U.S. Army Major Dewayne Webb is a Georgetown Public Relations Fellow who has served at Fort Bragg, NC, Yongsan, Korea and Fort Polk, LA. He’s commanded a Public Affairs Detachment, has been a battalion intelligence officer, and has served within the special operations community. He became the Director of Communications for Military Mentors earlier this year and authored our newest blog. This post highlights his acumen as a Public Affairs officer.
All of us have experienced good and bad leadership. Many of us can quickly name several leaders we view as great leaders. On the other hand, many of us can also quickly name several leaders we view as horrible leaders.
What is leadership? What is change-inspired leadership? I took the time to interview Jeremy Martin about his take on leadership. Martin is a retired Colonel from the U.S. Army and former senior executive service member during President Obama’s administration.
When asked how his varied experienced has shaped him and his leadership style, Mr. Martin sums his answer up specifically in three and five points. Mr. Martin explains that there are five things he cannot live without and three things every leader should have the first day they walk into a new organization. Martin says the three leadership Cs one should possess when coming into an organization are the ability to be competent, be current and to communicate. Martin further explains that faith, family, sense of purpose, long walks with his wife and memories are the five things he cannot live without.
Competent – Organizations will expect you to be competent when you arrive.
Current – Organizations expect you to be current. Understand what the organization’s values are. Ask yourself if you can commit yourself and be passionate to organization.
Communicate – Organizations expect you to be an effective communicator, able to articulate yourself to inspire others and able to earn the respect of your subordinates and superiors alike.
“My faith in [a higher power] is what sustains me. I’ve been blessed with a long and successful career. 30 years as a military officer; a transition to Senior Executive Service in a Presidential Administration, and now service in the corporate world of a major defense corporation. Positions of increased responsibility require sacrifice and discipline. My faith has helped to sustain me in the midst of long deployments, missed family events, and when I’ve made mistakes I’ve been blessed to work with compassionate leaders who provided good mentorship. My wife, Ava, is the hero in our family. She’s provided a stable environment on the home front which has allowed our children to flourish and enabled me to fashion the type of career which has significantly enhanced our quality of life.
Sharing the success of my career with family gives me a tremendous sense of accomplishment. Having a sense of purpose gives my life meaning, motivation for beginning each day with the tremendous responsibility of taking care of my family, [and having a] sense of duty in executing my corporate responsibilities. Long walks with my wife keeps me grounded and focused. We talk about everything, and we’re best friends! I [also] draw inspiration from my life’s memory highlight reel. The journey with my siblings; serving around the world in our military, precious time with family members who shared and taught me so much…including my late father who I recently lost.”
Change-inspired leadership is thinking larger than self, seeing “the people” as the most crucial [organizational] aspect and engaging with others. Martin thinks larger than himself, understanding that being a leader involves seeing “the people” as the most crucial aspect of Bell. Martin makes a daily effort to engage with others and establish connections. For example, Martin places people at the center of Bell through his role having to engage with stakeholders both internal and external to the organization. Martin smiles and describes engaging people he does not know almost every day—such as, members of the media. Martin uses his change-inspired leadership every day at bell to coordinate and collaborate with higher leaders, downward to subordinates and across Bell’s functional areas.
Maintaining great communication channels is vital in times of crisis and requires resiliency and strength. During times of crisis is when one sees what the “leader is made of” (see our post on In Extremis Leadership). Martin sits back in his chair and recalls his time at the Pentagon when he got to observe the demeanor of some leaders there—specifically leaders who would shout or failed to maintain a calm demeanor during times of crisis. During a time of crisis, Martin ensures patience, good listening, and controlling frustration are crucial components in a communicator’s toolkit as an organization moves forward to address [said] crisis. Martin further describes that being a good communicator means being comfortable before others, remaining calm and articulating yourself well. Resiliency and strength are incredibly important in today’s tumultuous business environment. Martin describes how “it is a great sacrifice to be a leader, but [he] understands the importance for him and his team members to take care of themselves on all levels—physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual”.
Martin concludes by saying, “ultimately, leadership is about looking beyond oneself, to the team one is on to implement change. Even with so much technology, there will always be room for a leader to set the tone, be authentic, articulate a vision and inspire/motivate people across the organization.” Martin, furthermore, brings up a quote from Teddy Roosevelt: “People don’t care what you know till they know you care.”
Mr. Martin’s is currently the director of public affairs and engagement at Bell Flight. Martin’s experience spans 30 years in military, including the last 13 years in uniform as a public relations professional. Martin’s time included four rotations in the Pentagon, managing hundreds of employees and serving on the staff of four Secretaries of Defense (Rumsfeld, Gates, Panetta, and Carter). After retiring from the military, Martin served during the President Obama administration (’15 – ‘17) serving as Secretary of Defense’s Ash Carter staff as chief of staff to the assistant SECDEF for public affairs and as the Pentagon press secretary.