ARMY DATA: FROM THE FOXHOLE TO THE PENTAGON
Simmons-Brown noted that she’s fortunate that JPEO-CBRND “promotes programs and opportunities such as Army’s Civilian Education System, Senior Enterprise Talent Management and developmental assignments.” Among the most valuable she has completed is the Civilian Education System Advanced Course. “Tat course provided me tools to develop my team and personal insight about how my values align with the Army and DOD,” she said. “What I learned helps me empower employees to make deci- sions at their levels, to build coalitions and ultimately answer the increasing demands for reliable business, financial and account- ing data.”
AWARD WINNER
Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (USD(A&S)) Ellen M. Lord gives Simmons-Brown the 2018 Workforce Individual Achievement Award. (Photo by Dirke Williams, Office of the USD(A&S))
Management in 2018. For her, the most meaningful award is the first one she received: the Undersecretary of Defense (Comptrol- ler) Financial Management Award for Individual Achievement in Improving Financial Management Systems, for her work to imple- ment a system “that bridged budget and accounting at DTRA in 2005,” she said. “At that time, we were still a very paper-driven organization, and processing documentation took forever. But we implemented a tool that made it possible to track requirements, expenditures, payments—it represented a paradigm shift from paper to technology for decision-making.”
Tat shift isn’t the only one she has seen. “I remember the first changes to reform acquisition and break down bureaucracy in 1995. We’re still making changes and looking to streamline processes even further. Policy changes and new requirements mean that the workforce is now more diversified in terms of the areas we need to learn about. It’s no longer just having a finance background; you need experience in contracting, program management—it’s all interconnected. Years ago, a logistician just handled logistics. Now, they’re involved in a logistics property audit, which requires background in several different areas.”
If there’s one thing she regrets, it’s not taking advantage of the Civilian Education System programs earlier. “I should have paid more attention to developing ‘soft skills’—critical thinking, active listening and the ability to influence or persuade others—along with my technical skills earlier in my career,” she said “Te soft skills mattered most when leading and developing the acquisition workforce, influencing and changing culture, and transforming business processes. I earned my degrees and technical certifi- cations, but then had to circle back to enhance my soft skills.”
She’ll add more tools to her arsenal over the next few months, departing JPEO-CBRND in July to attend the acquisition course at the Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy. She’s hoping the course helps her further strengthen the leadership skills needed to transform budgeting, financial systems and audit management. “I believe that I can improve budgetary and financial ERP [enterprise resource plan- ning] systems to capture true cost of defining, acquiring and fielding equipment and capabilities to protect our forces. Improv- ing financial stewardship and accountability across the Army and DOD will allow decision-makers to efficiently allocate our scarce resources.”
In addition to working to develop her own career, she mentors junior acquisition personnel. One of the ways she helps is to create a snapshot—“Where are you now, where do you want to go, and what’s stopping you from getting there? It helps the individual identify and understand their personal or professional gaps and map out a plan of actions and milestones.” Also important, she said, are leaders who take the time to develop junior personnel “no matter how busy the day is. It’s vital that we take time to invest time in mentoring and coaching to develop the workforce that’s coming up behind us.”
—SUSAN L. FOLLETT
https://asc.ar my.mil
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