Photo By T. T. Parish | Secretary of the Army, Hon. Christine Wormuth, presents the Nick Hoge Award to Kristin...... read more read more
The Hon. Christine Wormuth, 25th Secretary of the Army, presented the Nick Hoge Award to Kristin Jones-Maia during the Secretary of the Army Awards Ceremony at the Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia, Sept. 5, 2024.
Jones-Maia, a deputy project manager with the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Development Activity, earned the recognition for her professional paper, “Excellence at Every Level,” which highlights the importance of technical training for non-managerial U.S. Army civilians to complement the robust leadership training available to supervisory staff.
“The achievements of the awardees here today are unique, and they also showcase the impressive breadth of different ways you can serve in the United States Army,” said Wormuth during the ceremony. “All these awardees have made a significant, positive impact on our Army, whether by implementing new policies, changing our systems and processes, or exhibiting on a much larger stage the Army’s core values. And all of them have shown through their dedicated service the difference just one person can make.”
Jones Maia was one of a dozen U.S. Army Soldiers and civilians recognized inside the Pentagon’s Hall of Heroes during the ceremony. Her work emphasizes the importance of Army and Department of Defense organizations’ efforts to offer training for all employees, regardless of supervisory status, according to Jones Maia.
“Initially, I hope [my paper] causes readers to think about workforce development from a new perspective,” said Jones Maia. “But I also hope on some level it inspires change – whether that is a cultural shift toward a broader recognition of important and valuable career paths that may not involve a leadership track, or a change in how we evaluate and allocate workforce development resources. Ideally, it would do both.”
Jones Maia conceived the thesis of her paper during years of balancing work and life – she noticed a disparity of available training for those on a supervisory career path compared to those who simply wanted to excel in their current positions. While some organizations tend to prioritize skills training for personnel hoping to climb the career ladder, it is also important for Army and government entities to ensure all members of a team are trained, equipped, and positioned to realize their full potential to drive team excellence, according to Jones Maia.
“The topic is actually quite personal for me. As I’ve explored my own goals and objectives for my career, I’ve had to navigate the constraints of family life and ensuring I have a healthy work-life balance. Often, when leadership paths were highlighted as a way to progress in one’s career, they felt off-limits to me,” she said. “When I would express this to friends and colleagues, some would echo similar feelings. It was nice to know I wasn’t alone, but it also made me realize that there is a ton of untapped potential within our organizations. I started to think about what would happen if there were more opportunities to grow that didn’t always require ‘moving up.’ How much stronger and more effective could we be if we did that?”
Jones Maia is not just talk and theory – she lives the values described in her paper each day. As a U.S. Army Veteran, she is integral to helping all on her team to grow professionally and drive organizational excellence within the Warfighter Expeditionary Medicine and Treatment Project Management Office and USAMMDA as a whole.
“One of the biggest joys I get out of my job is sharing knowledge with my colleagues. I love answering questions, pointing folks in the right direction, or contributing to solutions that help us work more effectively. I love being a part of our team so anything I can do to help make the team better or stronger, I’m all in,” she said. “[Now] that the award ceremony is behind me, the next challenge will be looking for opportunities to share the ‘Excellence at Every Level’ concept and possibly implement it.”
| Date Taken: | 09.12.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 09.12.2024 12:04 |
| Story ID: | 480694 |
| Location: | ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 58 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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