Friday, November 30, 2012

Leadership Blog Series Parts Five and Six: David Love/Tom Hughes

In recognition of Edgewood Chemical Biological Center's November Leadership Month, a special blog series featuring ECBC employee responses on what it takes to be an effective leader will be featured on the blog throughout the month of November. This final installment features David Love and Tom Hughes, both chemists with the U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center.

David Love


What leader (famous or personal leader) inspires you the most and what qualities do he or she possess that others can learn from?

There have been two personal leaders that inspired me; one was a community leader during my young adult hood and a supervisor during my professional career. Their personalities were different but they both were honest, trustworthy and treated everyone the same. They made sacrifices for the betterment of the whole. The community leader sacrificed his time and money to advocate for the youth in our community. My supervisor sacrificed his time to enhance his employee skills and advocate to upper management for those he was responsible for. The community leader was also my sports coach and he always encouraged us to do our best and he never showed disappointment when we did not win. He would say “did you do your best”?  We would say yes, he would say “that is all I ask, is that you do your best.”


What is the best piece of advice that you have ever received and how have you applied said advice in your daily life?

The best advice that I have ever received is that “you don’t fail, you learn.” No matter what the task is in front of me, I know that if I keep trying, I will eventually learn how to do it and get better at doing it. Failure is not part of my vocabulary.


Can you describe your biggest achievement or disappointment, and what lesson you learned from it?

I had very good athletic skills when I was a young adult and like most youths, I wanted to become a professional athlete (football player). When we played pickup football in the community, I was always chosen first or second to play. There was an organized football team that all the best athletes in the community played on and they had a reputation for winning.

I tried out for the football team and I got cut, I did not make the team.  The hardest part was facing my peers, telling them that I did not make the team. Seeing the disappointment in their eyes hurt.

I learned two things from not making the team; one is that by trying out for the team I learned what I needed to improve on in order to make the team the next year. Second, I learned that life is about timing, it just was not my time. I made the team the next year and the third year I player, we were the POP Warner National Champs.

In your own words, what shapes an effective leader?

The one thing that shapes most leaders is their experiences good and bad. A leader must understand himself/herself, this means knowing his/her strengths and weaknesses. He or she also must take time to know the strengths and weaknesses of those that he/she are responsible for. He/she must be able to communicate and share his/her passion with those around them. They must be willing to take full responsibility when things don’t go well and give credit to the team when the results are successful.  He/she must be willing to sacrifice whatever it takes for the betterment of all, even if it means he has to do the dirty work. He/she must have confidence in order to raise the level of those he/she is responsible for. An effective leader not only has to be a coach, but he/she needs to be coachable. He/She must have faith and be humble and realize that you cannot do it alone it takes support.

David Love is a chemist for the Protection Equipment Test Branch at ECBC.  He holds an AS Degree in Chemical Engineering, a BS degree in Chemistry and a MS Degree in Business Administration. Love has 30 years of chemical laboratory and supervisory experience, and has worked 20 years in the commercial industry for Union Carbide, Olin Industries, Cytec Industry and Battelle.  In his spare time, David volunteers with the youth in his community.

Leadership Blog Part Six: Tom Hughes


One of the hardest parts of being a new employee at ECBC is reading and understanding all of the rules, policies and procedures that allow us to do our work safely.  For a new employee, navigating the maze of requirements from the DoD level policy to the Branch-level SOPs used every day can be intimidating.  While the high level requirements leave no wiggle room for interpretation, the ECBC guidance and procedures developed for laboratory operations are written in-house and are edited annually.  This annual SOP review provides the perfect opportunity for new group members to become familiarized with and ultimately responsible for the SOPs used in the laboratory.
While the SOP review is the most obvious place to start to talk about authoring and understanding laboratory documents, there are other important aspects of laboratory operations that should go through a similar review.  The two that come to my mind are waste procedures and quality system documentation.  Each laboratory at ECBC generates a unique waste stream and as such will often benefit from review and clarification/specification of the waste IOP provided by the EQO.  Similarly, each laboratory performs unique tests with unique equipment configurations.  By taking the time to prepare and perform a group review of IOPs pertaining to their specific tests, laboratories can promote a more thorough and unambiguous understanding of the work being performed.
In order for there to be a group "buy-in" to the guiding documents of a laboratory, everyone needs to understand what the documents are saying and agree (at least for the most part!) that the documents say it in a clear manner.  It takes a strong leader to first motivate a group to collectively develop the necessary documents for a quality system.  It then takes an even stronger leader to then reconcile the differing opinions from the group into a coherent and concise set of documents that the laboratory personnel can agree to work under.  While it may not seem glamorous, my opinion is that the leader described above does more for a group than any other person alone.
Tom Hughes is an analytical chemist in the Applied Detection Technology Branch of ECBC.  Hughes graduated from Penn State Univeristy in 2009 with a Bachelor's Degree in chemistry.

The content in this blog entry does not represent the views or beliefs of ECBC, its employees, its management or the federal government. 

Monday, November 26, 2012

Leadership Blog Series Part Four: Phyllis Brown

In recognition of Edgewood Chemical Biological Center's November Leadership Month, a special blog series featuring ECBC employee responses on what it takes to be an effective leader will be featured on the blog throughout the month of November. This fourth installment features Phyllis Brown, an engineer with the U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC).

When I think of the term “leadership”, I sometimes think about Tom Wolfe’s best seller, The Right Stuff.  I was first introduced to Wolfe’s quest to find the answer to why the chosen seven men of the first manned space program (Project Mercury) were willing to risk their lives to venture into space while I was attending the Officer Basic Course as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. The story seemed to stick with me as I set out on my own journey to find out if I possessed the right stuff to become a great leader. I am sure that I am no different than others who have also gone on this search to conclude that no amount of courses, training, workshops, or reading can prepare you for leadership other than going through the experience for yourself. Leadership reveals truths about one’s character, personality, strengths, weaknesses, and most importantly, abilities to influence others to follow or make changes happen. We can all learn from Colin Powell’s 13 Rules of Leadership, but must realize that they resulted from his experiences which included particular assignments, environments, people, and other circumstantial impacts that shaped his leadership. However, I have to admit that Mr. Powell’s rules are very practical and seemingly applicable for any leader. After twenty six years of climbing up the leadership ranks, I have my own rules of leadership and have learned Wolfe’s discoverey that the right stuff for a great leader is more than machismo or other physical characteristics. 

A few of my rules:

-          Know yourself. This is critical, a good starting place, and includes knowing what you bring as an asset (your knowledge, skills, attributes, gifts, and talents), your  communication and leadership styles, and your beliefs. Nothing is more important than being true to self. 
-          Be confident. (Never let them see you sweat.)
-          Do the right thing and,
-          Be prepared to stand alone.
-          Serve others. Self-serving leaders are found out quickly.
-          Know where or who to for help. Even the best leaders have limitations.
-          Stay positive. Negative energy is a waste of time.
-          Never Fear (False Evidence Appearing Real).  Get the facts and work through to make the unknowns knowns if possible.

Phyllis Brown is an engineer with the U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center and is currently matrixed to the Joint Product Manager – Consequence Management. Brown is also a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves and is currently the Executive Officer for the U.S. Army Reserves Consequence Management Unit, Abingdon, Maryland.

The content in this blog entry does not represent the views or beliefs of ECBC, its employees, its management or the federal government. 

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Leadership Blog Series Part Three: Jarell Johnson


In recognition of Edgewood Chemical Biological Center's November Leadership Month, a special blog series featuring ECBC employee responses on what it takes to be an effective leader will be featured on the blog throughout the month of November. This third installment features Jarell Johnson, Computer Scientist for the Product Data Management Branch of the U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC).
 
"The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.”- Ralph Nader.

The term “leader” is used generously these days to signify someone in a leadership role, but there is much more to being a true leader. I believe that a true leader is someone who does not seek followers. Leaders want to teach others how to be leaders. They enlighten, enable and empower their employees. A true leader guides, but does not dictate to people.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Leadership Blog Series Part Two: Kerrin Dame



In recognition of Edgewood Chemical Biological Center's November Leadership Month, a special blog series featuring ECBC employee responses on what it takes to be an effective leader will be featured on the blog throughout the month of November. This second installment features Kerrin Dame, Physical Scientist for the Detection Engineering Branch of the U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC).

Over the course of my 25-year career in federal service, I have been blessed with many great supervisors. Some of my most influential supervisors were men and women who were able to foster an environment of trust and respect in those around them and were people I considered to be of high integrity. 

I have learned as a Mom (my most important job!) that our children are constantly watching us, whether we realize it or not, and our behavior will be reflected in their behavior at some point. The old saying “Be careful the friends you chose, as you will become like them,” is as relevant today as it was when first written. A leader’s behavior can positively or negatively reflect on his subordinates and others around him or her. An effective leader will strive to be a good example for others and always give 100 percent, no matter what they are doing. They are transparent with no hidden agendas and want to do what is best for the team, not just for themselves. An effective leader is open to suggestions from others who may be able to see things from a different perspective. They do the “next right thing” no matter what others around them are doing. 

 Most importantly to me, a good leader will listen, listen, listen, and will think before speaking. An effective leader is kinder than he or she needs to be. These traits help to build an environment of trust and respect, in which people can work together to successfully accomplish common goals.

Kerrin Dame serves as a Physical Scientist for the Detection Engineering Branch of the U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC).  Ms. Dame holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science from Unity College in Maine.

The content in this blog entry does not represent the views or beliefs of ECBC, its employees, its management or the federal government. 

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Leadership Blog Series Part One: Chika Nzelibe

In recognition of Edgewood Chemical Biological Center's November Leadership Month, a special blog series featuring ECBC employee responses on what it takes to be an effective leader will be featured on the blog throughout the month of November. This first installment features Chika Nzelibe, Mechanical Engineer in the Engineering Directorate’s Advanced Design and Manufacturing Division.

What leader inspired me the most?  It’s hard to pinpoint just one leader who inspired me the most.  More than a few have had a major impact on my life. 

My father, who saw his son at his wit’s end with school work, found a way to inspire me to keep at it, and to never give up. My drill sergeant, who challenged me to go that extra mile when I thought I had nothing left in the tank. And I can’t forget the co-worker, who saw a young engineer, fresh out of college, and took time out of their busy schedule to show me the ropes.