Photo By Elizabeth Glenn | Army Contracting Command-Rock Island welcomed Dr. Theresa Smith, Deputy Joint Program...... read more read more
ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, Ill. – Army Contracting Command-Rock Island welcomed Dr. Theresa Smith, Deputy Joint Program Executive Officer Armaments & Ammunition, for an Executive Speaking engagement, Aug. 2.
In her role, Smith provides executive leadership on efforts related to the development and procurement of leap-ahead munitions that enhance the joint warfighters combat power.
During the event, Smith discussed ways to build a successful career, including welcoming challenges, taking Individual Development Plans seriously, seeking out developmental opportunities, succession planning and getting through failure.
“I want to give you a couple nuggets that will hopefully get you energized,” said Smith. “Whether you are going to stay in the position you are in today for the rest of your career, or you have aspirations beyond that, I want to give you ideas to focus on not only for yourself, but things you can do to inspire those around you to replicate.”
Her main focus was the importance of mentorship, saying many people fall into the mindset that they don’t need mentorship, training, or developmental opportunities because they are happy where they are.
“You have to continue to evolve,” said Smith. “The world’s evolving, our nation’s changing, our strategy’s changing, and you have to stay relevant with whatever you are doing, so mentorship is extremely important if you want to be successful in the job you have today and whatever job you’re going to have in the future.”
Smith also said it doesn’t matter if the mentor is in your organization or outside of it, nor whether the mentor is a peer or holds a supervisory role – the important thing is both mentee and mentor have a meaningful connection.
“Time is one thing you can never replace,” said Smith. “If you have a relationship, you want to make sure it’s value-added for both of you.”
Embracing challenges and trying new things – especially if they are uncomfortable – is also important in professional development.
“Everything I’ve done in my entire career has been hard,” said Smith. “Not one thing was easy. I’m sharing this with you because sometimes, you’re put in a position not because you think you’re the right person for the job, but the people around you know you’re the right person for the job. “
As she has navigated through her career, Smith said she, just like everyone, has experienced failure. However, the way she deals with that failure is intentional.
“Instead of getting past it, I choose to get through it, and there’s a difference,” said Smith. “Getting past it, you kind of ignore it and try to move on, whereas I try to blast through it because I want to learn from it and never fail in that same instance again.”
Throughout the speaking event, Smith reinforced the fact that each individual’s journey is unique, and the professional development steps taken by one person might not work for others.
“It has to be your inspiration,” said Smith. “What do you see as a gap in your knowledge set that you can work on to help make you a better employee for our Department of Defense? Mentorship, IDP, and understanding what you’re doing today and where you want to go. Have those leaders or those peers to help guide you to be the best version of yourself.”
Smith is the second to last speaker in FY24 for ACC-RI’s Executive Interview Program, which launched at ACC-RI in the summer of 2021 as an Army Contracting Command Leadership Development initiative designed to expose the workforce to unique and interesting leaders. These speakers share their leadership journey and the experiences they have encountered that have allowed them to grow into the exceptional individuals they are today.
| Date Taken: | 08.19.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 08.19.2024 08:33 |
| Story ID: | 478919 |
| Location: | ILLINOIS, US |
| Web Views: | 24 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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