12
Running head: MISSION CHANGE
Mission Change: Aligning Military Veterans’ Experiences with the Organization to Maximize Sustainability
Refereed Paper
Sarah E. Minnis, Sarah E.;
Veteran Services Program Coordinator
PhD Student
Department of Educational Administration and Human Resource Development
College of Education and Human Development
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX 77843
Email:
Phone: 979-458-5342
Fax: 979-847-9061
Jia Wang, Jia
PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Educational Administration and Human Resource Development
College of Education and Human Development
Texas A&M University, MS 4226
College Station, TX 77843
Email:
Phone: 979-862-7808
Fax: 979-862-4347
Abstract
Military veterans are being called to serve in the current military conflicts in record numbers. . They are then coming to the civilian workforce as changed individuals having seen and experienced things to which those within their organizations cannot relate. Due to this, many service members have struggled with the transition process from civilian to military and back to civilian. This paper will examine Schlossberg’s transition model to define the transition process of service members as they go through leaving their familiar surroundings, engaging in military service, and transitioning back into the civilian work world. It will then consider Super’s life-span, life-space approach to highlight strategies HRD practitioners might consider implementing with these unique potential employees who bring key knowledge and skills to contribute to organizational leadership sustainability.
Key words:military veterans, transition, organizational sustainability
Mission Change: Aligning Military Veterans’ Experiences with the Organization to Maximize Sustainability
Military veterans from the Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF) wars have become a common sight on the news, in airports, at the mall, and in our organizations as they return from combat and enter the civilian workforce. They bring with them skills and experiences from their military service in addition to mental and emotional challenges from deployment which certainly impact them as they transition into the civilian workforce. Service members are part of a population which is one of the least understood by civilian managers but has perhaps the greatest capability of helping develop organizational sustainability and economic prosperity through their unique contributions (Ackerman & DiRamio, 2009).
In particular, military reservists occupy a space in organizations unlike any other veterans. With the exception of one weekend per month, and two weeks per year, they are ordinary citizens in our civilian workforce, but they have made a commitment to serve their country when called upon to do so. In this time of war they are being called upon in increasingly large numbers to do their duty. When mobilized to active duty, these veterans must leave their civilian employment for an often undefined duration of time to participate in training in anticipation of deployment and then serve their deployed time where needed. They may be away from their regular employment for two years or more and are usually working in a capacity quite different from their civilian job or career (Ackerman & DiRamio, 2009). Zachary (2007) notes that while they are away “the employee and the civilian work environment change. Workplaces, and individuals, are not static. Sometimes the readjustment results in misunderstandings” (p. 21) which adds a layer of challenge that veterans must navigate as part of their transition process. Additionally, veterans may also be deployed more than once requiring them to make the process of leaving and reintegrating in their civilian work. “While regular army just balances the Army life as its job, the…reserve components have a lot more to deal with” (Ackerman & DiRamio, 2009, p. 18).
When engaging in active duty military service, it is critical that the service members are competent in and capable of succeeding in their assigned work. A great deal of time is put into the training process for each military occupational specialty (MOS), and the military wants to get the best return on its investment as do service members who want to get the most out of their experience (Dillon, 2007). Research has also shown that “the military serves as a bridging environment whereby appropriate values and social skills necessary for success in mainstream…society are learned” (Teachman & Call, 1996, p. 5). How well these skills are internalized and implemented is largely dependent on the individual service member, but the process of working with diverse groups in challenging and dynamic situations positions them well for success after service (Dillon, 2007).
The work service members do in the military depends on the branch in which they serve and the skills and specialties needed by the military at the time (Dillon, 2007). Teachman and Call (1996) refer to the “greater transferability of skills from military to civilian jobs due to the increased technical requirements of waging war” (p. 5) which is evident in the technical aspects of most MOSs. The most critical of skills acquired and used are the interpersonal skills such as leadership, decision-making, communication, cross-cultural awareness, and problem-solving which are essential skills for business success. Opportunities to learn and use these skills through military service can significantly increase a veteran’s value as a civilian employee and can have a positive impact in the organization to which the veteran returns. Particularly as organizations move toward sustainability, these interpersonal skills combined with the ability to think strategically and implement change tactics make military veterans valuable organizational members and leaders (Laszlo, 2001).
Research Purpose
The OEF/OIF veteran population is bringing new skills and experiences to the civilian workforce and requires individual interventions to be implemented by Organizational Development (OD) practitioners in order to help these veterans transition effectively and become part of organizational sustainability efforts (Crews, 2010). Indeed, based on the rigorous requirements the military sets for entrance and the technical training, the interpersonal skills development of military service members, and the ability of service members to successfully navigate the ranked military structure, “employers can infer that veterans possess a level of physical and mental capacity that exceeds the national average” (Teachman & Call, 1996, p. 6). As D’Amato and Roome (2009) note with respect to organizational practices, “Challenges in different locations and business lines are answered with different tools or actions, yet under the standpoint of company-wide impact, requiring some high-level integration to ensure the same vision is enacted” (p. 426). Hopkins (2009) points to the ability of organizations to coordinate business operations across multiple organizational units employing varying strategies as a key facet of organizations successful in sustainability. Given this similarity to military practices, employers would do well to look to those leaving military service when recruiting organizational leaders and technical specialists to move the organization forward and create sustainability for the future (Laszlo, 2001).
The purpose of this paper is to examine how the skills and experiences military veterans gain through their military deployments can positively impact their organizations’ efforts to implement sustainability practices. This paper first explores the definition of organizational sustainability and the changes necessary and OD contributions for organizations to engage in sustainability practices. Next reviewed is the process veteran service members go through when transitioning through military service returning to civilian employment using Schlossberg’s (1981) transition model. Super’s Life-Span, Life-Space approach to facilitating veterans’ work transition and the Career Development Assessment and Counseling (C-DAC) model (Super, Osborne, Walsh, Brown, & Niles, 1992) are then discussed as frameworks OD practitioners can use as individual interventions when working with military veterans to make effective use of their interpersonal skills to contribute to their organizations’ sustainability practices (Crews, 2010).
Organizational Sustainability
The concept of sustainability has gained prominence over the past three decades moving beyond the environmental definition to be incorporated as a more broadly defined business function. . This evolving concept began from the core idea by the Brundtland Commission (1987) of organizations meeting their needs while not jeopardizing others’ ability to meet theirs. With that also rests the philosophy that sustainability is impacted by organizational culture and creates changes in organizational culture over time. “A main point is that culture is reflected in corporate responsibility and in uncertainty management and so determines the level of sustainable corporate acting” (Arnold, 2010, p. 61). As such, effective employees and leaders capable of working through change are necessary to organizations engaging in sustainability practices. Military veterans returning to work following deployment are uniquely equipped, as will be shown, to fill these positions. What may be most telling of their potential employment impact is the service members’ ability to successfully transition into, through, and out of the military.
Organizational sustainability is currently defined by three key elements within the organization: economic, social, and environmental sustainability. “Economic sustainability is fundamental to corporate success….Social sustainability embodies the humanitarian context of business….environmental sustainability considers the impact of business on the quality and quantity of natural resources” (Haugh & Talwar, 2010, p. 385). Each part of the definition addresses a critical aspect of the organization which is impacted by the culture and stakeholders inside and outside the business, and the relationship between and among these element of organizational sustainability is complex. Each element is connected to the other within the organization’s sustainability practice when sustainability is addressed in a holistic manner. . Organizations which invest in environmentally sustainable practices build social capital with clients, constituents, and customers. . The increased social capital leads to greater profitability and economic sustainability of the organization with which investment in socially sustainable practices becomes possible. As the organization increases its socially sustainable practices it increases the environmental and economic sustainability and so on (HaughTalwar, 2010).
Of the strategies noted in Epstein, Buhovac, and Yuthas (2010) for effective implementation of organizational sustainability, Human Resources is recommended for study of inputs and outputs which drive organizational performance. Based on study and benchmarking organizational leaders can then make recommendations on preferred staffing practices to achieve organizational sustainability. It is also noted that aligning economic, social, and environmental sustainability may be the largest challenge an organization will undertake. . Because of this, it is critical that the organization consider its many stakeholders as well as the corporate culture the leadership desires to promote (Arnold, 2010). What is not addressed by this definition is how organizational structure and developmental practices lend themselves to changing the culture and impacting the sustainability efforts of the organization. It is in this gap that military veterans returning to the organization may have a significant impact upon the organization as a result of their skills and experiences.
Military Veterans’ Transition
Schlossberg’s Transition Model
Schlossberg (1981) defined transition as a time when “an event or non-event results in a change in assumptions about oneself and the world and thus requires a corresponding change in one’s behavior and relationships” (p. 5). This idea of a change in assumptions aligns with Schlossberg’s concept of transition and applies directly when looking at changes military veterans members encounter in their transitions.
For this review of military transition the framework used by Schlossberg, Lynch, and Chickering (1989) is most helpful because it defines the stages of transition in addition to factors experienced and adaptations to transition by those going through the transition. What may be elucidated from this framework is “that transition can be managed and, that if transition can be understood, the person who is experiencing it can be aided as he or she moves through the process” (Schlossberg, Lynch, & Chickering, 1989, p. 76). This model of transition is separated into several themes through which service members pass and are defined by the ways in which they experience the changing relationships and self-perspective due to their experiences and awareness throughout their service time. Part of their transition includes changing as a result of their knowledge and skill development, both technical and interpersonal. A review of the transition model by Schlossberg et al. (1989) follows.
Note: Adapted from Schlossberg et al., 1989
Moving In.
During the “Moving In” theme veterans begin learning the routine of military life. This theme may occur as the service members leave their regular work and embark on a new and unfamiliar way of life. They may be going first to training and then active duty or may be deployed to active duty directly from work. Whatever the situation, the emotions of grief, apprehension, frustration, excitement, and fear are experienced almost universally by service members during this time, and the opportunity to serve their country will likely be balanced with anxiety about the experience ahead.
Moving Through.
The “Moving Through” theme is characterized by the veterans fully engaging in their military roles and letting go of who they were in their civilian lives. They not only become proficient at their military jobs but also become adept at navigating the bureaucracy that is part of the military way of life. In addition to becoming more comfortable with life on active duty, they may also demonstrate a greater understanding of others from different backgrounds including the different culture within which they may be working on deployment. Among some service members, according to Ackerman et al. (2008), “an awareness of the Iraqi people emerged” and “the maturity level noted…stems in part from an understanding of cultural differences and empathy for the worldviews of others” (p. 84). This greater sense of empathy and identification with others may be one of the greatest assets military service members bring back to civilian employment to contribute to their organizations’ efforts in social sustainability.
Learning to deal with the loss of team members and other horrors of war is part of service members’ adaptation to change, and the need to remain on high alert in addition to the undercurrent of fear and suspicion can begin to weigh heavily upon them. It will be one of the most complicating factors challenging their return to civilian employment. All of these experiences, positive and negative, serve to broaden military service members’ perspectives and add to the dynamic of internal change that marks the Moving Through theme and is the shift in self-perception that Schlossberg (1981) points to as a leading characteristic of transition.
Moving Out.
“Moving Out” is accompanied by minimal support structures surrounding military veterans as they transition out of active duty and return home. Again, service members must separate from what has become their comfort zone and return to the family and work left behind which will likely generate grief and stress (Ackerman & DiRamio, 2009). Service members must contemplate readjustment to a different kind of life without the comforting familiarity of those around them who have had similar experiences. This is a particularly anxiety-producing time for military veterans who lack the safety net of military community support in their civilian lives.
Adaptation.
As Schlossberg (1981) highlights, the key to success in transition is adaptation to change which is “a process during which an individual moves from being totally preoccupied with the transition to integrating the transition into his or her life” (p. 7) which is what service members do while Moving Through and Moving Out. When veterans return to civilian work they experience another transition requiring self-assessment and adaptation from confident to self-doubting worker, and in this process, “effective career services can help individuals assess the appropriateness of their responses to these types of change, plan for the change, and meet the change successfully” (Leibowitz & Schlossberg, 1982, p. 13). It is essential that veterans work with HRD practitioners who can assist them with strategies in order to successfully navigate the transition from military service to civilian employment and effectively integrate their skills and experiences.
Career Development Intervention for Veterans within Organizations
Veterans’ need for self-exploration may begin before, during, or after military service. Prior to active duty, some may have little exposure to or opportunity for exploration due to work in a job where they had no opportunity to engage in developmental activities. Their military work likely had little or nothing to do with their civilian experiences and may not have been in areas which would transition well to their civilian jobs. Once service members have returned to civilian employment they should engage with their organization’s HRD practitioners to gain assistance with the reintegration process through valuable individual interventions like values clarification, leadership development, reflection, and use of self-awareness tools. One of the reflective tools that can be useful when working with military veterans to develop self-awareness is Super’s Life-Span, Life-Space approach.
Super’s Life-Span, Life-Space Approach
Although identified as a career development theory, Super’s Life-Span, Life-Space approach is an excellent tool to assist veterans with their reintegration to civilian employment because this intervention does not require veterans to provide definitive responses to questions based on civilian employment or military experience. Rather, it examines “the combination and sequence of roles played by a person during the course of a lifetime” (Super D. , 1980, p. 282) allowing the veterans to reflect on skills and characteristics across time and experience to build self-awareness critical to ongoing civilian employment contribution.
Roles.
Super (1980) described the Life-Space in terms of nine roles each individual may occupy at varying times and four theaters in which those roles might exist. He noted that not all will occupy all roles, not all roles will be played in all theaters, and some roles might be played in several theaters. Super also explains that “it is the occupying of positions in theaters that casts one in roles, for a role is a set of expectations that others have of a person occupying a position” (Super D. , 1980, p. 285).