FORT HUACHUCA, Ariz. – Erin Beam, director of U.S. Army Garrison’s Directorate of Human Resources (DHR), is one of this year’s recipients of the Dellamonica Award.
The Dellamonica Award is given to people who have made improvements in their work environment, and who have been shown to motivate and inspire people, and who are viewed positively by their peers, subordinates and supervisors.
Dellamonica recipients embody the values of integrity, innovation, leadership and dedication.
“I was shocked to learn I had been nominated,” Beam said. “I’m not one for public recognition, but it felt nice to know that the things that are important to me are actually recognized, and that others see it. I strive to [embody those qualities] every day, so it was good to feel that I must really be doing it.”
It all started less than one year ago, when Beam was hired to be the chief of DHR. From the beginning, she said, change was inevitable.
“I was the complete opposite of the people who had come before me,” she said.
She explained her experience was in education, and she had worked in several education centers since 2006.
“My background is as a guidance counselor,” Beam said. “It just doesn’t happen often that you see the Education Director become the next DHR Director. But my degree is in Organizational Psychology, so for me, it was all about change.”
When Beam first came to the organization, morale was low, turnover was high and the different divisions that fall under DHR were spread out.
“I came in, and it was important for me to bring in inclusiveness and transparency, so everybody felt that they were on the same page,” she said. “We started by coming up with our own values for the organization, and that involved 100% participation of everyone in the organization, so that everybody had a voice. And I think that was really what started it all.”
Beam improved teamwork and job satisfaction by conducting “living and leaning into our values” sessions with the entire directorate.
“She listened to workforce concerns and identified challenges with and between mid-level leaders,” said Col. John Ives, garrison commander. “In a short period of time, she moved the organization from being disgruntled for a variety of reasons, to being empowered to change the environment.
“The entire organization pulled together to develop and define the following values: respect, professionalism, leadership (lead by example), compassion and a healthy environment”
The second big change that happened in the organization was one of necessity. The historic building that housed parts of the organization developed a catastrophic roof leak, forcing them to find a new building to house the entire team.
“We had to acquire a whole new building,” she said. “But the new building had been previously used as a medical clinic, and it had tile up the walls and everything. So everybody came together, and we totally transformed it and made it into our home.”
Not only did the work help bring everyone together figuratively, it brought them together in a literal sense as well.
“It brought everybody back together under one roof,” Beam explained. “Now we can be a one-stop shop so the Soldiers don’t have to go to several different places for assignments and ID cards and all the different things that they need.”
The director even moved her own office into the new building, something which hadn’t been done before.
“As a director, I did not want to feel secluded,” she said. “So I moved the director position into this building as well, so I could be a part of the team. So now I’m here, in the foxhole with the team. I’m not going to just ‘manage’ them, I’m going to be in the foxhole with them!”
Beam leads a people organization focused on serving Soldiers, supporting quality of life and sustaining readiness, the garrison commander explained.
“Her recognition of the organizational challenges and her courage to lead with a servant’s heart and move the directorate through difficult times is admirable,” Ives said.
Beam emphasizes that, while her name may be on the Dellamonica Award, it is really the team as a whole that is being recognized.
“While I strive to be a transformational leader, I work daily with an amazing team of professionals,” she said. “This is all because of the team and how they received me. They could have just continued with how things were, they could have been close-minded to change. But they weren’t. They were very open. Their morale improved, and they were empowered, and they just ran with it!
“It’s not just a job for a lot of these people,” she continued. “They’re so passionate about helping soldiers, and families and people. This award also recognizes the team that surrounds me, and I am appreciative of their support.”
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Fort Huachuca is home to the U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence, the U.S. Army Network Enterprise Technology Command/9th Army Signal Command and more than 48 supported tenants representing a diverse, multiservice population. Our unique environment encompasses 946 square miles of restricted airspace and 2,500 square miles of protected electronic ranges, key components to the national defense mission.
Located in Cochise County, in southeast Arizona, about 15 miles north of the border with Mexico, Fort Huachuca is an Army installation with a rich frontier history. Established in 1877, the Fort was declared a national landmark in 1976.
We are the Army’s Home. Learn more at https://home.army.mil/huachuca/.
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