If you haven't read "The Loudest Duck," about cultural differences and their impacts, I recommend it for your holiday list. One of the dynamics discussed is how a dominant group in every organization acts and how non-dominant groups respond. 

In NAWCAD, the dominant group would appear to some to be the military. We work on military bases. You can't turn around in the lunch line in Pax River without spilling something on a Navy Captain.  The most senior leadership puts on a tan shirt, pants, matching belt and brown shoes every day to come to work. Deference to military rank is clearly offered.

What I've found interesting, that I only recognized after I was mentored by a senior NAWCWD civilian about 20 years ago, is that we really have a clash of cultures and in my opinion the civilian side of our team is actually the sole dominant group. 

It's most obvious when a new military member checks in to a competency or program office. Most have 10 to 15 years of service and have spent those formative years in the uniformed culture.  They look around for someone who dresses like they do, then make an assessment of relative rank (clearly shown on sleeves and collars) and check out the ribbons to see professional accomplishments. As they have done every day for the prior portion of their career, they mentally fit themselves into the organization they think they see.  But there is this other, very large, group of folks who don't dress like them, don't wear rank, nor badges of professional accomplishment.  They wonder, "Where do all these people fit in my cultural hierarchy?”  They get a professional shock when they find the military is a 1:9 minority and the majority sets most of the rules. 

They find a civilian is their supervisor.  That doesn't compute because it doesn't fit with the behavioral model they have developed.  They can find their actions are incongruent with the norms of the dominant group. Obvious differences include how each group asks for time off and who is eligible for compressed work schedule, as well as annual evaluations and bonuses and seating priorities.  A Chief Petty Officer, or a former FA-18 department head will see some of these cultural differences as inequities.  "It's not fair civilians get an annual bonus!  Do you know how much," I was asked recently in the wake of the new Science Technology Reinvention Laboratory performance management system. 

So do we need to do anything about it? Yes and no. There is nothing wrong with the status quo. It's OK that NAVAIR and NAWCAD have a non-military dominant culture, so we should acknowledge this exists.  As "The Loudest Duck" author Laura Liswood notes: "Truly effective leaders can't pretend that we're all the same or that our preferences and preconceptions don't exist."  We do need to ensure everyone is given an opportunity to contribute. Make sure we don't unintentionally disenfranchise the former squadron Commanding Officer when she first checks in to the team. Use your awareness to improve communication, and draw value out of everyone. 

This post is getting too long, but think about another aspect: if you're at Pax River in a meeting with somebody from Orlando, or Pt. Mugu, who is in the dominant group, what do you do about it as a leader? Raising our awareness will work equally well if we see the value in our gender, ethnic and regional differences.

– RM