Be THAT Voice

In the summer of 1995, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, I took the Oath of Office and was commissioned as a 2Lt in the Air Force. Fast forward 18 years, and I have more years behind me than in front of me.  I have decided that I am going to make the best use of my time and energy to help others during these last years. This is one of the reasons that I started this platform. I decided that I would Be THAT Voice.   

Be THAT Voice

Recently I was called into a meeting because my boss was out of town. The purpose of the meeting was to rank order all of our officers in a 1 to n list. Fortunately I knew in advance about the meeting, so I had time to prepare. When I got to the meeting and took my seat at the table I was the lowest ranking person (all others were O6s) and I was the only female.

At some point in the conversation the discussion turned to a particular female officer who was not in my group and whom I had never met. One Colonel used phrases like “she is aggressive” and “she challenges me” in our conversation. Immediately, my female “spidey sence” went off.  I have only heard these terms used to describe women in a negative context. Since I did not know the officer, I had no basis to know if this was an accurate description.  I looked around the room to see if anyone else was concerned. However, it felt that everyone was looking at me to see my reaction. Maybe they weren’t.  Maybe it was me looking around the room and them looking back at me. I don’t know. But at some point, I just had to speak up.

Be THAT Voice

I asked the Colonel if he thought that the officer had the potential to become a Materiel Leader and lead an AF acquisition program. He answered Yes. So when he said “she is aggressive” maybe he meant “she is a go-getter”. And when he said “she challenges me” maybe he meant “her ideas make me think”. These were words that were used to describe other officers.  Being a go-getter and a critical thinker are two qualities we look for in future acquisition leaders.

Be THAT Voice

I share this experience with you for several reasons. One, I have no idea what image the male O6s in the room had based on the original word choices. Two, I have no idea if the clarification changed their minds after they heard the first description. Three, I have no idea what would have happened if I was not there by chance to ask that clarifying question.

 Be THAT Voice

 We need to seek understanding of each other and make sure our words are communicating our thoughts and intentions correctly.

 

We all need to Be THAT Voice.