Results-driven approaches in organizational performance

¶ … Driven

Working for the Department of Veteran's Affairs means that I need to be able to get results. They are very important, and in 2002 I was asked to participate in a task force for the advancement and the employment of women. I led the subcommittee on researching best practices for the report. In doing this, I led focus groups, researched a great deal of relevant information, and created the best practices section for the final report. The VA was very pleased, and the report was accepted as a blueprint throughout the department. This occurred when the committee had been in existence for one year. Each member of the committee received an award for this, and my award was the Secretary of Veteran's Affairs Commendation for the effort that I displayed during this project.

In two different cabinet-level organizations, I have been involved with protocol and success on many levels. Among these was a proposal that I developed which dealt with the creation of an organization with a focused effort on protocol at the VA. The vision that I had was shared with the top leaders of the organization. Since 1989, I had envisioned creating my own protocol office, and often feel as though I have the spirit of an entrepreneur. By working on this protocol report, I was able to do some of this while still remaining loyal to the Department that I worked for.

My ability to work with these individuals in my Department and the opportunity to be part of a team meant a great deal to me and it also allowed me to present the proposal that I had to the department's leadership as a solution to the organizational challenges that were being faced in different ways. Protocol services were not something that were generally utilized by the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the need was seen for creating this kind of service. I was pleased to be a part of the creation of something that had so much importance and significance to the Department.

I learned of many of the challenges that the Department was facing from high-level dignitaries and created a proposal that would establish an Office of Protocol for the Department. I was working for the Department of Defense at that time, and within 90 days I had convinced the VA's leaders that the Office of Protocol was necessary. I interviewed for the Chief of Staff position and was hired. As soon as I was appointed, I met with many leaders in the Department to gain information regarding the perspectives that they had on a protocol program for the VA and also to discuss how the program should be structured to meet the needs and the requirements of all individuals that would be involved in it.

As the single person designated to research, bench mark, and develop an implementation plan for the new structure, I directed all of the aspects of the organization. These included program administration, resource management, communications, customer service, and workplan accomplishment. A team of 4 was also hired and supervised as employees while I also worked with more than 100 program partners and led the execution for cabinet-level protocol-related activities. Essentially, I developed the infrastructure that gave the Department its success in activities that were related to protocol.