Business Transformation Essay

Business Transformation Essay

While serving in the U.S. Air Force as a logistics officer for 8 years, in the trenches of war, I became more aware of my conscious competence and unconscious incompetence while interacting with people and engaging in projects.  This was instrumental in my early career, being close-minded and highly opinionated. Had it not been for a feedback from my first supervisor, outlining this one area I lacked in, I would have not been able to grow within the industry. It was critical for me to be aware of my behaviors when discussing topics, which I was opposed to, to heighten my interpersonal dimensions. Working with companies such as Boeing and IBM, I learned that growing an industry focuses on many principles, with the three most common ones being: the acquisition of companies to increase market share, targeting diverse purchaser segments (luxury, middle-class) and creating an entirely new product category, or an extension thereof, such as diapers for babies being marketed towards elderly people in less developed nations.

During my work-life, encompassing a lot of traveling, I interacted with many people one-on-one, such as giving subordinates feedback on their overall performance or milestone updates on tactical projects. I often interacted with my peers and directors in a private setting, but also became familiar interacting with clients in small and larger groups to brainstorm ideas and solutions to meet unit directives. During such interactions, we shared information, made business decisions, developed team building, and reached consensus by bridging techniques. Interactions with people strengthened the company model by joining new ideas from people of different cultures.

I had the honor to serve as the head of logistics for three years. I employed participative and democratic leadership style, cultivating an environment where employees could freely share their inputs during the decision-making process. I used to delegate work to other employees with relevant skills and competencies in order to enhance employee participation in the business processes. During the decision making, I used persuasion to motivate and encouragement discussions, but often had to apply assertiveness when stating expectations, requirements, and needs, in order to make a point. One lesson learned from this course is that my leadership style is not representative of my personality, but my ability to know which style to apply for the given situation. Being able to differentiate the two without comprising my authority or personality, is a huge benefit to me as I migrate back into the business world.

On the battlefield in Iraq and Afghanistan, I faced VUCA many of times. Dealing with fluctuation of risk, uncertainty, the complexity of environments or projects, and not having clear directions are traumatic factors. However, I was able to use these factors to prepare myself for the ever-changing world I was flung into. This emphasis has far-reaching implications, for example, in the opportunity to lead complex organizational change and drive innovation. Innovation certainly happens in the military, but unlike in business, where leaders often try to change everything about a unit or organization, it tends to be targeted and often involves implementing an established tool or model. Not only does the challenge of change exist as it does in nearly all organizations but the military tends to resist change promoted by a generalist.