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In November 2022, our Executive Leadership Team came together and developed a forward plan for our organization design—Service Line Programs (comprised of the key elements of HR—Talent Acquisition, Talent Development, and Talent Management); Customer Groupings for HR Business Partners; Workforce Analytics & Digital Services; and Executive Programs & Strategic Workforce Advisory Services.
We left that meeting at the Marshall Space Flight Center on a high, feeling like our team had renewed energy and hope for the future. Shortly thereafter, it was clear that our leadership did not share in our optimism. By Thanksgiving, we knew we would not be moving forward with the organization design changes; and our Chief Human Capital Officer was starting to discuss her upcoming retirement.
For the first time in several years, I was faced with the idea of leaving NASA. I went out on LinkedIn and saw that Space Center Houston—the Official Visitor Center for NASA’s Johnson Space Center—was seeking a Vice President of Human Resources. I quickly submitted an application.
At the same time, my boss and NASA leadership were talking with me about taking on the Chief Human Capital Officer role. Given the increased travel commitments for 2022—and what I knew it would take to be successful in that role—I could never get comfortable with the idea of taking on that responsibility. Further, I found myself on the brink of burnout—at a loss for solutions to the challenges NASA faced. Shrinking budgets to support a larger workforce and increased demands on HR led to an unsustainable pace and role. New ideas and fresh perspectives were indeed needed!
On December 8, I requested a retirement estimate and initiated discussions about the possibilities of Early Retirement from NASA.
For many years, I’ve maintained a relationship with Kevin Hand, an Executive Coach and Recruiter. In fact, Kevin had provided me with an Executive Coach (Sheila Feldman) when I transitioned from the JSC HR Director role to the role of supervising Executives as a remote leader in 2018. Sheila’s advice was invaluable in building that new executive team.
A few years ago, Kevin gave me a copy of his book A Job Seeker’s Guide (2016), and it was very helpful in crafting my cover letter and resume for the Space Center Houston opportunity. Kevin also encouraged his readers to leverage their networks and provided tips to prepare for interviews.
To act on that advice, I reached out to several members of Space Center Houston’s Board of Directors, whom I worked with over the years at NASA. I also gained advice and perspective from former JSC Center Directors, Mike Coats and Ellen Ochoa. Both advocated for me as an HR Executive with Space Center Houston’s CEO.
Going through the job search process, I recognized that it’s easy to become very selfish—and narrowly focused on “what I want, my role, and what I deserve.”
I started reading Psalm 145 – a psalm of praise from King David:
1 I will exalt you, my God the King;
I will praise your name for ever and ever.
2 Every day I will praise you
and extol your name for ever and ever.
3 Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
his greatness no one can fathom.
4 One generation commends your works to another;
they tell of your mighty acts.
5 They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty—
and I will meditate on your wonderful works.
6 They tell of the power of your awesome works—
and I will proclaim your great deeds.
7 They celebrate your abundant goodness
and joyfully sing of your righteousness.
8 The Lord is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in love.
9 The Lord is good to all;
he has compassion on all he has made.
10 All your works praise you, Lord;
your faithful people extol you.
11 They tell of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might,
12 so that all people may know of your mighty acts
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises
and faithful in all he does.
14 The Lord upholds all who fall
and lifts up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food at the proper time.
16 You open your hand
and satisfy the desires of every living thing.
17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways
and faithful in all he does.
18 The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;
he hears their cry and saves them.
20 The Lord watches over all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.
21 My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord.
Let every creature praise his holy name
for ever and ever.
Later in December, I determined that my One Word focus in 2023 would be “Surrender.” I did not know where God would lead me next—whether that was what seemed to be an exciting possibility at Space Center Houston or back to a non-Executive role at the Johnson Space Center.
I liked the word “Surrender” because it meant giving up control, turning over all to the Master Jesus, and giving up all rights to one’s self.
When I shared my One Word with my family, I used Eugene Peterson’s translation of Galatians 2:20 from The Message, “I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not ‘mine,’ but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not going to go back on that.”
As part of my focus on Surrender, I decided to explore the 12 Spiritual Disciplines described by Richard Foster in his classic book Celebration of Discipline. Over the past four-plus months, I have covered the four Inward Disciplines of Meditation; Prayer; Fasting; and Study. This month, I covered the first Outward Discipline of Simplicity.
On Thursday, January 26, I attended the Day of Remembrance at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Space Shuttle Columbia accident. I recalled well that fateful Saturday (February 1) when the Shuttle Columbia and her crew were lost and the questions it raised for me about NASA’s future. Fortunately, NASA rebounded in a strong way to return the Space Shuttle to flight.
The Day of Remembrance event was held in the Astronaut Memorial Grove, featuring remarks by NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy and JSC Director Vanessa Wyche, as well as a T-38 jet flyover. Texas A&M Squadron 17 performed taps. I was able to connect with many leaders and friends at the event, including former JSC Center Director, Dr. Ellen Ochoa.
Ellen asked how the Space Center Houston recruitment process was going, and I responded that I had been through 3 interviews and expected to hear something soon. The next day, I was offered the job!
I decided that my last day at NASA would be February 24, and I would start my new role at Space Center Houston on February 27th.
My first 60 days as Vice President of Human Resources at Space Center Houston have been marked by a listening tour with some quick wins. We brought BetterUp Coaching services to managers in the same way that NASA utilizes this unique service. We’ve started monthly on-site training opportunities for the Crew (Space Center Houston’s term for employees). I’m also advocating for increased pay and kicking off a Crew Engagement Team that will accomplish the following by the end of the calendar year:
- Complete an assessment of current levels of engagement, using Gallup’s Q12
- Develop expected behaviors, aligned with new branding and new Service Values
- Assess potential new perquisites that will make Space Center Houston an “employer of choice” compared to many new competitors in the area
In early-February, I seized an opportunity to join a 3-month online coaching group with Alan Fadling, based on his award-winning book An Unhurried Leader that I read and summarized in 2019 here.
Fortunately, Fadling—a trained spiritual director—agreed to convene the group, even though only Pastor Theo Myer and I were the only attendees.
It was a rich 3-man conversation every other week over 3 months, as we learned to do better work with less hurry. Specifically, we:
- Assessed how hurry drives our lives & leadership.
- Evaluated the hidden (and often obvious) costs of hurry.
- Envisioned the “better life” available to us following the unhurried way of Jesus.
- Discussed practices that help cultivate holy habits of unhurry.
- Enjoyed the gift of like-minded leaders who encouraged us in the journey.
For more about these coaching groups, check out this link.
I found this to be great timing for me personally, as I work to develop new systems and habits professionally. I moved from a role that averaged roughly 150 e-mails and 7 hours of meetings per work day to a role that sees less than 50 e-mails and 4 hours of meetings per work day. There is space and time to think and plan, and my new role has opportunities to invest in the workforce, which represents a new freedom—one I haven’t experienced professionally in the last 5 years!
In his book, Fadling offers that “hurried” leaders are:
- Quick to do & slow to be
- Quick to speak & slow to listen
- Quick to teach & slow to learn
Slowing down, he argues, is crucial to spiritual health and productive leadership. Consider Alabama’s song “I’m in a hurry (and don’t know why)” the anti-anthem for unhurried leadership.
In my initial conversation with Alan on February 14, he pointed out, “This is a new moment for you—an opportunity to press reset or reboot and establish new patterns.” He further encouraged me, “As you step into your new job, consider how you can care for this unique group of people. Know and understand them; and earn their trust.”
God-given visions will become real for us, if we have patience. We assume the very next step is to take action, but God wants to make the vision real in our lives first. For me, I’m often self-centered in approaching God with questions like, “What do you want me to do in my family, job, and circumstance?” Instead, I recognize that I need to focus on God, His attributes and characteristics and be filled—then live from overflow.
As we seek God and His Kingdom first, we will find what we need to lead well.
Dallas Willard noted that there’s a difference between busy and hurry. When we’re busy, our calendar is full. When we’re hurried, our soul is not at rest. Consider the impact of your decisions and actions with the following question, “Twenty years from now, how did I impact people?”
Dr. Oswald Sanders was once asked, “What is the secret of Spiritual Leadership?” His answer was simply “God.” When will we learn that God is the answer for everything?
As leaders, we want to plan events, produce programs, and build structures, but what has eternal impact? It’s what we do to help other people. Alan noted in the past, his focus was on making things better rather than serving people better.
We talked about praying our work. Practically speaking, look at the next day’s schedule, and pray for the people we’re meeting with. Use Evelyn Underhill’s prayer, “Let us ask God to show us the things He desires us to do.” This focus will help you relate to people differently—especially as you face conflict. Praying for others gives us greater interest and compassion for others.
Pastor Theo noted that praying the work is a great habit. He went on to say that at night, he uses the prayer of examen to review the day and spot where God was present and where he was at work.
We discussed different life rhythms:
- Daily: “Good morning, God”; During the day, 30 minutes of spiritual time; and “Good night, God” – What did I do today that pleased God? Where do I need forgiveness?
- Weekly: Sabbath – Not measured by productivity (no regular work)
- One-Week Retreats of Prayer, Fasting, and Extended time in God’s presence for clarity & direction
Leadership prayer is staying awake to God’s presence. It is:
- More relational than transactional.
- More person-focused than program-focused (not praying for a meeting, service, program, or initiative).
- More God-focused than me-focused.
How do prayer (our relationship with God) and leadership (doing God’s work) relate?
- Pray or Lead. Consider driven extroverts, who don’t have time to “do nothing” in prayer.
- Pray then Lead. Start with prayer, but it’s distinct from leading.
- Pray and Lead. Lead prayerfully with an eye for initiative and engagement.
Prayer is living in vital friendship with God. Leadership is working in vital friendship with God. Whatever work is on our schedule today, we don’t do it for Jesus…but with Jesus.
Thomas Green once said, “One goes to the chapel to be filled with God then to the marketplace to share with others the God he encountered.”
As Ruth Haley Barton put it in her book Sacred Rhythms, “Many of us try to shove spiritual transformation into the nooks and crannies of an unmanageable life.” Our rule of life questions should be:
- Who do I want to be?
- How do I want to live?
May you become an Unhurried Leader, as you shoot for the stars!