Does it take anyone else, like, three-to-five business days to unpack from a trip?
I FINALLY finished unpacking from last week’s work conference, five days after getting back. In my defense: Last Sunday, I basically went straight from my camping trip at the Grand Canyon to Albuquerque (I paused to switch from my Jeep to an agency vehicle), so I was unpacking two cars from both a camping trip AND a business trip.
(And I get to re-pack everything in two more days for another work trip this weekend. Why even bother unpacking!)
But, it was totally worth it. My conference in Albuquerque was really intense, but also really interesting.
I first heard about my agency’s Middle Leader Program (MLP) while I was working out on the Tahoe National Forest. The forest’s permanent PAO, who I was filling in for while he was on a temporary promotional assignment, had recommended the program to me. It’s only available for agency employees at a GS-11 level or above, so it’s basically oriented toward people like me: Forest Service employees who are new to leadership roles or transitioning into leadership roles. It used to focus solely on aspiring rangers, but then broadened to include all sorts of middle management positions within the agency.
While I’m not in a supervisory role here on the Coconino, I did supervise a few employees during my stint on the Tahoe. I figured that taking this training might be insightful and informative.
And hey, if nothing else, I figured it would be a good networking event.
The conference I went to in Albuquerque was the first week-long conference of three separate week-long conferences. The program stretches out over the course of several months, and in between conferences, there are homework assignments and readings.
One of the cool aspects of MLP is that you’re actually assigned a career coach throughout the duration of the program! I meet with mine virtually every month to chat about career opportunities and professional growth.
MLP is done in conjunction with High Ridge Leadership. Here’s a little bit more about High Ridge. Totally unexpected? Raquel — who works for High Ridge — used to live in Flagstaff and work in public affairs on the Coconino. I knew I was in good hands!
The first week of MLP focused a lot on DiSC profiles, which were new to me. I’ve taken EVERY Myers-Briggs-adjacent test under the sun, so I was surprised to find a personality profile test I hadn’t taken.
DiSC profiles focus less on personality traits and more on leadership styles, so it was interesting to see what type of leadership style I exhibit, and how that style works with the more prominent leadership styles in this agency.
(For you personality nerds, I’m an “Si,” so kind of on the border of the “S” style and the “i” style. I was only one of three “S” leadership styles at the conference. Most everyone in my MLP cohort was a solid “C,” which makes sense for an agency mostly populated by scientists.)
I don’t think anything about my DiSC profile was surprising. It broke down some of my leadership strengths and weaknesses and offered tangible suggestions for improvement.
I’m great at structured messaging, planning and offering encouragement. My “challenges” are my tendency to avoid conflict (I’m a huge people-pleaser) and my tendency to narrow down options (I’m very indecisive).
So, nothing surprising!
A lot of the week was spent analyzing our DiSC assessments and figuring out how we could interpret them to become more effective leaders.
The conference was, thankfully, highly interactive. We played some games (Barnga) and did some activities, and switched seating arrangements every day to maximize our interactions.
On our last day, we analyzed case studies and applied several behavioral models we’d learned about to those case studies. We were assigned to groups that we’ll continue to work on case studies with throughout the duration of the program.
One of the highlights of the conference was Thursday night, when we had a mixer with the Forest Service Senior Leader Program participants (a similar leadership program geared more toward those in higher-level pay grades and supervisory roles — like forest supervisors and district rangers) at Fork & Fig.
I think one of my biggest takeaways was how much of what we covered is actually stuff I’ve already learned, but had totally forgotten about between 2014 and now! My master’s degree is in public administration, so I did a lot of work with org theory and dynamics, as well as human behavior.
I joked at the end of the program how I wasted $45,000 on a master’s in public administration, when I could have just waited long enough for an employer to pay me to learn this stuff!
Outside of the conference, I really didn’t do too much in Albuquerque, which was a bummer. I opted to drive an agency vehicle instead of my personal Jeep, so I was a little limited in what I could do.
But, I did strategically book my hotel so that I got to drive past the Albuquerque YogaSix on my way to and from the conference, so I did get a little bit of studio practice in!
Other than that, I mostly just sat in my hotel room and read a lot of books.
It was a little bit of a bummer to see other MLP participants check out local breweries and know I couldn’t join (you’re welcome, taxpayers!) so maybe I’ll drive my own car to the next in-person session.
Either way, I’m looking forward to continuing this program and seeing what I learn about myself in the process.
