Interview a ManagerEssay Preview: Interview a ManagerReport this essayThe manager interviewed for this assignment was Chief Warrant 3 Linwood Bowers, the Chief of the Personnel Support Directorate of the White House Communications Agency (WHCA). Chief Bowers has held his present position for four years. The focus of the interview was the unique challenges of good communication.
One of the unique challenges Chief Bowers has had to face is the different language that permeates throughout the organizational culture of the Agency. WHCA is a joint command with individuals of all DOD services present. This joint environment is fraught with communication stumbling blocks like learning service unique terms. The importance of common terminology has been highlighted most recently in the Agencys manpower review. Terms used to describe job functions are not clearly understood across service lines. The example given was one service uses executive officer to describe a junior officer assigned administrative duties in support of the unit commander and another uses the same term to mean the second person in the chain of command.
It also goes without saying that the “dignity” in a field of service needs to be recognized and compensated for. As an aside, Chief Bower also takes care to emphasize that the leadership has the responsibility for their service in the organization. At a recent event, senior leadership, especially at civilian agencies, shared the concept of team management in one very clear fashion. Senior leaders shared more of a vision and vision for a team that would be more effective in the organization than the “pilot.” Their team needed a leader with more understanding and vision for the job and leadership experience. This is where it’s important to go and have a positive experience for your team, which will lead a positive change in the organization’s structure and culture.
One of the major challenges associated with leadership has to do with how do you create and structure a team that is focused on delivering a positive change in a team. It’s important to also acknowledge that you can have success in other areas, such as the executive team. The roles need to be clear and aligned in order for them to achieve their goal of building a truly global organization. A team may be focused specifically on a specific problem or goal.
As Chief Bower notes in his conference call in July of 2011, his team worked with a mission-critical team such as the Office of the Secretary of Defense, U.S. Navy, United States Department of State, Civilian Affairs Department, National Bureau of Economic Research, National Development Network. These organizations collectively provided their mission leadership and guidance, and worked together to craft and achieve a common mission. In my view, it is these mission leadership functions that have allowed the Agency to transform the agency to be a better place within the 21st century. The Agency is now a better place. This vision is important, and the mission leadership role provides a unique opportunity to build a team that is successful outside the confines of the agency and can deliver on the goals of senior leaders.
As Chief Bower mentioned, we know that the challenges that need to be addressed when a team is developing are in some way specific to an organizational culture. Chief Bower and I have discussed our shared vision for leadership in this area and outlined how we can change an organization that has historically held a high level of accountability at one time or another to meet the needs of its members. With its strategic needs and organizational vision, and with the guidance outlined in my 2011 presentation, Congress has made significant progress in this area. The President’s leadership in meeting these needs is the first step in fulfilling one of the core services of our country: Service, to the people and the American community.
The current Administration has a vision for how the American military can be deployed. The Agency’s commitment to this vision requires the organization to carry out a high level of risk management and risk management efforts on a continuous basis to protect military assets, protect
In addition, the operational focus of the Agency tends to create an environment of we/they. Where “we” is associated with the personnel in the agency that travel in support of the President, Vice President and First Lady. And “they” is associated with the support functions. The operational focus was used as a re-organizational decision point and consciously divided the Agency into Input/Output divisions. Because of manpower shortages, an attempt was made to give everyone a fixed as well as an operational/travel mission. This dual mission role has hampered focus and created confusion. One of the problems is that personnel are assigned a travel mission they have not been formally trained to accomplish. Personnel are assigned radio technician responsibilities and are required to learn based solely through agency on-the-job training. This unique approach to manning shortfalls drives the need for good communication and interpersonal skills.
Chief Bowers stated that the travel tempo impels him to communicate through email. Email communication does not provide an opportunity for “non verbals” as discussed in Arredondo (1991). “Visual cues (whats seen) accounted for more than half of the impact on people. More than a third came from vocal signals (sounds and tones). Less than a tenth was the result of words (the verbal channel).”