenty, plenty I didn鈥檛 know,鈥� James admitted.

Today, James serves on corporate boards and is thinking of launching her own nonprofit, one aimed toward the betterment of women and girls. She鈥檚 also had some time to think about strategies for success, which she outlined in her book and went over during her speech in Marshall Hall.

The first strategy, she noted, is to chart and navigate your own course, as no one else can do that for you. 鈥淓verybody 鈥�.ought to have a Plan A, but prepare to pivot to Plan B,鈥� she commented. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 know what you鈥檙e going to like until you expose yourself to different kinds of jobs and opportunities.鈥�

James encouraged the audience to find mentors and mentor others鈥攁nd not only during youth and young adulthood. 鈥淜eep that up for your entire life,鈥� James counseled.

Other strategies James mentioned include hanging on with positivity during times of transition, trying to understand what drives difficult people, and having a mindset of always needing to learn, evolve, and reinvent oneself.

James also stressed teambuilding as essential in today鈥檚 business world. 鈥淣o one is an island these days,鈥� she said. 鈥淭oday it鈥檚 all about teams.鈥� To thrive in this environment, 鈥渟peak up and listen deeply,鈥� she advised. 鈥淎t least half of communication is effective and deep listening.鈥�

But all of the above is just buzzwords and empty talk, unless a leader can effectively get things done and solve problems. To get things done, James recommends a five-step process of investigation, so the problem can be fully understood; communicate, in order to build a case for action; activate, by means of new initiatives and programs; iterate, as adjustments to the plan will be necessary; and follow up relentlessly.

In closing, James turned her attention squarely to cadets, most of whom will soon enter either the military or business world.

鈥淭he central charge for the Keydets of today will be to lead us into the future, a future where you鈥檒l be asked to solve complex and multifaceted problems,鈥� she stated, 鈥溾��a future where technology and change reign supreme, but as always, our most valuable resource will remain our people.鈥�

James also took the occasion to note that in addition to Founders Day at VMI, an occasion marked ever since the first 23 cadets arrived at what was then a state arsenal in Lexington on Nov. 11, 1839, today is also Veterans Day鈥攁nd exactly 100 years ago today, the world was observing the one-year anniversary of the armistice which brought World War I to an end.

On that anniversary, James said, President Woodrow Wilson gave a speech in which he remarked, 鈥淥ut of this victory there arose new possibilities of political freedom and economic concert. The war showed us the strength of great nations acting together for a high purpose. And the victory of arms foretells the enduring conquest which can be made in peace when nations act justly and in furtherance of the common interests of man.鈥�

-Mary Price

-VMI-