Assistant Secretary of the Army (Financial Management and Comptroller),
along with Col. Nora R. Marcos, Myrna Medina, Lisa Shaler-Clark and Col.
Sharlene Donovan -- all from within... VIEW ORIGINAL
WASHINGTON (Army News Service) -- "In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders," said Lt. Gen. Karen E. Dyson, quoting from Sheryl Sandberg's book: "Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead."
Dyson, who serves as the military deputy within the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Financial Management and Comptroller), and others, spoke Thursday at the 7th annual Army G-8 Women's Symposium, which was themed "Trailblazing Women."
Once the trail is blazed, Dyson said, "each door opens possibilities for those coming behind you," and eventually women get accepted for who they are as leaders, without the gender tag.
When Dyson was a company-grade officer in a sustainment brigade, she said, her supervisor wrote in her officer evaluation report that she was "the best female commander I have."
Instead of that, she wishes he would have written she was "the best commander I have." In today's Army, that would never happen, she said. But back then, he really thought he was doing the right thing.
While women have been trailblazers in the past, plenty of room for progress remains, Dyson said, citing the examples of combat arms branches and special operations opening up to women. She said she wouldn't be surprised at all if one day she sees the first female division commander.
Still, women are relatively rare at the top. It's hard, she said, to be the only female in the room and not be self-conscious about the fact.
"You have to stay focused on the area you're representing for the benefit of the Army," she said, adding that she makes it a point to keep focused on what's important during meetings that are oftentimes all-male.
Dyson herself is a trailblazer. In August 2014, she made Army history by becoming the first female finance officer to achieve the three-star rank.
Plans and missions don't always go right, she said, but it's always possible to do an honest self-assessment. "Look back on your leadership and ask yourself if you provided the best guidance," Dyson said.
Other female leaders spoke as well, providing tips for success that, in many cases, could also apply to males.
COL MARCOS
Col. Nora R. Marcos advised writing down your top three strengths and then jotting down your top three weaknesses. Then ask yourself what you're doing to focus on those weaknesses.
Marcos said she practices this exercise with her subordinates as division chief of ASA (FM&C), managing a $21 billion information technology and network modernization portfolio ranging from defensive cyber and defense business systems to tactical radios and network infrastructure.
During one such recent conversation, a female warrant officer confessed that her weakness was procrastination. During a later meeting with her, Marcos asked her what she had done about it.
"It's not a problem anymore ma'am. I told you I was going to fix it and I did," Marcos recalled the warrant officer telling her.
She offered two other strategies for being successful.
"One of my definitions of success is how many people reach out to me for mentorship and how many people I helped to develop," she said. "Another measure of success is supporting the people who support me, because that's where the rubber meets the road."
Finally, she said it's also wise to play to your strengths. She gave her own example.
"When I look at my peers, I'm in awe of their technical and tactical abilities. But I guarantee you they're in awe of my emotional intelligence," she said. "If you've got emotional intelligence, you can anticipate. You can communicate. You can empathize. You know when the right time is to talk truth to power. We as women tend to have that."
MYRNA MEDINA
Myrna Medina said success is about having a positive impact on those around you at work and pitching in when needed. Medina said she tries to do that as director of Financial Operations and Accounting Oversight, a key function of Army auditability within ASA (FM&C).
The key to success for a leader is having open lines of communications with subordinates. She said it's important for leaders not only to tell subordinates how much they're appreciated but to get to know them and what makes them tick, even get to know their families.
"That makes such a big difference. I've seen that throughout my career. It leads to synergy, and [then] employees are more willing to go above and beyond the call of duty," she said.
Finally, Medina said it's important to do something you're passionate about and not just take a job or promotion for the sake of moving up the ladder.
"When I'm gone, my grade or rank will be irrelevant," Medina said. "They'll remember me for the contributions I made to my family and the person I was."
LISA SHALER-CLARK
Lisa Shaler-Clark said the leaders who are successful are not the know-it-alls.
"The more senior I've gotten the more important it has become to openly admit that I don't know something," Shaler-Clark said. "How can you build trust with your team if you don't? The team needs to feel free to come and tell you how things work. That's really important and speaks to communications and teamwork."
Shaler-Clark said she tries to do that as the deputy chief, Program Budget Data Management Division, Program Analysis and Evaluation Directorate, ASA (FM&C). Her duties include data center migration and data science efforts.
Enthusiasm is important as well, she said. Enthusiasm literally powers individuals and organizations. Find a job or position that you're enthusiastic about, she advised.
As a final tip, she offered: be sure to learn something new each day.
COL DONOVAN
Col. Sharlene Donovan defines success in the Army by answering the following questions: "How far did I advance the football? Did I take my piece of the world and make it better? Did I leave the world in a better condition than when I found it? Did I set the conditions for someone else to do well?"
Donovan said she tries to be a good person and improve things for others as deputy director, Investments Directorate, Army Budget, (ASA (FM&C), where she is responsible for some $20 billion budget requests and executions per year.
Humility is a crucial attribute, she said. "There's nothing worse than an arrogant leader. Be willing to admit I don't know it all, I haven't seen it all, I can't do it all alone; I'm going to need the team to help me."
Her best advice for new Soldiers who want to build credibility, particularly women, is to "be physically fit and know your job better than anyone else. That is beyond reproach. Nobody can challenge you if you know what you're doing and demonstrate competence and show others how to do it. Don't think about what others are thinking of you and everything will fall into place very easily."
Donovan was the second women to assess into the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment.
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