Rolling with it: My Top 7 Takeaways from my First Delivery Ceremony with the F-16 Fighting Falcon

“Drinking from the firehose.” That’s the way that several of my colleagues introduced me to the lifecycle of working in communications at a company like Lockheed Martin. Certainly, I felt it. My first day with the company was the first flight of the Block 70 F-16 Fighting Falcon, and my thirtieth day on the job was the Delivery Ceremony of the first Jet to the Kingdom of Bahrain. Needless to say, when it comes to rolling with it, I’m becoming somewhat of an expert.

Yet, perhaps the periods of greatest growth come when you are overtired, stressed and simply adapting to the constant changes that life throws your way. In experiencing this ceremony and everything that it took to produce success, I reflected on my top seven takeaways that I’m carrying forth to the next period of pandemonium and how to make it look seamless.

For those of you who are less familiar with a Delivery Ceremony, a roll out is the reveal of a plane or jet to a customer after order. For the Greenville, S.C. site, the F-16’s first customer is the Kingdom of Bahrain. When such events occur, the local site is a convergence ground for foreign customers, government officials, and high-ranking members of Lockheed Martin to meet and celebrate the partnership and years of cooperation that advance what Lockheed calls ‘21st Century Security’.

When you’re a fresh new hire like me, however, you step onto a train that has already been running for many months, and the work has already been designated. Yet, this circumstance does nothing to limit your ability to learn and perform. Here are several things that I learned while acting as this newcomer to an incredible event that has been years in the making.

#1: Understand that Reputation Always Precedes You

Agile Public Relations Practitioners know a golden rule of PR to be “It takes 5 minutes to break a reputation that took 50 to build.” I think the same happens in companies with great company cultures like Lockheed Martin. Extremely strong channels of communication ensure that the leadership knows the backgrounds and histories of everyone on their teams.

As a result of this interconnectedness, you need to be mindful of the attention and watchfulness of everyone that you interact with, especially when the people that you want to impress are in the room. In my circumstance, one of my leaders had already heard about my graduate school acceptances and had come to congratulate me on the first meeting. The other had been responsible for the opportunity that I had to enter my current role. You never realize who is listening, so be sure to make it count.

In the same way, high leadership being in town means that you may have the opportunity to have even a 30-second conversation with someone which might change the trajectory of your career. Bending someone’s ear for your dreams and goals can be vital to the next steps of a relationship that can bring greater learning opportunity, career ascension, or simply comradery and emotional support. When you have the second to make a comment or ask a question, take it. Take the chances to ride or drive someone, or to walk with someone on their way. You will not have another opportunity like it.

I’d recommend also observing the leadership styles of the leadership at the top of the pipeline while all levels are in the room. For example, one of the leaders who I became quite fond of would simply sit back and listen. She was constantly watching her team work, acting only when she needed to, yet her observations were often at such a high strategic level, that they steered the team toward the direction of success without interfering with the work continuously being achieved. If that is a leadership style that makes teamwork, it is also a great place to start when learning to lead on your own.

#2: If you’re on the bottom, or new, you are in the unique position to be the highest level problem solver in the room.

Being a newbie, I was not as deeply involved in the actual responsibility of rollout communications. I had my own items to manage, but by the deep hours of work, I was light on tasks in some spots. During that time, I was working hard to be cognizant of every comment and looking to anticipate a problem that arose. I would recommend simply being there: be there to hold something if someone needs to put their hair up, or have the backup pen, or be an agile chauffeur if a leader needs to escort someone, offer support if they need to complete mundane tasks. Be constantly there to step in and solve the problem so that your leader does not have to.

I jumped at the opportunity to be a chauffeur to one of our leaders and a high-ranking reporter. There was a need which I had the skills to fill. In silent support, I was able to connect with a person who had incredible life experiences---they’ve met Elon Musk, know Congresspeople by name, and were sitting shotgun. All the while, I was listening to how my leader made conversation--the topics that they covered, the way that she managed potential press leads, and how she made this person feel comfortable. Someone that began the day as a name that made me want to swoon was a person that I would feel confident supporting as a press liaison by the end of the day, simply by understanding the nature of downtime and how to support when the big leagues come to report.

In this position, I learned another great lesson: anticipate need. Whether it was a driver, or a pen holder, or simply a backup support, I found that having no shame in doing the little things like picking up Chick-Fil-A and the humility to do it with no questions asked is one of the biggest things that I could do to support a team handling comms during an incredibly critical time. If you notice something that you can do to make someone’s life easier--especially those of the higher personnel, just offer and do. Make other’s lives easier and I guarantee it will reward you with excitement, awe, and stronger personal connections.

#3: Make sure that no one is forgotten.

When your leaders are constantly focused on external priorities, they are making sure that your mission is successful. In simply the human nature of personal bandwidth, sometimes people can be forgotten or excluded via the nature of a team structure, or the challenges of crisis situations. As a teammate, especially a new or lower ranking teammate, this is the best opportunity for personal leadership.

I was in a situation where I was working closely with outside teammates from across the country. At the same time, a local coworker of mine was assigned to an exterior project which required her to be outside of the situation room constantly. In this absence, she was frequently missed in simple logistics such as getting food or remembering to collect her order. Whenever I was able to order for myself, I always was cognizant of snapping up an extra side or second meal, because I had the space and opportunity to do so. In each of those opportunities, I felt responsible for ensuring that a person on my same level was taken care of, so that she didn’t need to worry about taking care of herself, for no other reason than if I had ever felt forgotten, I know that it would’ve made me feel like crap and an outsider on the team that I was supposed to be supporting.

In this action, remember that someone is always watching your kindness and that your humanity and connection to those who are outside of the situation room matters!!

I’ve gotten quite close with the security team. They’re my pals and make my day better every single time that I encounter them at the gate. Let’s say your leader is seeing how well-connected you are, and your tactful use of professional empathy, don’t you think they’d observe your ability to take personal ownership, lead with character and have the personal ability to get something done?

So, especially during high stress situations, I’d encourage mindfulness to your people--the ones that you see everyday. Don’t get caught up in the circumstance of wanting to impress the shining bright stars who come in for the week. Your people matter just as much. And someone will always look kindly upon how you interact with the ‘everyone else’.

#4: Observe everything.

I can’t tell you all of the reasons why someone has earned a top leadership position, whether it’s experience, or mindset, or simply time and commitment, but I can tell you that you don’t learn leadership from a book. When you’re working behind a computer screen each day, sometimes it's easy to forget the soft skills of great leaders.

For instance, a senior teammate of mine ultimately became my mentor over the course of the week, because I continuously noticed a list that she had: suggestions.. And they were brilliant.

She was constantly coming forth with new ideas and observations that she’d picked up along the course of the day. Not only was she improving workflow, but just leading herself and our team with a tactful awareness for the situation that was improving every second as she gained more information. When it came to the end of the week, she’d identified seven areas of improvement that were foundational to producing our next plan.

From her observation, she became a highly organized leader of the next phase. So, observe. Question. Solve. Everything.

#5: Expect the event to be above and beyond expectations, and make a plan to feel drained and overtired.

As a newbie, you’ve got to earn your stripes. This type of week is something that I can only describe as similar to a weekend debate trip, or track meet. Long hours, sleepless nights and high intensity for a sustained period of time can take the wind out of your sails like nothing else.

So, you’ve got to master your expectations, perception and awareness ahead of time. Firstly, this is your job. Something that you might have dreamed about for years has just come true. As a kid, I wanted to be the person in a situation room calling the shots. Even the ability to be in the room is something to be cherished, and to be constantly remembered when you’re heading home at 9 p.m. and waking up the next morning at five.

I think it’s a great time to give yourself a break from all of the other expectations that exist in your normal life--plan to have a dirty apartment, plan to stock the fridge with mac n cheese and (if you’re amazing and smart and have your life together--I don’t) precooked meals that hopefully include a vegetable, and plan ahead to take all the rest of life’s craziness and pop it on hold.

In this overtiredness, also be sure to expect the rush and anticipate the lack of judgment skills that somehow seem to dissipate the second you get stressed. During the commute, make a place to lock your phone away so you’re not attempting to text and drive. Make a plan to rest for thirty minutes before evening activities. Do not drive tired, and do not drive unsafely. It’ll be worse than being late. I promise you.

At the end of it all, you might be reflecting just as I am now on a job well done. When the typical week paycheck comes in, you might wonder to yourself whether or not it was all worth it. Yes. It was. I guarantee it. These weeks that are high stress and out of the norm are the weeks that you’ll remember outside of the mundane. The connections that you make under periods of exhaustion are the strong bonds that will last your career. Humanity comes out when we’re tired and relying on one another to get through. Be the glue, and bring the energy of your positive mindset, because at most times, it’s the one key to make a difference between success and failure.

Image: PR Newswire, Lockheed Martin

#6 Going in, Master the Art of Small Talk

If you’re sometimes an awkward dummy like me, an extremely long day can leave you feeling quiet and introverted. So, sometimes being your own help can make the comradery work dinners and small moments vital to your personal success and relationships.

I think personally, the art of small talk is a tool that I’m constantly working to sharpen. It’s a skill that can be the difference between knowing the right person well enough for a relationship, or a promotional tool that makes a leader want to steal you for their team. And it can be learned.

For me what works well is finding the touchpoints of someone’s life. I’ve found that family (stories of how someone first met, what one’s family is up to at home, or the comforts of feeling at home around someone while traveling for a high stress work trip) is a great place to start. At the same time, work (the actual reason why someone is doing what they’re doing) is another great stop. It’s not the career question of how to get into their shoes one day, but rather a question that hopes to open the curtain to the center of their ambition and soul that allows you to reach furthest.

I’m sure that any life coach will tell you to memorize four or so questions to keep up conversation, but what I’ve realized is that some of the best ‘small talkers’ are simply constantly putting in the effort to listen and catalog experiences and likes of another person. One of my coworkers is a master of this: She could hear one small detail and use it to open the gates of a friendship like none other. Paired with how well you’re able to shift your disposition, the small talk moments are an essential soft skill that is really valuable in the down time moments. You’re human. Don’t be afraid to act like it.

Another observed skill that I want to grow in would be: how to recover if you don’t immediately gel. Politics can sometimes be a dodgy subject, and is often identifiable by where you come from and what your voice and actions may be. But, handling the ‘mistakes’ of human conversation is a great opportunity to show your resilience, confidence and tactful personality.

Recovering from a situation often leads me to bring about a joke about my own nervousness in the conversation. I don’t recommend it to be at your detriment, but I will always recommend calling out the elephant in the room and simply apologizing in a lighthearted way. You’re in control of the conversation and the room. Don’t be afraid to take it.

Wheels up in 5

So, as I roll on out of here, I leave you with my final consideration. No matter what point in your career you’re in, and especially if you’re just starting out like me, be mindful to recognize lessons wherever you can. If they repeat, chances are they’ll be important to informing your career.

If you’ve had the opportunity to experience anything like me, fist bump. Talk about them. Share them. If you meet a new hire, be sure to share that you’ve had them too, because the isolating feeling of ‘oh-my-god-what-do-i-do-now-how-do-i-feel-about-this’ is universal and can be avoided.

At the end of the day, do your best, try hard and be human. You will do great.

Image: PR Newswire, Lockhed Martin