ATEC launches mentorship, program encourage professional leader development

By Ms. Courtney White (ATEC)April 7, 2015

Army Test and Evaluation Speed Mentoring Session
1 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Mentors and mentees from the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command actively engage during ATEC's first speed mentoring session at Aberdeen Proving Ground Recreation Center at APG, Maryland, March 30, as part of ATEC's new mentorship program, Mentorsh... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Army Test and Evaluation Speed Mentoring Session
2 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Mentor Paul Treat (left), director of the Command Initiatives and Analysis Directorate at the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command, talks with mentee Tavon Hanna (right) computer scientist at ATEC, during ATEC's first speed mentoring session at Aber... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Army Test and Evaluation Speed Mentoring Session
3 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Mentor Dr. Terri Lalain (left) Command Test Management directorate senior analyst at Army Test and Evaluation Command, talks with mentee Wesley Kenyon (right) ATEC operations research and system analyst, during ATEC's first speed mentoring session at... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Maryland - The U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command conducted its first speed mentoring session at Aberdeen Proving Ground Recreation Center, March 30, as part of its new mentorship program to provide a forum for employees at all levels to partner for excellence in order to enhance their performance, achieve their professional goals, and fulfill the command's mission.

The Mentorships at ATEC Developing Excellence Program, or MADE, was designed to establish a non-competitive mentor program for all ATEC civilian personnel nation-wide. MADE program participants are afforded an opportunity to glean best business practices, skill sets such as effective oral communication, interpersonal skills and improving job competency areas from other ATEC professionals, according to Sarah Wheat, ATEC MADE program manager who developed the program.

The program's speed mentoring session is designed much like 'speed dating' to quickly pair mentors with mentees in a fun and innovative way. Mentors and mentees are issued scoring sheets that enable them to score one another based on professional and personal similarities shared between pairs, explained Wheat. Scores will be tallied, and pairings will be assigned based on best matches revealed by the scoring results.

The first session kicked off successfully according to Ms. Jamie Pilar, one of the mentors that participated.

"I'm glad I got to meet everyone face-to-face and learn a little bit more about them, and what their interests were and where they could see themselves going. I think it was a great opportunity to meet so many people in a very short period of time," said Pilar.

The Army continues to emphasize the importance of leadership development and professionals, seeing it as a key component to a ready and resilient force.

ATEC's Commanding General, Maj. Gen. Peter D. Utley, expressed his focus on employee development and retention and maintaining a good workforce at the start of his tenure at ATEC.

"Our most precious resources are our Soldiers, Department of the Army civilians and contractors, and we cannot accomplish the mission without them," said Utley during the 2013 ATEC Change of Command ceremony where he became the new commander of ATEC. "Our primary responsibility is to lead and to care for them. We have a professional responsibility to coach, teach and mentor our subordinates."

And that sentiment has not changed since, evident by the many workforce development endeavors he's supported in the last couple of years at ATEC.

Late last year, ATEC started its 24-month Leadership Development Program, for military and civilian personnel. The program was developed to prepare personnel to take on new leadership challenges in light of the significant percentage of ATEC's supervisory workforce who are now eligible for retirement.

One of the ATEC Leadership Development Program requirements is for participants to be actively engaged in some form of mentoring relationship. MADE serves as an avenue to those participants that are not currently engaged in a mentorship connection either as a mentor or a mentee.

The Army's formal military mentorship program inspired the development of this mentorship program specific to meet the needs of the Army's Civilian professionals. "I found that mentorship is huge in Army. There is an Army reg [regulation], but it's more geared towards military members," said Wheat. "But there was no policy or reg [regulation] to follow for civilians."

"I've been trying to think outside of the box and wanted to make it fun. We've been doing so much training lately. I thought, 'oh let's do something different to gear interest'," said Wheat.

"With so many retirements expected over the next few years, many mid-career personnel will be expected to take on more leadership roles as our more experienced personnel retire over the next 5 years," Wheat explained. "We hope this program provides opportunities for those more experienced personnel to pass along institutional knowledge and lessons learned to help prepare the leaders of tomorrow."

Any ATEC employee, command-wide, can sign up to be a mentee, regardless of years of service. To qualify to be a mentor, one must be placed in a permanent career position and have completed at least one year of federal service.

There are two categories of mentors, senior and peer-to-peer.

Those interested in becoming a senior mentor must have, at minimum, ten years of federal service; whereas peer-to-peer mentors are required to have at least one to ten years of federal service.

The MADE Program is currently in the pilot phase to align with the ongoing ATEC Leadership Program that debuted in November 2014. The pilot program will launch for headquarters and AEC employees only in early April 2015 with the goal of a command wide roll-out program for early summer.

To learn more or to sign up for the MADE Program, contact ATEC G-1 office at 443-861-9827, or via email at sarah.m.wheat.civ@mail.mil.

Related Links:

The U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command