Professional Development
Professional development is critical for all individuals, no matter their profession or rank. I was lucky enough to attend the Professional Development Pipeline at the EANGUS conference a few weeks ago. This course offered a new perspective because it was a joint event, and all enlisted ranks were welcome. I was able to learn a lot about leadership from the top National Guard leaders who briefed on upcoming changes and answered any questions the audience had. On top of getting to listen and correspond with our senior enlisted leaders in both services, we had retired leaders give classes about leadership, ESGR, mental health, and a new organization called Military Veterans and Players (MVP). MVP aims to create a community for veterans and retired athletes that focuses on fitness and networking.
Networking
“Your network is your net worth”. This phrase was repeated almost daily at the conference to instill that building a healthy network will help you in your career and in life. Networking was one highlight of the EANGUS conference. I was able to connect with others in my career field to help bridge the information gap when it comes to program management. Also, I was able to learn a lot about our sister service and share information. Connecting with troops in other units has helped my program management because we have shared best practices and even plan to assist each other with external evaluations. Networking is a key component to success!
Mentorship
Another highlight was the speed mentoring session. Personally, I believe this was the most beneficial portion of the conference. Sitting down with Senior Enlisted Leaders (SEL) from both services and being able to ask them questions helped me develop my skills as a leader. I thought it was interesting that no matter what branch the SEL belonged to, their answers to the leadership questions were similar. The common denominator of a good leader from the leaders I spoke to were to build trust with your team, know your craft, and lead by example. I will take the conversations I had with our SELs about leadership characteristics from the speed mentoring session to build on my own leadership skills.
Development
I would highly recommend attending the Professional Development Session at the EANGUS conference to anyone who is looking to expand on their leadership skills and get to know people outside of their base. I was able to build multiple professional relationships that will help with both my job and the other organizations I am a part of. Networking with the sponsors was also beneficial because I was able to find another degree program that will work with my schedule. Additionally, I was able to take information and contact information for training tools that will have a huge impact on our unit’s ability to train and be more lethal. Networking for some people is uncomfortable
and can be challenging, but I found the networking events at the EANGUS conference are inviting and make it easy (even for the introverts) to connect with others!
–SSgt Kasey Bullard CTANG