How growing up in a military family shaped my career and leadership style

My father served as a Command Sergeant Major in the Army. He built his entire career in the military, retiring after 30 years of service. Growing up in a military family shaped my worldview and directly influenced my leadership style.

My father loved what he did. I remember him being up at 4 a.m., drinking his coffee excitedly waiting to go to work. What a lot of people don’t know about leadership in the military is that it isn’t just about managing the performance of the soldiers but also taking care to teach important values, like character, teamwork, and sacrifice for something bigger than yourself. My father would even get involved when there were issues in the homes of soldiers, something I would consider being outside of his scope of work. Through my father, I learned at a very early age how important it is that a leader supports the whole person, and I have modeled my management style on that idea.

I also saw that my father was always willing to take on change, which often involved moving to new locations, a process that puts family members through a great deal of change as well. It wasn’t always easy – I went to six high schools as he advanced in his career and took on new assignments – but I always admired his willingness to raise his hand to say, “I can do that” or “I will take that on.” As I have advanced in my own career, I have also moved to pursue new opportunities. It’s probably one of the reasons I am so drawn to leading organizational transformation and culture change.

Most importantly, he taught me to love what I do. I have the privilege of leading a diverse portfolio of teams at Delta Dental that include our People Operations, Corporate Communications and Corporate Social Impact. Each of those areas – as well as the rest of the organization – is committed to supporting Veterans and their families.

In People Operations and Recruiting, we recognize Veterans and their spouses as a talented pool of potential employees and are looking for ways to increase those populations across our workforce.

From a Corporate Communications perspective, we lift up the stories of our employees who have served, including several planned employee profiles we will share on our social channels in celebration of Veteran’s Day.

Finally, through our Delta Dental Community Care Foundation, we support organizations that provide dental and other critical services to Veterans. But it isn’t just corporate giving; our employees are deeply committed to these causes as well. Through our employee volunteer program, we have had several successful employee-led fundraisers for Carry the Load, Sneakers for Soldiers and Blue Star Mothers of America, Inc.

This year, two employees in our Mechanicsburg, PA office – Cheryl Leaman and Cynthia Pate – organized a virtual walk and fundraiser for Sneakers for Soldiers that will end, appropriately, on Veteran’s Day. So far, they have raised more than $7,000 to provide 100 pairs of custom athletic shoes for our deployed military.

I am also proud to share that this year, we are starting a new annual tradition of giving our employees Veteran’s Day as a paid holiday.

I want to close by highlighting a piece by my colleague, Roy Gilbert, who is Chief Operations Officer at Delta Dental and served as a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy Submarine Force. He made the transition from military to civilian life and offers helpful guidance to those service members who are currently transitioning out of the military and into the civilian workforce.

I wish a happy Veterans Day to all who have served and to their families who have supported them along the way.