ARMY AL&T
feelings of defensiveness when they come on. Tis has helped me stay focused on the task at hand when working through diffi- cult situations or relationships.”
He said the best lessons he’s learned through his experience and training is that you will get the best outcome on chal- lenges nearly 100% of the time when you work collaboratively as a committed team.
ITAS OPERATION
Riedel learns how to operate the Improved Target Acquisition System, equipment designed to acquire and engage a target, at the TOW demonstration day, held in April 2024 at the PM TAGM pavilion on Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, and hosted by the TOW Product Office. (Photo courtesy of Craig Riedel)
“Real world problems are far too difficult to solve with an individual perspective or skill set,” he explained. “It is imperative to include multidisciplinary and diverse perspectives to attack hard problems. I seek to build such teams to work the hard stuff, and never make any important deci- sions in a vacuum. I often find that I make a different decision after hearing other perspectives than I would have on my own. I have also found that many hands make light work and free up some of my time to address more priorities.”
“Te natural course of my duties allowed me to see almost all Army modernization activities that were being executed in coun- try. I also got to talk to a lot of warfighters who were on our footprint getting trained on the new gear before they drove off with it into combat. Tis flipped a switch in me. I have always worked hard, but this expe- rience brought my commitment level and work ethic to a whole new level,” he said. “I left there excited to make a change in my career field to program management and start managing a program as soon as I could.” He was placed into a develop- mental assignment as an assistant product manager following the deployment that later became permanent.
Riedel realized he could benefit from training to take the next step in his career. He was serving as a board select product director when he applied to the Senior Service College Fellowship (SSCF). “I had
reflected enough on my work performance to know that I made too many unforced errors, and that there was a significant gap between my current performance and my potential. However, I could not quite put my finger on what to do about it. I heard that SSCF was a great program for many things, including taking a year to really focus on myself as a leader,” he said. “Te timing and recognition of need lined up very well for me, and I went for it.”
He participated in SSCF from July 2020 through May 2021, and said he got a lot out of the program. Two things in partic- ular have proven to be essential for him. “First, a lot of time was spent on skills for developing trust bonds that enable effec- tive delegation. I would fail at my job if I could not implement responsible, effec- tive delegation,” Riedel said. “And second, through formal learning as well as peer mentoring, I learned how to better address
Riedel said he applies many of the tech- niques he has learned at work to situations outside the workplace. “I definitely apply the skills for handling defensiveness on a regular basis. I am able to come out of difficult situations and engagements in a much better position for being successful,” he noted. “It has also helped me see when others are getting defensive and change the tone of an engagement to get every- one pulled back into a place where we can move forward together.”
—CHERYL MARINO
https://asc.ar my.mil
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