Keeping It Simple


Don’t discount the wisdom in the leadership clichés—those old chestnuts go a long way to solving the organizational challenges occasioned by budget -induced force restructuring.


by MAJ Rob Massey A


s a graduate student sitting through an organizational leadership class, I was skeptical of the concepts taught: Tese concepts and the cases they were applied to always seemed too convenient and obvious. However,


those same elementary concepts are exactly what contracting pro- fessionals and leaders must not lose sight of as they inherit more complicated organizations. Te force restructuring that’s cur- rently underway across the U.S. Army Contracting Command (ACC) is increasing organizational complexity. But as we advance in our careers, we trick ourselves into thinking that the basic prin- ciples of leadership learned early on—lead by example; know your strengths and limitations, as well as those of your team; people want to add value, so let them—are far too elementary to solve current problems.


While acquisition leaders must exercise higher-level critical


thinking skills, the solutions to some of the most complicated challenges can be found in those basic leadership ideas.


Te Army’s force restructuring is transforming the way orga- nizations approach personnel requirements. ACC is immersed


in this transformation, finding new ways to source contract- ing teams to support worldwide contingency operations. In an effort to continue to provide quality contracting support to the Army, ACC is building teams with members from a variety of organizations and bringing that human capital together to tar- get a specific mission. Contracting teams have always conducted missions autonomously, but now they are doing so with a cast of unfamiliar faces. Tis approach is already being employed in the formation of contracting teams currently supporting the contract administration services (CAS) mission in Kuwait. With little to no time spent training together prior to a mission, building these teams is a challenge in critical thinking for every contracting team leader.


It’s a challenge that I faced directly as I led an eight-person contracting team during a recent deployment


in support of


the Army’s CAS mission in Kuwait. In administering a series of service contracts, my team and I had to combine our indi- vidual strengths in the correct proportions to reduce contracting risks in the areas of mission, troops and funds. Building a team of


individuals from multiple organizations and geographic ASC.ARMY.MIL 87


CONTRACTING


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