DURHAM, North Carolina (April 18, 2019) -- To polish their leadership and business skills, acquisition Soldiers and civilians from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, traveled April 10 to Duke University's Fuqua School of Business for their third annual leadership development seminar at Durham, North Carolina.
Dr. Sim Sitkin and Sanyin Siang of the university's leadership department led a block of instruction and discussion focused on the six domains of leadership: personal, relational, contextual, inspirational, supportive and responsible for members of the Mission and Installation Contracting Command-Fort Bragg contracting office, 900th Contracting Battalion and 905th CBN at Fort Bragg.
The discussion brought new insights and examined the nuances of a leadership characteristics versus managerial characteristics. Sitkin and Sanyin presented multiple case studies, which modeled and showcased organizational leadership throughout the ranks. The seminar's main focus was to present effective utilization of the six domains in order to create stronger leaders throughout an organization.
"Effective leadership is one of the most important keys to success," said Lt. Col. Jason Miles, 900th CBN commander and deputy director of MICC-Fort Bragg. "It requires vision, collaboration, planning and practice. The professors at the Duke Fuqua Business School reinforced these truths by coaching my battalion through the six leadership domains and by conducting practical leadership exercises. This course truly provided advanced leadership methods to create stronger leaders who will, in turn, create stronger contracting organizations."
Following the block of instruction, Soldiers and civilians were treated to a tour of the campus. The group visited the historic Duke University Chapel, constructed from 1930 to 1932, and renowned Cameron Indoor Stadium, home to the Duke Blue Devils basketball team.
The seminar offered reciprocal knowledge benefits. Industry and academia have an intentional partnership and balance; each affects the other. As the relationship between the federal government and commercial industry continues to evolve over the coming years, so will the relationship between Duke University and the 900th CBN. This ongoing partnership will allow both to continue to meet the demands and challenges of a complex leadership environment.
"The best leaders are lifelong learners and are always looking for new ideas they can implement to make everyone better," said Sitkin, the founding faculty director of the Fuqua/Coach K Center on Leadership and Ethics at Duke University. "The 900th is a pleasure to work with because they exemplify this. We look forward to continuing our partnership in future years as well,"
Army Acquisition Corps Soldiers and civilians serve as business advisers to Army ground commanders. They are trusted to interface with industry, lead joint working groups, conduct business negotiations, and meet critical milestones and deadlines in order to accomplish a common goal. As a result of the level of trust imparted to acquisition and contracting personnel by the government, these professionals must consistently hone their leadership skills and sharpen their approach to business administration. The goal of the Army Acquisition Corps is to provide the greatest level of customer service to the warfighter and contractor alike.
About the MICC:
Headquartered at JBSA-Fort Sam Houston, Texas, the Mission and Installation Contracting Command consists of about 1,500 military and civilian members who are responsible for contracting goods and services in support of Soldiers as well as readying trained contracting units for the operating force and contingency environment when called upon. MICC contracts are vital in feeding more than 200,000 Soldiers every day, providing many daily base operations support services at installations, facilitate training in the preparation of more than 100,000 conventional force members annually, training more than 500,000 students each year, and maintaining more than 14.4 million acres of land and 170,000 structures.
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