BATTLE CREEK, Mich. –
Defense Logistics Agency Disposition Services recently launched a new leadership course aimed at strengthening supervisory skills through hands-on, mission-focused training.
Block III Supervisor was developed under the direction of Jenny Norvey, chief of the Workforce Development branch, and Charles Rice, chief of workforce management.
“It’s building upon the courses that DLA Training already provides our supervisors—just diving deeper into actual systems and policies,” Rice said. “Our block training, specifically Block III Supervisor training, does not replace or duplicate any training that is offered by DLA Training.”
Christopher Judd, director of Resource Management for DLA Disposition Services, and Pat Bagi, DLA Human Resources customer account manager, delivered the course to a mix of new and experienced leaders at the DLA Disposition Services site in Red River, Texas.
Providing the instruction in person, Judd said, was the key.
“Having everyone there, with an open forum, being able to cross talk—that doesn’t work over the phone or on a video teleconference,” Judd said. “[Bagi] uses a lot of real-world scenarios that supervisors have had to react to and deal with, and so that’s a big part of the training. Here’s what some of your predecessors have seen, this is how they handled it, this is how they should have handled it.”
Judd said that as the class worked through scenarios and discussion, it became clear that no two situations are exactly alike. He and Bagi referred to it as “DOTS” – depends on the situation.
“You can’t just read a book, get something off the checklist and go with that,” Judd said. “Every situation is a little bit different, and it has to be looked at that way. You have to dig into it, you have to get all the angles, work with your HR team to really get a right answer.”
Training participant Kelli Crawford said the course would have been helpful earlier in her supervisory career.
“I’ve been in supervision here now for a year, and I really wish this was a training I could have had about six to nine months ago,” Crawford said. “We had a lot of conversation with each other. Everybody spoke about scenarios, and we had a lot of one-on-one discussions that really helped. Moving forward, I have a lot more confidence now as a supervisor.”