A Military Journey to becoming a Civilian Leader: Chewing through the Cultural Barrier Author: Colonel John E. Angevine US Army (Retired)

In my first two months with Brookings Executive Education (BEE), I’ve been learning about the many challenges veterans in government face as they transition from military to civilian life. These conversations remind me of the cultural changes I observed in my last deployment to Afghanistan. There I had the opportunity to observe and work with several tribal clans. It was during these key leader engagements that I became acutely aware of the Afghan cultural diversity to thinking and problem solving. This diversity of thinking—exacerbated by the mountainous topography imposing relative geographic isolation—showcased the clans’ different deliberate approaches to relationship building and adaptability in working with others. Their aim was to increase the likelihood of achieving common goals in an austere environment. For example, in one village I observed its elders had expressed their gratitude to U.S. military forces for clearing their village of Taliban fighters by presenting a prized, young camel to our troops stationed at the nearby firebase. “Chewy the Camel” served as the village elders’ connection with the American forces, conveying their respect and acceptance of our presence. At first glance, this gift was a surprise. Even so, Chewy quickly proved an invaluable addition to the firebase security between the inner and outer perimeter walls since she was particularly territorial and disliked strangers, as well as a source of much needed entertainment during our down time by chewing on our boots—hence his name.

Upon reflection, Chewy represented something more than a gift. While this gift signaled the Afghan elders’ willingness to transition to a different pathway and to work with foreign partners, Chewy really was a signal to their own tribal members—we are changing.

In essence, the Afghan elders—the executive leaders—led their actions with thinking. They realized that new circumstances required change, and then took time to reflect what

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change they needed to make before acting. I analyzed their actions to gain an appreciation for their cognitive processes. I reframed their actions to identify the relevant issues and problems that confronted them, analyze the diverse stakeholders involved, and develop strategies to guide their actions in order to increase the probability of successful change. I quickly concluded these processes of discovery promote the thinking and behaviors needed to lead in today’s environment whether by Afghan elders or senior U.S. leaders serving in the public sector or in corporate America.

Not unlike the Afghan tribal elders who find themselves thrust into a new context, transitioning military members and veterans face similar contextual change when they separate from the military and enter into the civilian workforce. Veterans—I for one—soon realize that the uniqueness of military leadership skills that made us successful in the military are not always the same skills that lead to promotions in civilian government service or corporate America. In other words, leading in the military is not the same as leading in a civilian agency. There are distinct, yet subtle cultural differences that if not fully identified, understood, and analyzed could forestall a veteran’s effectiveness as a change agent or change leader.

The federal government hired more than 195,000 veterans into civilian service from 2010 to 2012.1 Yet, veterans’ attrition rates remain a concern, causing not only a “loss of valuable leadership talent but also incurring financial loss to replace employees ranging from 50% to 200% of their salaries”, as reported by the Partnership for Public Service.2 A Syracuse University study noted the “current trends among veterans are to change jobs twice within the first three years of civilian employment.”3 Syracuse University concludes “factors in determining the best job fit for transitioning military include income, geographic location, and [organizational culture].”4 Federal departments and agencies hiring officials wrestle with integrating veterans into a new culture, and often endure frustrations of both non-veterans and veterans alike. The hiring and retention of high quality veteran leaders ensure the agencies realize the benefit of seasoned veterans’ skills, experiences, and judgment. In this regard several important questions need to be addressed: How do we prepare our veterans to navigate the cultural leadership differences they will encounter in their civilian careers? What preparation should veterans consider to develop their professional leadership pathways?

Just as Chewy the camel was the Afghan elders’ signal for change, veterans and transitioning military members seeking to become change leaders should consider signaling their personal intent and willingness to transition to a different pathway. This journey from military to civilian leader requires both personal and professional leadership preparation to integrate into a new cultural environment, develop a vision, and lead the team to realize it.

The signal for my hero’s journey was a thorough self-reflection, applied during one of

BEE programs. Reflecting on and prioritizing numerous factors, I considered what I wanted for future challenges, need for rewards and promotions, need for adventure, importance of money, types of people and management cultural I enjoyed, location of position, where I

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wanted live, importance of a title, level of security and stability of work, etc. In other words, I answered these types of questions for myself before I set out on my career and job search.

Based on three decades as a military leader and this self-reflection, I set out on my

“adventure” into the unknown—seeking a new civilian career. I crossed the military transitional abyss with the assistance of mentors and helpers. I relied on BEE programs to help me with my transition, capitalizing on my military leadership qualities through practical application of the BEE’s award winning, 21st century curriculum—“Leading Thinking™”. Leading Thinking™ is a new approach for growing leaders. It starts with cognitive processes that produce desired leadership behaviors and outcomes. By learning to Stop, Think, Act, and Reflect, veterans not only develop new thinking that translates into new skills but also helps them train their brain to inculcate more advanced and nuanced thinking: key to becoming an effective executive.

Mary Ellen Joyce, Ph.D., Executive Director of BEE, often reminds me that “while BEE

curriculum builds upon the Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs), Leading Thinking™ extends these competencies by helping individual change not only the way they think but helps leaders influence the way others think.” Leading Thinking™ is the foundation of the BEE’s Master of Science in Leadership (MS-Leadership) program. The MS-Leadership prepares veterans as leaders in changing operational environments, accounting for an array of personal and organizational cultural differences they will experience in a new civilian career. This curriculum builds on veterans’ military leadership experience and qualities, expanding the toolkit in order to become effective change agents within the new civilian environments. They will discover how to connect thinking and action, continually improving one’s leadership capabilities and capacity.

Drawing on my lessons observed of the Afghan village elders, as well as experiencing my

own transition from the military, I am more resolute now than before of the importance to precede actions with thinking that leads to comprehensively find, frame, and formulate challenges before trying to solve them—this is the essence of BEE’s Leading Thinking™. I encourage you to prepare for your personal leadership transition from a military career to a civilian career. Brookings Executive Education is here to assist and help you in your personal journey to tackle today’s wicked government problems.

1 U.S. Office of Personnel Management, “Employment of Veterans in the Executive Branch Fiscal Year 2012”, (October 2013). Available at: http://www.fedshirevets.gov/hire/hrp/reports/EmploymentOfVets-FY12.pdf. 2 Partnership for Public Service, “Keeping Talent: Strategies for Retaining Valued Federal Employees”, (January 2011). Available at: http://ourpublicservice.org/OPS/publications/viewcontentdetails.php?id=154. 3 Syracuse University, “Value of a Veteran Challenge: Attrition and Turnover of Veterans”, Available at: http://toolkit.vets.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/GP-Value-of-a-Vet-Challenge-Attrition.pdf. 4 Ibid.

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