MICC-Fort Hood civilian recognized for leadership excellence

By Ryan Mattox, Mission and Installation Contracting Command Public Affairs OfficeApril 30, 2019

MICC-Fort Hood civilian recognized for leadership excellence
Aundair Kinney was recently awarded the 2018 John W. Macy Jr. Award for her leadership and transformative improvements she made at the Mission and Installation Contracting Command-Fort Hood, Texas, since her arrival January 2017. Kinney is the MICC-F... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas (April 30, 2019) -- A supervisory contracting specialist at Fort Hood, Texas, has earned the 2018 John W. Macy Jr. Award for her demonstrated excellence in the leadership of civilians and Soldiers.

Aundair Kinney, the Mission and Installation Contracting Command-Fort Hood contracting office director, was recognized for her leadership and transformative improvements she made at the contracting office since her arrival January 2017.

"I am very humbled by the nomination and the selection. This award demonstrates the confidence the Army has in my abilities as a leader and an acquisition professional," Kinney said. "The award is a reflection of the hard work the MICC-Fort Hood team members, both military and civilian, put forth each day. It means team members bought into my leadership philosophy and vision. I am grateful to have dedicated men and women that I can serve as their mentor and leader."

The MICC-Fort Hood contracting office is comprised of 79 civilian personnel and 37 Soldiers performing procurement actions for the Fort Hood installation, and Army Test and Evaluation Command offices located at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, Dugway Proving Grounds, Utah, and Yuma Proving Grounds, Arizona.

Kinney does not attribute her success just to a single leadership style.

"My leadership style is situational," Kinney said. "I've chosen this leadership style because each person and each situation is unique. I believe leaders must be adaptive and are servants. Each person that you encounter has a unique set of skills or strengths; areas for improvement; and expertise or training that they have developed."

Kinney's leadership has resulted in significant improvements to the contracting office. In 2018, Kinney's team obligated $272.6 million via 1,677 contracting actions; $269.7 million in 164 new contract awards; $105.3 million in 445 new task and delivery orders; and issued 1,068 contract modifications. During the same time period, Fort Hood closed out 1,359 total contracts.

"This was the most of any single office in the purview of the MICC's 418th Contracting Support Brigade," said Jennifer Townsend, the deputy to the commander for the brigade. "Kinney's agile human resource approach and leadership philosophy has reshaped MICC-Fort Hood. The entire office affectionately identifies itself as the 'magnificent' MICC-Fort Hood. Her commitment to the organization, employees, customers, mission and most importantly, the Soldiers, is beyond reproach."

To encourage the growth and morale of the people working under her supervision, Kinney adapted her leadership style by using both monetary and non�monetary awards, such as on-the-spot awards, time-off awards, honorary awards and other incentives to ensure exceptional performers were appropriately rewarded.

"Using a situational style of leadership allows for flexibility in the organization -- we can place or assign the right person for the right problem or situation," Kinney said. "It allows us to make changes when we make a mistake and not be tied to the organization chart or old way of thinking. It promotes team work, self-reflection, accountability and a learning organization."

To grow future leaders in her organization, she developed and led leadership professional development training during the second and third quarters of fiscal 2018 for military and civilian leaders. This training studied key attributes and tenants of leadership. Additionally, Kinney successfully promoted more than 21 employees from within the organization, as well as brought 25 additional people on board to combat the vacancy rate from both promotions and retirements.

"There is no doubt that the entire workforce at MICC-Fort Hood has improved morale and several people who were previously considering leaving Fort Hood have changed their minds and decided to stay as a direct result of Kinney's leadership," Townsend said. "Further, personnel who previously left the organization are applying for jobs to return to the organization."

The John W. Macy Jr. Award recognizes demonstrated excellence in the leadership of civilians and the accomplishment of the mission through the civilian workforce. It exemplifies both the highest traditions established by Macy during his long and distinguished career of public service, and the Army's philosophy that leaders are responsible for civilian human resource management. Considerations for the award hold that while the leader's qualities are often the focus of attention, the excellence of the team's mission performance, the growth of team members, and the esprit of the team are major indicators of leader effectiveness. This recognition is intended to identify and recognize role models whose teams set the standard for other leaders of Soldier-civilian teams.

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.

Related Links:

Mission and Installation Contracting Command

Like us on Facebook

Connect with us on LinkedIn

Video: MICC YouTube