Faces of the Force: Mr. Billy McCain

[The Patriot]

'Listen more and speak less'Take it from someone who knows: There's a lot of overlap between being a product support manager for an Acquisition Category I program and being a minister. That someone is Billy McCain. He's the product support manager for the Global Combat Support System -- Army (GCSS-Army) at Fort Lee, Virginia, part of the Army Enterprise Systems Integration Program within the Program Executive Office for Enterprise Information Systems. He's also an ordained minister, having earned a master's in divinity from Virginia Union University."In both vocations, I must be an effective communicator and understand the challenges my clergy and my co-workers face," he said. "Likewise, in both professions I work with others to conquer those challenges to make a better product and a better person." Given that perspective, it's not surprising that he says active listening--"to listen more and speak less"--is the most important lesson he's learned over the course of his career and something he tries to do every day. "I listen to accumulate a full understanding of the problems at hand so as to not overlook possible solutions. This way, I'm sure that my comments address the problems at hand. This conceptual approach ideally makes my input more applicable as well as credible in its application."He added, "In the end, both areas are about people, and both groups face a lot of change. In the acquisition world, and outside of work, we need to be flexible when changes come or when we're faced with difficulties. It's in times of change that learners inherit the Earth, while knowers find themselves equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists."

More...