REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. -- Ten years ago, the Aviation and Missile Command put in place a leadership development program that has become a stepping stone for future civilian leaders throughout Redstone Arsenal.
The Leader Investment for Tomorrow program launched at AMCOM in 2005 during the command of then Maj. Gen. Jim Pillsbury and his deputy commander, Dr. Richard Amos. The significance of the 10-year anniversary will be noted during the 2015 LIFT graduation, set for Dec. 10, from 1 to 3 p.m. in the Sparkman Center's Bob Jones Auditorium. The 60 students graduating on Dec. 10 represent 20 Team Redstone organizations. They will join 650 previous graduates of the program.
"From the beginning, we knew our leadership program would be a cultural change. We wanted to change the culture of leadership development in the command and we think we've been successful at that," said Lori Reynolds, chief, Training and Career Management Division, AMCOM G3 (Operations).
"It's impressive that we've had five successive commanders and deputy commanders here at AMCOM who have recognized the value of this program and supported it without question. To be successful, you've got to have leadership support."
During its 10 years, the LIFT program has gone from two to three class levels: UpLIFT -- Upward Leader Investment for Tomorrow for GS 5-11 employees; iLIFT -- Intermediate Leader Investment for Tomorrow for GS 12-13 employees; and Advanced LIFT -- Advanced Leader Investment for Tomorrow for GS 14-15 employees. It has changed in others ways, too, but its basic tenant -- to develop leaders for the future -- remains the same.
"In 2005, what we were really trying to do was ensure civilian employees had the opportunity to improve their leadership skills and grow as better managers," said Amos, who has since retired from government civilian service.
"We wanted to educate and expose these employees to different leadership techniques. By being exposed to a wide variety of leadership styles and techniques, they are able to build their own style. They learn from others and see what works for them."
In those early days, LIFT filled a void that was glaring to a leader like Pillsbury.
"The Army has always had training programs at every rank for both enlisted and officers. But there wasn't anything like that at the time in the civilian world at AMCOM or the Army," he said.
"Knowing this, it would be unthinkable not to want to offer a leadership program that would open the eyes of participants, and that would be beneficial to them and to AMCOM. We needed a leadership program that takes employees out of their comfort zone and shows them what's going on around them at AMCOM and in other parts of the Army."
Both leaders were concerned about "building the bench," about preparing another generation of civilian leaders to step into the shoes of retiring leaders and managers.
"There was a lot of talk back in late 2004 and into 2005 about what are we going to do to prepare for the future. How are we going to manage the command? Where are we going to find our leadership as the workforce and our senior leaders age and retire?" Reynolds recalled.
"We knew we needed to build our bench. But we also asked, 'What is our bench strength going to look like?' We needed the right depth of leadership candidates on our bench to choose from."
At the time, the Army had not yet offered its Civilian Education System, which is a series of leadership classes taken online and in the classroom. There were, however, Department of the Army and Army Materiel Command leadership models that could be used to develop a leadership class. AMCOM G1 (Human Resources) looked to contractor employees with Analytical Services Inc. to help develop two comprehensive leadership classes.
"We wanted people to have an opportunity to practice leadership skills before being asked to step into leadership ranks and bring leadership skills to bear," Reynolds said.
"We wanted a program that spoke to specific leadership skills and that broadened leadership opportunities. We benchmarked other leadership programs to get an idea of what our overall program would be like. Leaders are at all levels of command, and we wanted this program to reflect that."
LIFT 1 started in July 2005 as a six-month program for GS 11-13s, with classes meeting once a month. LIFT 2 started in April 2006 as a program for GS 14-15s. UpLIFT was added in 2008 for GS 9-11s, with a curriculum based on the Army values. Today, each of the three levels are 10-month programs meeting once a month from February through December.
"UpLIFT is about leadership skills for individuals and about helping them find their career path," said Melissa Kilgore, a human resources specialist in Training and Career Management, AMCOM G3, who helped develop the UpLIFT curriculum.
"The idea of the Army values and what those values mean to Soldiers became the inspiration for the class. We wanted to mesh the Army values with the civilian workforce. The class has evolved over time, but those Army values are still the centerpiece. There has always been a lot of synergy within the LIFT classes and as we move on new people bring in new perspectives that build on what we have and make it better."
From its beginning, AMCOM's leadership program has been open to all employees within the aviation and missile materiel enterprise, which includes the Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center, the two program executive offices at Redstone and the Army Contracting Command-Redstone. But, in 2008, during the Base Realignment and Closure recommendations that brought new Army organizations to Redstone Arsenal, Pillsbury recognized that the program would be more valuable if it was open to all Team Redstone organizations. From then on, seats in the classes have been reserved for employees from the Garrison, Space and Missile Defense Command, Missile Defense Agency, Army Materiel Command, NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and other organizations.
"It's been beneficial to the program because it has added another layer, another perspective," Reynolds said. "It widens network opportunities for employees in the class and those contacts can last forever."
Reynolds said the program's success can also be attributed to the facilitators of each class.
"The team of facilitators are some of the sharpest folk I've had the pleasure to work with," Reynolds said. "They keep the subject matter relevant and effective."
Access to AMCOM's and Team Redstone's senior leaders was also important to the program from the start. Many are asked to be guest speakers and are sought out as mentors.
"In our early research, we identified that employees are more likely to feel connected with their organization if they have the opportunity to interact with senior leadership," Kilgore said. "So, bringing senior leaders into the classroom to talk with students is important to the overall program. And it allows our senior leaders to see the breadth and depth of the talent in their organization."
Through the years, the LIFT program has received recognition for excellence. Those accolades include: Workforce Development Award, 2006 and 2007, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, *Technology and Logistics; Excellence in Practice Citation, 2007, American Society for Training and Development; Excellence in Education, 2008, Army Management Staff College; and Most Innovative Approach in Return on Investment, 2012, ROI Institute, Birmingham.
"Applying for these awards helped us to crystallize our program, to bring into better focus what we want to do with the program and how we can improve it every year," Reynolds said. "There are specific training objectives for each level. There is no overlap or duplication. Each level builds on each other."
But it's the LIFT graduates who are the most significant source of pride to the program.
"One of the most gratifying things about 10 years of this program is that I have seen so many people in LIFT advance through their career and turn out to be those on the bench. They have been called out to lead and now they are having an impact on employees," Reynolds said.
Reflecting back on LIFT's 10-year anniversary, Pillsbury and Amos refrain from taking credit for establishing the program, preferring to give that credit to those who developed the program, and to those who have maintained and improved on it every year.
"I think the best indicator of success is the fact the program is still going strong after 10 years," Amos said. "There's a great message in having a 10th anniversary. It shows that AMCOM at Redstone Arsenal has a long term commitment to leadership development. It's a great message to the workforce that AMCOM managers career development and preparing their employees for future jobs."
And, for Pillsbury, the measurement of the program's success is the output of a better employee who understands the mission, what it takes to be a leader and how what they do on the job impacts the Army's Soldiers.
"If it benefits AMCOM and, consequently, the Army and, ultimately, it helps the Soldier on the flight line or on the missile range, then that makes me proud," Pillsbury said.
Editor's Note: Applications are now being accepted for the 2016 LIFT classes, which will begin Feb. 17. Those interested in applying for the 2016 series of LIFT classes can find information about the program at https://amcom.aep.army.mil/G3/CMD/suptool/LMS/default.aspx/ . Those interested in applying for LIFT can contact program representatives at 876-5080, 876-6062 or 876-6073 for further information.
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