From the Editor-in-Chief
“At some point people, motivated by their desire to serve the country and the men and women defending it, feel frustrated in their efforts to make a difference and do not feel empowered with respect to work processes. Te workforce deserves a better system.”
Excerpt from Section 809 Panel Interim Report, May 2017, Advisory Panel on Streamlining and Codifying Acquisition Regulations
T
hat “workforce” is you, and the “system” under review is the quagmire of reports, reviews and tests you are required to execute, by law, regulation and policy. Follow the rules as laid out, and you are
accused of being bureaucratic. Don’t follow them, and you are on the wrong side of a counseling, at best—or fired, at worst. Tat troublesome paradox defines the mission of the Section 809 Panel: Find pieces of the Federal Acquisition Regulation that can be streamlined, modified or deleted … and thus, hopefully, let you do your job!
Te panel’s work coincides with a multipronged effort to reform the federal government and reduce the federal civilian workforce. Implementing this effort within the Army is the HQDA Reform Initiatives Task Force, invoking DOD’s mandate to evaluate and adjust processes, organizations and workforce management practices in an effort to “remove barriers that hinder employees from producing results.” Great news.
Which brings me to the focus of this issue: you, the workforce at the center of all these initiatives. After all, without you, none of the efficiency, innovation or reduction in bureaucracy matters, because without you there is nobody to equip Soldiers to fight and win America’s battles. Specifically, this issue delves into talent management, which, put simply, places the right people, with the right skills, in the right jobs at the right time. Do we envision the Army deploying hovercraft laser tanks to help the Air Force deal with anti-access and area denial in the multi- domain battle? Ten we’d better fire up the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) machine and identify new training programs and certification standards, because we’re going to need people with those skills—lots of them.
Tis issue explores the many innovative ways that commands and organizations are, in effect, seeking to build their human capital
and leverage the tools at their disposal to make the most of it. For example, Maj. Gen. Wilson A. “Al” Shoffner Jr., recently of the Army’s Talent Management Task Force and now at the Army Rapid Capabilities Office, offers his ideas on Army acquisition tal- ent management in a Q&A on Page 38. “Building a Better Mir- ror,” on Page 124, talks about the importance of a diverse workforce and the demographic complexities of defining diversity in any given organization.
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And those are just a couple of facets to consider. “Engineers Don’t Need Trains,” on Page 64, describes how the STEM Superstar program, conceived and run by the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center, uses pop culture, superheroes and every- day activities to show elementary school kids that STEM is all around them, not confined to a lab or a library. Tose kids, after all, are the talent pool for our hovercraft laser tanks.
Tink your organization may be dysfunctional? Find out how to fix it on Page 76 in our “Critical Tinking” interview with Dr. Linda A. Hill, Harvard Business School’s Wallace Brett Don- ham Professor of Business Administration and, as it happens, an Army brat. Hill is co-author of “Being the Boss: Te Tree Imperatives for Becoming a Great Leader,” among other books, and offers lots of insights into how people can work together effectively to accomplish the mission.
As always, the great stories we cover require a talented team of writers and editors at Army AL&T. Unfortunately, we are losing a member of that team to retirement. Bob Coultas, who has been a writer and editor here for 11 years, will be retiring on June 30. Bob has served his country for 41 years, doing yeoman’s work at Army AL&T, elsewhere in government and during his 22 years on active duty as an Army Public Affairs broadcaster. Tank you, Bob, for your service, and best wishes for your retirement.
Comments, suggestions, story ideas? Please send them our way at
ArmyALT@gmail.com. We love to get mail!
Nelson McCouch III Editor-in-Chief
ASC.ARMY.MIL 5 +
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