The week of October 24th kicked off a Leadership partnership program between leaders at Tinker Air Force Base (AFB) and leaders at the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center (MMAC). During the first week, five leaders from the MMAC traveled to Tinker AFB to learn more about their facility, their challenges and successes and to learn from their best practices as to what makes their work environment a valued culture.
The following week, the schedule reversed with leaders from Tinker coming to the Aeronautical Center to learn about our work culture, our achievements, and our challenges. Within a short amount of time, it was evident that this leadership exchange would be very valuable. The program presented an opportunity for the two facilities with similar cultures yet very different missions to learn from one another and support each other.
Each day, the leaders participated in tours and interactive discussions, and valuable feedback was shared at the day’s end. Conversations about budgets, facility operations, mission support, human resources, logistics, acquisitions, financial management, security, research, engineering, and technical support continued throughout the week. Toward the end of the week, each member had a chance for an immersive experience with an organization of their choosing, based upon the presentations they received. This allowed for even greater information-sharing, highlighting specific topics of interest and digging deeper into that organization’s processes.
At the conclusion of the Leadership Exchange Program, Aeronautical Center Director Michelle Coppedge and Deputy Director Kevin O’Connor, and executives from Tinker AFB met with program participants for a debrief and overview of their experiences. Participants expressed amazement about the culture of engagement at the Aeronautical Center. One member commented that "the attitude of all the people I have seen at the Aeronautical Center are very much engaged and have bought into what the FAA is doing and achieving". Participants also identified specific key areas in which Tinker Air Force Base and the Aeronautical Center might be able to collaborate, including process improvement, production and repair support, and security discussions. All participants agreed that ongoing meetings between Tinker and the Aeronautical Center program participants will continue the collaborative momentum this program has sparked!
