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MT. VERNON, Va. – Retired Marine Corps Gen. John Allen looked at Continental Army soldiers marching to their Valley Forge winter encampment and as he pointed them out, Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) industrial security leaders surveyed the scene that took place on Dec. 19, 1777.
It was a turning point in DCSA employee discussions with Allen about strategic leadership in the context of George Washington's philosophy and experience during the 2023 Industrial Security Senior Leadership Annual Meeting (IS SLAM).
"Here he is at Valley Forge," said Allen, as all eyes focused on the iconic Revolutionary War painting. "His troops are moving forward in the snow.”
Allen – former commander of the NATO International Security Assistance Force and U.S. Forces in Afghanistan from July 2011 to February 2013 – also alluded to his personal leadership, lessons and experience in combat while serving in Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan during his remarks.
“I spent the first 15 years of my time in the Marine Corps on a cold weather mission,” said Allen. “Well, I've been cold and look at this painting and get cold in a second watching it. There's two things that are really important here. This army is suffering from an absence of resources. It's not entirely clear it's going to survive the winter much less survive the British. There's George Washington right alongside ... leaders have to be present with their troops."
DCSA Acting Director Daniel Lecce – serving as deputy director while speaking to IS SLAM attendees at the agency’s Quantico headquarters – conveyed a similar message as he kicked off the event that continued at the Washington Presidential Library’s Rubenstein Leadership Hall in Mt. Vernon, Va., over the next two days.
“People are our greatest mission,” Lecce told DCSA Industrial Security Directorate leaders, supervisors and Field Regional Mission directors while emphasizing culture and unity of effort. “It’s incumbent on us to recognize, foster and encourage our workforce.”
IS SLAM participants engaged with multiple Washington Presidential Library speakers who focused their Mt. Vernon briefings on the tenets of civility, ethics, integrity and credibility in leadership and decision-making as evidenced by George Washington throughout his life.
"You live in a world that's enormously complex today," said Allen while addressing IS SLAM. "It's not only a multi-domain environment within which you are attempting to defend our industrial base and our security, but we have enemies out there operating against us 24 hours a day - whether it's the Russians, Chinese, Iranians or the North Koreans or any number of smaller terrorist organizations attempting to penetrate our security membrane. It's a complex organization and it's not just complex in that enemy-threat context, it's complex in how you are organized and how you are distributed. You are hierarchically organized. You are geographically distributed. You have multiple different kinds of subordinate missions and all of that can only be pulled together by strategic leadership in a sense and an understanding that strategic leadership is vitally important. George Washington really set the conditions for us to understand that."
The importance of the conditions and character demonstrated by Washington 250 years ago that are relevant to today’s leadership was paramount in discussions on the characteristics and components of character taking into consideration the relationship of character, integrity and trust.
IS SLAM participants discussed how Washington’s strategic vision and collaboration with different teams resulted in the best possible outcome, changing the course of history: military (Washington—Rochambeau decision to attack Yorktown), legislative (Constitution and the Bill of Rights) and political (Washington D.C. – newly formed Bank of the United States) in addition to Washington’s “quiet” collaboration (daily dinners during the Constitutional Convention).
They also studied U.S. founding fathers to include Alexandar Hamilton’s strategic approach to the nation’s first financial crisis – known as the Panic of 1792 in the wake of Wall Street's first crash in late 1791 – as an example of analytical and operational leadership while managing an acute crisis.
Upon the in-depth study and discussion of Washington’s life and leadership, the IS leaders report that in all cases since the founding of the United States, successful leadership requires understanding and trust.
Moreover, they can point to myriad historical and modern-day examples that prove character, integrity and effective communication are vital to success.
• “One of my biggest takeaways was the discussion on strategic agility. In an environment and mission that is continuously evolving and changing, our ability to coordinate, communicate and respond to those changes appropriately has never been more important. I was fascinated to learn more about how General Washington’s leadership principles, which were so successful in the past, still resonate and are relevant in today’s landscape. Following the event, I am more committed to learning about the early leadership principles and strategies of our founding fathers to get the most out of our workforce. Overall, it was a great and thought-provoking experience.” – Dan Tillman, DCSA Industrial Security Facility Clearance Branch chief
• “As a leader with over 30 years of experience, from a personal and professional standpoint, it reinforced that people are still the greatest asset in every organization. Leaders must create a positive work environment, provide required resources, and allow teams to maximize their talents and skills. In addition, as we compared General George Washington’s leadership traits (listening, communication, diverse backgrounds, importance of synchronization, flexibility, leading by example, commitment, patience, staying focused on the mission, and trust) to modern leaders, we learned that these traits are still valid today in the 21st Century. As industrial security leaders, applying these traits to our leadership style will strengthen us individually, but more importantly, collectively as a directorate. Leadership is not about those who are in charge but about the life and well-being of those you have been chosen to lead.” – Dr. Dennis Daniels, DCSA Industrial Security Controlled Unclassified Information Branch chief
• “Mount Vernon was a timeless historical experience and discussion through the lens of George Washington. The experience helped me create a much deeper respect and bond with George Washington and the concept of civic virtue, which is the heart of our Republic. Humility and strategic patience were among the leadership characteristics that were discussed by General Allen, the Mount Vernon staff, and the DCSA folks in attendance.” – Dr. Don Mathes, DCSA Industrial Security Plans, Programs and Strategy chief
• “I am very appreciative that industrial security leadership included the GG-14's in the leadership summit. It was a great professional learning experience for me as a GG-14 to be surrounded by industrial security leaders who reflected on their challenges, previous experiences, and ideas for the future. The setting for the event at Mount Vernon was so beautiful. It was a great break from the normal grind of responding to emails and participating in meetings. It was a breath of fresh air. Finally, I enjoyed learning about the founding of our nation, its history, and George Washington's leadership style. I shared some of the lessons learned with my team when I returned to the office.” – Lauren Firich, DCSA Industrial Security Quality Management Branch chief
• “This engagement with our industrial security senior leaders brought a wide range of discussions to address mission, people and success. The result was expanded knowledge on key leadership issues and how they were applied historically with those who stood for our country. Industrial security is a team sport – it takes leaders, the workforce, government partners and industry to become a formidable opponent to our adversaries.” – Keith Minard, DCSA Industrial Security Policy chief
• “It was great to review and consider various attributes of leadership, especially through the construct of the DCSA mission and organization. The offsite highlighted the importance of not just mission-focused leadership, but likewise the ’emotional intelligence’ elements of leadership. There is always benefit in coming together as a team and spending time off-site to reflect on current challenges and leadership strategies to address those challenges. The panels provided an opportunity for multiple industrial security leaders across the directorate to share thoughts and observations around leadership and the industrial security mission. The presentation by Gen. Allen was inspirational and it was good to share that experience as a team and collectively recognize how our work together is more impactful when we are all working in better communication and collaboration with each other. Leaders set the tone for engagement and collaboration, and all the characteristics of leadership contribute to the culture of IS and DCSA!” – Andrew Lotwin, deputy assistant director for DCSA National Industrial Security Program (NISP) Operations
• You can never have enough of this type of training. Good organizations care about their leaders. Great ones not only care – they invest in their leaders. This training demonstrated that DCSA is caring and invested in leaders.” – Matthew Roche, DCSA NISP Operations chief
IS SLAM also featured remarks by Matthew Redding, DCSA assistant director for Industrial Security, followed by briefings from leadership focused on topics that included field operations, counterintelligence, the National Industrial Security System, the NISP, and DCSA Industrial Security operational goals.
| Date Taken: | 12.04.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 12.04.2023 09:46 |
| Story ID: | 459027 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 455 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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