00;00;00;05 - 00;00;02;19 Alex Technically speaking. 00;00;02;21 - 00;00;05;19 Chelsie Welcome to our technically on technical technology top. 00;00;05;19 - 00;00;08;04 Alex And now we can land in production. 00;00;08;07 - 00;00;16;09 Chelsie Hello, I'm Chelsea. Then I would get Atlantic audiovisual specialist, social media manager, and I'm fully participating in New Year's resolutions this year. 00;00;16;11 - 00;00;22;08 Alex And I'm Alex, part of the media engagement team. And I'm also doing well with my New Year's resolutions so far. 00;00;22;09 - 00;00;23;23 Chelsie What are your resolutions, Alex? 00;00;23;26 - 00;00;31;11 Alex One of my resolutions is to just stay more on top of things, not to procrastinate as much and get things done as timely as possible. 00;00;31;14 - 00;00;52;04 Chelsie Procrastination will get you. That's a good one. That's a good one. Minor. More like I want to try and get into like a better routine when it comes to like working out, which I have been failing at so far this year. So that's been fun. And also just sleep. I really need to get more sleep. So those are my two like resolutions for 2024. 00;00;52;07 - 00;00;53;12 Chelsie Just more like healthy. 00;00;53;12 - 00;00;53;29 Alex On the sleep. 00;00;54;03 - 00;01;16;10 Chelsie Yeah, yeah. Sleep can really help in so many ways, including your mental health, your motivation. It really just helps your growth overall, which is really important. And the theme of this episode is growth. And we're going to focus on professional growth. So coming up, we've got to look behind the scenes of how Navigate Clinic provides professional development to its leaders and workforce. 00;01;16;12 - 00;01;28;08 Alex We've also got a great interview that demonstrates how to effectively communicate a message through storytelling and public speaking. So get comfy, turn up that volume, and let's get started. 00;01;28;10 - 00;01;52;09 Chelsie Alex and I recently sat down with Scott Dreyer, who is now a Atlantics executive coach, and he told us all about his work to support and guide leaders here at Newark Atlantic. So let's listen to what he has to say about the importance of his work. Scott You have a very unique role here at NIWA. Caitlin, can you kind of tell us a little bit more about what services you provide to the command right. 00;01;52;09 - 00;02;19;11 Scott Now At Lands I continue to provide executive coaching to our senior leaders, our front office, our department heads and our competency leads, and also provide leadership development services to our entire leadership council in order to develop and help them grow and support them as they lead our workforce. 00;02;19;13 - 00;02;26;20 Chelsie What kind of skills do you teach them? Like, why is this important to keep our leaders well versed in these different skills? 00;02;26;23 - 00;03;18;18 Scott Leading requires a number of different competencies and capacities so now having a coach to be able to speak to about various things like performance management with employees, communication and setting strategy, conflict management, meaning, you know, how to navigate relationships on on a team, interpersonal relationships. Pretty much all of the leadership development competencies that the Navy embraces. I'm here to support, and that doesn't mean that I'm necessarily the absolute expert, but I will work with and coach a leader to help realize where they're going or where they need to go regarding a particular area and and help them get there. 00;03;18;22 - 00;03;31;14 Alex How beneficial is that relationship for supervisor or manager with their team in terms of making sure that the organization is successful in the work that we do? 00;03;31;16 - 00;04;13;15 Scott I mean, there are times when I would say the employees might not even know that their leader is engaging in operating with a coach. And so it doesn't need to be like a well-known thing. But the results of what the leader brings to the team should be pretty significant in terms of an improved self-awareness. Bringing a team closer together, working more as a high functioning team, being able to communicate with the team members so they feel valued and recognized and appreciated, but also held accountable to their job and their position. 00;04;13;18 - 00;04;20;18 Scott So all those are like trickle down effects that employees in an organization are going to experience. 00;04;20;19 - 00;04;25;18 Chelsie Can you tell us a little bit about connecting conversations and what that is and how that helps connect? 00;04;25;18 - 00;05;01;00 Scott And Conversations is an initiative at NIWA at Atlantic designed to bring the workforce together, get to know one another as as humans, not just as coworkers. And so by initiating them and and having a leader within a team facilitate a conversation about pretty much any topic and they approach one another as humans getting to know one another just on a personal basis to start building the relationships. 00;05;01;02 - 00;05;36;03 Scott So what this does is it kind of fosters trust within the team in order to build other elements like communication, empathy, understanding, inclusiveness, what that's about. And then even talking about particular things like stress or mental health. So the connecting conversations is, is really a mechanism that that I guess allows people to open up, connect and express, and then and then grow and be productive at work. 00;05;36;08 - 00;06;04;24 Chelsie That's so important because there are so many instances in my past where I've just had leaders who I could not trust. It was very hard to work and get through and be a team and be innovative and excel because no one trusted the leader we had. There is some very toxic ways a communication was done at a previous place I worked and it was not government and it was it was pretty bad. 00;06;04;26 - 00;06;20;07 Chelsie A lot of gossip was in like encouraged from our leadership just to get dirt on other employees to be able to punish. It was it was a horrible situation that I feel like your services were really needed there. Yeah. 00;06;20;12 - 00;06;36;20 Scott Yeah. I mean, that to me that that sounds toxic and unhealthy. Dysfunctional, right. And and what that would would result in is folks leaving leaving that team, leaving that manager potentially and likely even leaving the organization when that type of environments there. 00;06;36;22 - 00;06;37;24 Chelsie Very high turnover. 00;06;37;25 - 00;07;03;01 Scott High turnover. Sure. Sure. And and that's something that we work really hard here at now Atlantic to do is to provide, you know, empowering, psychologically safe environments for our workers. You know, I think the connecting conversations build and that whole platform gives leaders the tools and the skills to be more trustworthy. 00;07;03;02 - 00;07;30;21 Alex Speaking of the leadership, being able to foster a great team, I know now we can only just had our leadership development workshop. Yes. Could you explain how important that is to have that type of a workshop to not only start off the beginning of the year, but to help foster a plan for the organization to move forward and strategically plan for what they want to accomplish? 00;07;30;22 - 00;07;59;06 Scott Absolutely. I think it is one of our highlights every year. And during that time we have components that are dedicated to their development. So we would bring in outside external speakers professionals to provide training and or their best research regarding how they can be more effective as leaders. So we don't have a just operating an internal we're bringing external entities in. 00;07;59;06 - 00;08;26;13 Scott Everyone comes together at a site, sometimes all together at one site, or they come together at local sites and all the leaders connect, which is critical because a lot of times we are working remotely. We're not seeing faces. And the Leadership Development Workshop just allows individuals to build that trust that Chelsea was speaking about to kind of understand where they're at and kind of align in order to move forward for the year. 00;08;26;13 - 00;08;37;08 Scott So yeah, I would say that that that event is significant. I really wish we could have more of them, to tell you the truth. But yeah, it's been, it's been very, very powerful. 00;08;37;10 - 00;08;50;13 Alex Yeah, it was really great to see everyone come together and just see everyone from the leadership all the way down, participating in activities and discussions. So I really that is being part of the workforce. 00;08;50;13 - 00;09;00;16 Scott Yeah. The only, the only thing I regret is that our entire workforce can't join that particular event. But it's just not logistically possible. Yeah. 00;09;00;16 - 00;09;06;29 Chelsie Scott what's some advice that you have received that has really impacted your career growth? 00;09;07;05 - 00;09;41;04 Scott That's a good question. I would say probably the most important element that I've received is to serve the client and serve the customer for me instead of trying to be too strategic in my career, I focus on serving, and the serving is producing results for the organization, for me and for my clients. Well. And so I would say that advice has done me well. 00;09;41;11 - 00;09;49;14 Chelsie So instead of focusing on your progression, focus on how you can make the client progress and it will in turn help you. 00;09;49;14 - 00;09;50;13 Scott Yes. 00;09;50;15 - 00;09;53;07 Chelsie Before we wrap up, I thought of one other question for you. 00;09;53;10 - 00;09;54;13 Scott Okay. 00;09;54;16 - 00;10;04;07 Chelsie What are the most common problems that you have seen leadership run into that you help them solve to work with your team? 00;10;04;09 - 00;10;35;17 Scott There's multiple, multiple things. But your question kind of leads and is easy for me to go. It's it's the people component and it's it's navigate gaining both the relationships on a team or with an individual with a customer or could be a leader and an employee. Now the origins of that often are usually connected with communication, and that always leads to a loss of trust. 00;10;35;19 - 00;10;40;13 Scott Maybe some skepticism and then potentially conflict. That's that's prevalent, Right. 00;10;40;15 - 00;10;42;14 Chelsie Communication is at the heart of everything. 00;10;42;14 - 00;10;44;28 Alex Sure. Is there anything else that you would like to add? 00;10;45;01 - 00;10;47;04 Scott I really appreciate being a part of this. 00;10;47;05 - 00;10;56;28 Chelsie Well, thanks for joining us, Scott. I love that you provide all of this expertise to the command to make our leaders and then in turn, our workforce even better. It's really great work that you do. 00;10;57;01 - 00;11;00;26 Scott Thank you so much. 00;11;00;28 - 00;11;20;25 Chelsie Alex After speaking with Scott, I realized that it really is important for a company or an organization to invest in its leadership because no one wants to work for a crappy boss. I mean, we've all been there, right? And this workforce is doing its best to make sure that there is this work life balance and everyone feels values and that starts at the top. 00;11;20;28 - 00;11;54;03 Alex It's really great that A is so impassioned by their work to make sure that the employees feel like they're valuable part of the team. And so it was really great to hear Scott's expertise on how we as employees can be fulfilled in the workplace. I like that. Scott also mentioned about the importance of communication between the employees and the supervisors, and I also got to speak with one of our coworkers, a public affairs specialist, Chris Patterson, who is part of the Magic Atlantic Toastmasters Club. 00;11;54;10 - 00;12;13;00 Alex And I wanted to get her perspective of how Toastmasters has helped her in her career. Let's take a listen. Chris, thanks for joining me today. We're both Toastmasters and want to get your take on how much it has helped you in your career and your daily life. What is Toastmasters helped you with? 00;12;13;02 - 00;12;37;17 Kris Thanks for having me, Alex. I appreciate being here today. Well, I always like to brag about Toastmasters. I think it's one of the best investments any employee can make, not just like Atlantic employees, but anybody, because every single person, no matter what field you're in, you are at some point have to do some public speaking, whether it's standing in front of a crowd of people giving a presentation or just standing up at a meeting and speaking up. 00;12;37;19 - 00;12;41;17 Kris So for a very small cost, it's a tremendous investment in yourself. 00;12;41;18 - 00;13;03;08 Alex I totally agree. It's been an instrumental part of my career here now with Atlantic and even outside of the workforce. I've really enjoyed getting those public speaking skills, so I'm grateful for that opportunity. So one of the things you did as part of Toastmasters and even beyond is being part of the great American Speak Off. Can you talk a little bit about that? 00;13;03;10 - 00;13;27;10 Kris From my years of training with Toastmasters, I felt that I had what it takes to participate in the Great American Speak Off, which is an American Idol type show for public speakers. And what I did was I gave a speech about an incident that recently happened to my life that had a huge impact on me. And I spoke about what I learned from that incident and more importantly, what everyone else can learn from what happened to me. 00;13;27;15 - 00;13;31;05 Alex So would you mind sharing your speech that you gave at the great American Speak off? 00;13;31;07 - 00;14;03;29 Kris Of course. I'm glad you asked. I could have killed a father, his wife and three babies. But instead, like many of you, would have, I chose to swerve. And as my van flipped upside down, I guess. God, really. Chris Patterson dies by driving off of a mountain. But I was oddly calm. I knew once I landed, all I had to do was get my seatbelt off. 00;14;04;02 - 00;14;37;08 Kris It turns out then, when you immerse headfirst into a river with rapids that want to drown you, it's much harder than it looks on those survival shows. I learned some things that day. One always have a way to cut yourself free to back up your life. My belongings were destroyed, including my laptops. I watched my life's work, my writing, my pictures, my memories all float away. 00;14;37;11 - 00;15;02;15 Kris Three. Hang on to those you love. Tell them those three magic words. And I don't just mean I love you. Which I say a lot more often now. But I mean, who in your life right now needs to hear you say I am sorry and I forgive you? My seatbelt never came undone that day. I should have died. 00;15;02;17 - 00;15;27;24 Kris But I got a second chance. I survived to tell you how I did it and how to save your own life, but more importantly, how you can transform your life before you face your cliff. And I'm here to help you answer this question. What would you do if you knew you only had 2 minutes left? 00;15;27;27 - 00;15;37;14 Alex I appreciate Chris for sharing her story. It was very impactful. And I think a lesson that we can all take from in terms of making sure that we make the most out of every situation. 00;15;37;14 - 00;16;03;12 Chelsie Yeah, I was very intrigued by that story as well as the lessons learned from how she tied in that personal experience to be a part of growing professionally in your communication skills and turning that around to get a message across. I thought I thought that was really clever. So this year we have a change to the podcast. We have decided to introduce a new segment and that is our military moment. 00;16;03;14 - 00;16;07;26 Chelsie We are taking this time to highlight the active duty military work here at Atlantic. 00;16;07;28 - 00;16;18;07 Alex We may do this through interview features, special event highlights, or by focusing on specific capabilities that our war fighters are testing and creating here at the Command. 00;16;18;08 - 00;16;27;13 Chelsie And our first military moment features Senior Chief Alberto Ceja, who speaks with us about his leadership role and how it impacts the mission. 00;16;27;15 - 00;16;43;25 Alberto My role over and I work, so I'm just there to make sure folks are doing their jobs tests. I don't deal with apps, I don't work with systems or anything like that. I just lead a group of sailors to ensure that the job is getting done. 00;17;00;09 - 00;17;18;22 Chelsie Absolutely. Everyone needs a leader. Everyone needs someone to help accomplish tasks, keep them on track, or else you can go off in astray and waste time and waste money. All of that. So it seems very important that you're involved with ensuring that everyone is completing their tasks in the most efficient way. 00;17;18;25 - 00;17;44;03 Alberto Yes, we we have to make sure that the jobs are getting done, whatever it is, if it's on the fleet, on the ships, or if it's on shore duty, if it's overseas, just have to make sure that the warfare fighter is up to date. And if there's anything that needs worked on or anything, they can call my work and we can take care of what we need to take care of on our end. 00;17;44;05 - 00;17;45;21 Chelsie How long have you been in the Navy? 00;17;45;24 - 00;17;48;05 Alberto I've been in the Navy for 23 years. 00;17;48;08 - 00;17;50;23 Chelsie That's a long time. You must be liking it. 00;17;50;26 - 00;18;02;29 Alberto Yes, I do like it. But it's almost time to quit, you know? Not quit, but pretty much hang up my boots and have somebody else, you know, lead that retirement. 00;18;03;02 - 00;18;04;03 Chelsie Is that what you're thinking? 00;18;04;08 - 00;18;05;27 Alberto Yes. Retirement in three years. 00;18;06;04 - 00;18;08;04 Alex What do you want to do after you retire? 00;18;08;07 - 00;18;18;08 Alberto After I retire, I just want to enjoy the time I have left with family. Of course, maybe play more golf. 00;18;18;12 - 00;18;31;04 Chelsie Since you're in a leadership role and you're about to retire. Do you have any advice for those who may be moving into a leadership role on how to lead, how to maintain productivity within a group? 00;18;31;06 - 00;18;44;29 Alberto Yes. So we we all learn from good leaders and bad leaders. So I would take stuff from good and bad and make that your own. Also, I would find a mentor to kind of ask those tough questions. 00;18;45;00 - 00;18;50;01 Alex And lastly, wanted to ask how did you get interested in serving in the Navy? 00;18;50;05 - 00;19;14;25 Alberto I never had plans to join the Navy. No one in my family has ever served. I'm the first one. So real quick, I went to take my car in to get fixed and the technician asked me to come to look at my car because it needed repairs. And I asked him, Where did you learn hot how to do this? 00;19;14;29 - 00;19;26;05 Alberto He said, I joined the U.S. Navy and I did this, and now I'm doing it outside the Navy. So that's how I joined the Navy, by that way. 00;19;26;07 - 00;19;32;22 Chelsie Wow. A quick like trip to the car that influenced you and motivated you to join the. I think that's that's wonderful. 00;19;32;23 - 00;19;34;28 Alex Well, thank you so much for joining us on the podcast today. 00;19;34;29 - 00;19;39;21 Alberto Well, thank you very much. It was a blessing to be here. And you all have a great day. 00;19;39;24 - 00;19;55;07 Chelsie Same to you. So, as always, to learn about anything that we've mentioned in the podcast, we have links in the description, including links to our leadership programs here at Night Atlantic. You can also check us out through our social media under NAV or our Narvik Atlantic website. 00;19;55;09 - 00;20;06;26 Alex That wraps up this episode. Thanks for listening. If you have a simple story that you think should be included in this podcast, please contact us at our public Affairs email address, which is listed in the description. 00;20;06;28 - 00;20;24;01 Chelsie Naval Information Warfare Center Atlantic, also known as the Islet, is the East Coast branch of the Naval Information Warfare Systems Command within the Department of the Navy. We develop a range of technologies that provide state of the art capabilities to the United States military.