Conference Highlights Guardian Culture, Hybrid Workforce

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AFNS) -- Senior-level leaders from across Space Systems Command came together this week to discuss building better connections, Guardian culture, and the future of the hybrid workforce at the "SSC Perigee Commander's Conference."

About 120 SSC leaders, many joined by their spouses, attended the event Nov. 13-14, at SSC headquarters located at Los Angeles Air Force Base. The conference, led by facilitators from the Arbinger Institute and SSC's Atlas X organization, was designed to foster the SSC leadership community.

"This year's SSC Perigee Commander's Conference is unlike any others you've attended in the past," said Lt. Gen. Philip Garrant, SSC commander. "Instead of typical organization updates, we're focusing on connecting the command and actively working on implementation of our Command Plan. We're focusing on culture and, specifically, developing a command-wide hybrid workforce policy informed by leaders across the command.

Col. Michelle Idle, SSC deputy commander, said the goal of the conference was to "get all members of leadership on the same page, with a common understanding of where we want to go as an organization, and how they're being empowered to lead."

"Culture is very amorphous," Idle said. "I can't bring everybody in and say, 'This is culture - execute.' Commander's conferences typically talk about specific strategies of how to execute a mission. What we've done instead, is to share our vision for how we're going to build SSC's workforce and instill the pride and ownership of that mission."

Measuring whether and how the culture has improved will be tricky, Idle said, but a strong culture will help drive outcomes.

"It's about creating a shared consciousness across our leaders," said Chief Master Sgt. Jacqueline Sauvé, SSC senior enlisted leader. "When we establish and create that, it enables our leaders to demonstrate that consciousness and permeate it across their formations, so we're all saying the same thing and showing up for our teams as one, shared voice."

The conference also gives leaders a voice, Sauvé said, and to bring their individual perspectives to the field command level. She noted the conference's approach was similar to how SSC's Command Plan was drafted, with considerable input and feedback from all levels.

Jason "JW" Womack, USSF development branch chief, led the introductory session Nov. 13 on "Building Connection." People crave connection, but fear connecting because there's risk involved. He challenged the leaders to think about and practice making authentic connections with others and to determine where there is a lack of connection in their units.

"What are your Guardians and Airmen not connected to?" Womack asked.

Womack said his research had identified seven weak connections to be strengthened: 1. Connection to self - people who may not like or trust themselves or see themselves in the mission; 2. Connection to the mission; 3. Connection to one another; 4. Connection to the current context; 5. Connection to the unit/service heritage; 6. Connection to shareholders and partnerships; and 7. Connection to the future.

"It's November and soon December," Womack said. "Traditionally, these can be tough times for many of our members. What can you do, and how can you hold one another accountable to creating those connections?"

Tommy McInnis, SSC Integrated Resilience and Prevention chief, and Christine Hayes, Sexual Assault Response coordinator, next gave an overview of personnel resources and led participants in discussions of how they, as leaders, would handle fictional scenarios involving suicide and sexual assault and who the leaders could contact if they needed more advice.

"We have evidence that sexual assault is very underreported," McInnis said. "Don't be alarmed if your numbers go up. Look at it as your Airmen, Guardians receiving care. That's the goal."

Mike Merchant, senior consultant with Arbinger, started the discussion on "Building a Guardian Culture" by outlining how mindset can drive behaviors which in turn drive results. He also outlined the difference between an inward mindset - focused on the self, "What's in it for me?" - and an outward mindset - with a focus on mission and treating other people as though they matter.

SSC Atlas X organization provided five sentence prompts on culture covering teamwork, high standards, accountability, innovation, and clarity and openness to generate discussions, then the participants broke into small groups for discussion.

Among the points raised by participants: SSC culture is bigger than just Los Angeles; the need to consider that SSC includes both acquisition and operations personnel; ownership of outcomes, including failures; how to incorporate stretch goals and encourage people to be ambitious; and how to ensure Guardian culture is translated to the lowest levels.

Day two of the conference focused on discussing how SSC can maximize the opportunities stemming from establishing and improving a Hybrid Workforce (Action 2.2 in SSC's Command Plan) while also building a Guardian Culture (Action 2.4) and Deepening Connection with our Workforce (Line of Effort 3).

While the federal Office of Personnel Management has specific guidance on telework and remote work, "hybrid work" or "hybrid workforce" is not specifically defined. Participants discussed what the transition might look like, moving from a pandemic-necessitated maximum telework posture to new hybrid work arrangements that balance remote work, telework and in-person work to best advance organizational health and performance.

Participants broke into small groups to discuss what the "guardrails" and minimum expectations would be in establishing and improving a hybrid workforce, including what the minimum attendance/participation standards could be, what tools and training supervisors would need, how the command could provide a quality hybrid "user experience," and what resources are needed.

The conference concluded with a presentation on building resilience by Mark Brennan, holistic health integrator and members of the Patrick/Cape Guardian Resilience Team, focusing on the USSF Holistic Health approach. Participants went through a series of exercises and small group sessions designed to evaluate their values and goals, and how they measured up across the eight interrelated domains that make up the Total Force Fitness framework: physical, financial, spiritual, preventive care, environmental, nutritional, and psychological.

Spouses who participated in the conference took part in several of the opening day discussions, followed by tours of Millennium Space Systems, SpaceX and SSC's Space Den on the conference's second day. Providing spouses with an inside look at some of the work their significant others are performing, helps create greater connectivity - and that's what the conference was all about.

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