Two NUWC Division Newport engineers gain valuable education through NAVSEA Leadership Development Continuum programs

Two NUWC Division Newport engineers gain valuable education through NAVSEA Leadership Development Continuum programs

By NUWC Division Newport Public Affairs

NEWPORT, R.I. -

Kelsey Dugan and Brandon Waugh, two Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport engineers, recently reached personal and professional goals through the Naval Sea System Command's (NAVSEA) Leadership Development Continuum.

Dugan, a resident of Newport, Rhode Island, and a member of the Undersea Warfare (USW) Platforms and Payload Integration Department, completed the Journey Level Leadership program for GS-11 to GS-13 employees. Waugh, a resident of East Providence, Rhode Island, and an engineer in the USW Electromagnetic Systems Department, completed the Next Generation (NextGen) Leadership program for GS-7 through GS-11 employees.

This year there were 25 graduates from the Journey Level Leadership program and 35 graduates from the NextGen Leadership program, who were honored at a ceremony held on Sept. 12 in Washington, D.C.

Enterprise-wide training is a priority at all levels of the workforce as NAVSEA recognizes that motivating others, managing conflict, effective listening, critical thinking, and taking initiative are all skills that make a good leader.

Dugan's goal was to complete an off-site rotation within her first five years at Division Newport and the Journey Level Leadership program allowed her to do that with a rotation at the Southwest Regional Maintenance Center (SWRMC) in in San Diego, California. She has been at NUWC for nearly four years and has worked on the Encapsulated Harpoon program and now works with an unmanned undersea vehicle (UUV) program.

"I wanted to develop softer skills," Dugan said. "NUWC's Leadership Competency Development Program courses, such as strength-based leadership highlighted this and gave me permission to focus on my strengths, rather than invest more energy into weaknesses."

Waugh, a test lead for maritime special operations projects (SOCOM), was a Division Newport employee for less than three years when he applied for the NextGen program. He was looking for leadership roles within his current projects.

The one-year part-time program seeks high performing GS-7 through GS-11 employees, or equivalent, from across the enterprise, with at least one year of work experience. The program's goal is to improve enterprise mission success by increasing the effectiveness of these selected professionals through a blended-course approach, both in the classroom and online, which involves assessment, experiential learning and individual development opportunities. Graduation from the NextGen demonstrates a focus on raising both organizational and individual performance.

"I'd see these programs come across my email and I had a good push from my boss and co-workers to apply," he said. "It was never lack of support that has hindered me from applying in the past. It was always my self-doubt."

Applying to these programs involves submitting a written application and supervisor endorsement as well as approval from the technical director. The program is open to all employees.

For the NextGen program, Waugh had to contemplate what being a leader meant to him.

"I wanted to work on my public speaking," he said. "I've always been comfortable presenting topics I'm really familiar with, but I needed to put myself into an uncomfortable situation."

For Journey Level Leadership, Dugan completed two one-week orientations in Washington, D.C., and another week for graduation. There was a capstone project that required about one day a week of her time. Her rotation in San Diego was full time for 90 days. In total, the Journey Level Leadership program took about half of Dugan's time for the fiscal year, she said.

"In San Diego, I learned about surface ship maintenance availabilities and, really, how much of the Navy revolves around ship maintenance," Dugan said. "It was intense. I see why it is one of the CNO's [Chief of Naval Operations] highest priorities."

Dugan also completed a side project where she did an audit of SWRMC's mentoring program and provided recommendations directly to the command's executive director.

For the NextGen program, Waugh's time commitment was one week in Washington, D.C., for the orientation and another week for graduation. For his capstone rotation, he spent one week at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard in Hawaii.

The NexGen participants all worked on the same project - addressing the multigenerational gap in NAVSEA's civilian workforce.

"That gap doesn't exist as much as we may think," he said about the project. "Change is hard for all people. Older and younger generations don't communicate well together and there are different means of communication. There's seems to be a lack of standardization across NAVSEA of what they expect of their workforce."

The project required Waugh to spend about two to three hours per week researching recommended reading and videos, as well as an hour a week collaborating with his capstone group.

Before Waugh's experience in the NextGen program, he wanted to be in a place where he could be a change agent. The NextGen program features job shadowing and participants are encouraged to shadow someone who they don't work with every day.

"Ideally you want to shadow someone in a position you might want one day," Waugh said.

He selected a colleague who handles acquisition for SOCOM.

"I was able to see the decision-making process up close and personal and I also got to attend the SOCOM program review," Waugh said. "From this experience I learned that I want to stay close to the technical piece as test lead."

"Through the program, I learned I'm already in that place and I need to set my goals higher," Waugh said. "I thought I wanted to be a leader on a program but I realized I already am one and I need to further refine my goals."

Dugan said that prior to the Journey Level Leadership program, she saw herself taking on a leadership role early in her career. That view changed after completing the program.

"If I want to be the best leader down the road, I need to hone in on my technical skills first," Dugan said. "We learned that the best leaders don't resist change, but rather they embrace it."

For anyone interested in applying to the Journey Level Leadership program, Dugan has some advice.

"Although you may not be a branch head or lead engineer, think about how you have become a leader within your team. To me, this looked like being a lead on a part of a project," she said. "Once accepted to the program, do your best to work with your supervisor to reduce your workload for the year. The Journey Level Leadership program is best executed when you have adequate time to invest in the program. I also encourage those interested to use this as an opportunity to leave NUWC and learn about the bigger NAVSEA picture. Don't be afraid to try something completely different.

"I realized how important NUWC is to the Navy and how many cool opportunities we have here," she said. "This is the place where I can accomplish my goals. I want to dive into oceanography, so I've taken advantage of the educational opportunities here to get a master's degree."

Waugh's advice for those interested in applying for the NextGen program is to "keep an open mind, stick with it and try your best."

"One of the coolest things I got out of this was it reinforced my sense of self," Waugh said. "Also, the relationships I've made from networking with people from the other warfare centers - that was great. Leadership starts with people. Try to create personal connections with those around you."

Dugan said one of her biggest takeaways was discovering that NUWC Division Newport's role is more important than she realized.

"I would not have seen that without the outside perspective the program gave me," she said.

More information on both programs is available here.

NUWC Newport is the oldest warfare center in the country, tracing its heritage to the Naval Torpedo Station established on Goat Island in Newport Harbor in 1869. Commanded by Capt. Chad Hennings, NUWC Newport maintains major detachments in West Palm Beach, Florida, and Andros Island in the Bahamas, as well as test facilities at Seneca Lake and Fisher's Island, New York, Leesburg, Florida, and Dodge Pond, Connecticut.

Join our team! NUWC Division Newport, one of the 20 largest employers in Rhode Island, employs a diverse, highly trained, educated, and skilled workforce. We are continuously looking for engineers, scientists, and other STEM professionals, as well as talented business, finance, logistics and other support experts who wish to be at the forefront of undersea research and development. Please connect with NUWC Division Newport Recruiting at this site- https://www.navsea.navy.mil/Home/Warfare-Centers/NUWC-Newport/Career-Opportunities/ and follow us on LinkedIn @NUWC-Newport and on Facebook @NUWCNewport.