ARMY AL&T
Division for three years, but felt it was time to try something new. “After spending the last handful of years as a Navy civilian in a more technical role, I wanted to make the transition to program management and actively sought this position out,” Betz said. He found and applied for his current position after seeing a post on USAJobs. “Not only was it a move made for the advancement of my professional career, but it also reunited me with loved ones in a different part of the country, so it was a win-win.”
“One of the most appealing aspects of the work within program management, specifically for me, is that there are clearly defined benchmarks like cost, schedule and performance. Although, how you get to a point of success within those metrics can vary greatly. Tis presents unique challenges and opportunities with each program, and that is something I enjoy,” he said.
Mentoring is another opportunity that Betz has enjoyed. His program executive officer recommended a class on mentorship offered by an outside agency exclusively to Project Manager Expe- ditionary Energy and Sustainment Systems personnel, which he found beneficial. His biggest takeaway was that even though a mentor is mostly responsible for passing knowledge, wisdom and lessons learned to the mentee, there are plenty of opportunities for a mentor to learn from the mentee throughout the course of those interactions.
“Te mentor-mentee relationship is meant to be a two-way street that both parties can benefit from,” he said. “And I think that really changed my perspective for the better; I would definitely recommend the class to those interested.”
“You only fail when you stop actively working towards a solution.”
As a 20-something, Betz said, he hasn’t had the opportunity to work with too many people who are more junior than himself. But a piece of advice he would offer to anyone young and just starting out their career is, “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”
Oftentimes, accomplishing tasks at the working level is a collab- orative effort. Scientists, engineers, logisticians and others all have unique perspectives based on their education and experiences. When collaborating in those team environments, he said, it’s
https://asc.ar my.mil 79
important to use those varying perspectives and ensure that the work is being looked at from every angle. “Seek out the opinions of others. Ask questions. Try to use an alternate perspective. In acquisition specifically, look at the widget or project from the eyes of the end user. Tink to yourself, ‘What would a warfighter think of XYZ?’ Tat is a powerful frame of reference to utilize.”
One of the greatest lessons he said he was fortunate enough to learn early on in his professional career is to accept that things won’t always go your way. “You will be told ‘no,’ you will make a mistake, and you will probably come across a point in time where you think you’ve failed. But you only fail when you stop actively working towards a solution.”
Betz said he applies the proverb “the master has failed more times than the beginner has even attempted” to his work in a fairly straightforward way. “Sometimes you just have to write things down on a whiteboard for a couple of hours in order to see all of the possible angles to a particular situation and explore all possi- ble avenues in order to accomplish a goal.”
Outside of work, Betz believes he is known for always pushing himself to go further. “I enjoy doing things that are challeng- ing,” he said. “I grew up playing sports, and while I was fortunate enough to engage in collegiate athletics at the [NCAA] level, playing sports never stopped for me when school did.” He also enjoys golf, which, he said, is a sport “defined by how badly you miss a shot and is inherently difficult.” Exercise is also part of his daily routine which, he said, takes time and patience; results don’t happen overnight.
“While it’s easy to get frustrated over missing a shot on the golf course or missing a lift in the gym, it’s important to remember that those things are bound to happen eventually, and how you respond to those mistakes is what truly defines long-term success,” he said. “Professional baseball players make fielding errors and are considered elite hitters if they fail seven out of 10 times. Te same can be said for work. Everybody makes mistakes and things won’t always go your way, but how you respond to those chal- lenges makes a world of difference in the long-term outcomes.”
—CHERYL MARINO
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