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NATICK, Mass. – The Culture Engagement Team at the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Soldier Center, or DEVCOM SC, recently hosted Eric M. Bailey, a best-selling author and renowned expert on improving work culture, communication and human relationships.
Bailey led two workshop sessions that provided important insights into how fear of failure can hinder innovation and how the need to always be right can hinder constructive communication. The presentations included fun, interactive exercises that broke down communication barriers and fear of failure through laughter and connection.
During the sessions, participants learned how to try to abandon their fear of failure and their need to be perfect. Fear of failure, fear of trying new ways of doing things, the need to always be right, and endless debating all negatively impact productivity, innovation and employee relationships. All these things contribute to inertia and to good people leaving organizations.
Hosting Bailey was part of the DEVCOM SC’s Culture Engagement Team’s larger efforts aimed at creating strong interpersonal relationships and communication among employees. The team works to create a sense of community, connection and trust. The team’s efforts include surveys, focus groups, wargaming efforts and workshops.
Andrea St. George, PsyD, is an Organization Development Specialist and Leadership Development Program Manager at DEVCOM SC. She is also the leader of the Culture Engagement Team. She believes Bailey’s workshops benefitted the organization.
“Having attended one of his workshops in the past, I think Eric’s workshops strongly address differing perspectives and how we feel about each other, and subsequently how we treat each other, when we have different perspectives,” said St. George.
Bailey’s workshops addressed how irrational behavior and endless debate negatively impact productivity. St. George noted that endless debate and arguing are “huge time wasters” that can stifle creativity and cause an organization to lose good people if not resolved.
“If you can’t resolve irrational behavior, morale drops which impacts productivity,” said St. George. “You run the risk of people ‘quiet quitting’ — going through the motions without having your heart in the work.”
Members of the Culture Engagement Team are committed to improving DEVCOM SC’s working environment.
“What motivates me to do this work is having the opportunity to encourage people to see different perspectives to improve relationships,” said Tami Griffith, a member of the DEVCOM SC’s Cultural Engagement Team.
Elena Frolova, a member of the Cultural Engagement Team, believes an important function of the team is to help ensure that the concerns of DEVCOM SC employees are heard.
“I’m grateful to be part of a group of people that care about this type of work and are enthusiastic about making everyone’s voices heard,” said Frolova.
St. George noted that Bailey’s workshops are a great way to help people to gain perspective and understanding of their own behaviors and the behaviors of others, as well as ways to work together toward solutions.
“His workshops are engaging and empowering, fun and energetic and very thought-provoking,” said St. George. “I think the employees at SC will be thinking about his workshops far into the future.”
St. George and her team are proud to help improve the culture at an organization dedicated to serving the warfighter.
“I hope that the work we have been doing, and will continue to do, helps improve the culture,” said St. George. “We recognize that it’s a never-ending mission to be addressing the culture, and we are committed to doing the work for the long haul. Improving the interpersonal relationships on teams allows us to improve our effectiveness, which makes us better at serving the warfighter.”
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About DEVCOM Soldier Center: The DEVCOM Soldier Center is committed to discovering, developing, and advancing science and technology solutions that ensure America’s warfighters are optimized, protected and lethal. DEVCOM Soldier Center supports all of the Army's Modernization efforts, with the Soldier Lethality and Synthetic Training Environment Cross Functional Teams being the DEVCOM Soldier Center’s chief areas of focus. The center’s science and engineering expertise are combined with collaborations with industry, DOD and academia to advance Soldier and squad performance. The center supports the Army as it transforms from being adaptive to driving innovation to support a Multi-Domain Operations Capable Force of 2028 and a MDO Ready Force of 2035. DEVCOM Soldier Center is constantly working to strengthen Soldiers’ performance to increase readiness and support for warfighters who are organized, trained, and equipped for prompt and sustainable ground combat.
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) outreach and mentoring the next generation of scientists and engineers are also an important part of the mission of DEVCOM Soldier Center. The mentoring of students by Army scientists and engineers benefits the students and their communities. It also increases young people's awareness of potential Army job opportunities and helps provide the Army with potential new talent, helping to fuel innovative ideas that benefit the nation's warfighters and the nation as a whole.
The DEVCOM Soldier Center is part of DEVCOM. The U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, known as DEVCOM, is Army Futures Command’s leader and integrator within a global ecosystem of scientific exploration and technological innovation. DEVCOM expertise spans eight major competency areas to provide integrated research, development, analysis and engineering support to the Army and DOD. From rockets to robots, drones to dozers, and aviation to artillery, DEVCOM innovation is at the core of the combat capabilities American Warfighters need to win on the battlefield of the future. For more information, visit devcom.army.mil.
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