Challenging Your Attitude
by Capt. Angela Morgan
Last weekend I didn’t want to get out of bed. After my busy week of work, all I wanted to do Sunday morning was drink coffee and hang out with my husband and son. However, I had a commitment that I had to keep -- I was scheduled to speak at Mary Baldwin College’s Virginia Women’s Institute for Leadership (VWIL). While I wasn’t exactly sure what VWIL was, and I had never been to Staunton, VA, I was genuinely curious about what the day held for me … but I have to admit that I was a little slow getting started on my trek.
On the drive there, I kept wondering about VWIL. I knew it was a military styled training program. Were all the military cadets women? How many actually went on to serve in the armed forces? How much longer was I going to have to drive to get to Mary Baldwin? These were questions that I was determined to get answers to.
When I finally arrived at the school, a friendly, fatherly man greeted me: General Mike Bissell. His gentle nature caught me off guard -- he was unlike any one-star Army general that I had ever met. He was quick to take my coat and offer me a seat; all the while he introduced me to the Corps. I learned right away that VWIL is the only all-woman Corps of Cadets in the country. Out of the 135 cadets, approximately 40% go on to military service. The rest take their military training and apply it to successful private sector careers. I was immediately interested by his description of the program, and I was excited to meet the women who wore this Corps’ uniforms.
General Bissell drove me to an assembly hall, where the cadets were gathered to hear my presentation. Before I started my formal lecture, I had the opportunity to talk with the women. Imagine my surprise when I learned that every single one of them had leadership studies as their minor. I was impressed. I was an English major in college and even though I was in the Reserve Officer Training Corps, I certainly didn’t have a minor in leadership. In fact, even with my work now, I have never met anyone with a major or minor in leadership. These women were receiving an exceptional education. These were exceptional women.
After my presentation, I stayed a little longer to talk with many of the cadets – most wanted to hear some military sea stories, others wanted to know about some of the challenges women face in their efforts to become stronger leaders. After I packed up my materials and started heading home, all I could think about was what a great day that I had -- and how glad I was that I made my trip to Mary Baldwin.
I’ve been thinking a lot about this experience lately. I can’t believe that I was dragging my feet that Sunday morning to get in the car and drive to Staunton. I learned from this experience a valuable lesson: some of the greatest opportunities come to you when you follow through with your commitments in a positive manner. I will take this lesson to heart as I continue to develop my leadership style.
The next time I get an invitation to visit VWIL from General Bissell, or any invitation to embark on any new adventure, I am going to promise myself to embrace it with an open mind. We all have opportunities and the potential for new adventures. We also all have busy lives and it’s difficult to always take on new responsibilities with a positive attitude. But it’s important that we try to do so. If we are going to commit to do something, we must commit to doing it well.
[End of article]
Angie Morgan is a Marine captain and graduate of the University of Michigan. She finished the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps at the top of her class, serving as Battalion Commander for 120 midshipmen, and completed her Marine training at Quantico, Virginia and Marine Corps Base Hawaii, where she was awarded the Navy Commendation Medal. Angie Morgan and her colleague Courtney Lynch are founders ofLead Star, a consulting firm that teaches women leaders the proven leadership principles taught to all Marine officers. Both recently published "Leading From the Front: No-Excuse Leadership Tactics for Women." See their Sonshi.com interview.
Last weekend I didn’t want to get out of bed. After my busy week of work, all I wanted to do Sunday morning was drink coffee and hang out with my husband and son. However, I had a commitment that I had to keep -- I was scheduled to speak at Mary Baldwin College’s Virginia Women’s Institute for Leadership (VWIL). While I wasn’t exactly sure what VWIL was, and I had never been to Staunton, VA, I was genuinely curious about what the day held for me … but I have to admit that I was a little slow getting started on my trek.
On the drive there, I kept wondering about VWIL. I knew it was a military styled training program. Were all the military cadets women? How many actually went on to serve in the armed forces? How much longer was I going to have to drive to get to Mary Baldwin? These were questions that I was determined to get answers to.
When I finally arrived at the school, a friendly, fatherly man greeted me: General Mike Bissell. His gentle nature caught me off guard -- he was unlike any one-star Army general that I had ever met. He was quick to take my coat and offer me a seat; all the while he introduced me to the Corps. I learned right away that VWIL is the only all-woman Corps of Cadets in the country. Out of the 135 cadets, approximately 40% go on to military service. The rest take their military training and apply it to successful private sector careers. I was immediately interested by his description of the program, and I was excited to meet the women who wore this Corps’ uniforms.
General Bissell drove me to an assembly hall, where the cadets were gathered to hear my presentation. Before I started my formal lecture, I had the opportunity to talk with the women. Imagine my surprise when I learned that every single one of them had leadership studies as their minor. I was impressed. I was an English major in college and even though I was in the Reserve Officer Training Corps, I certainly didn’t have a minor in leadership. In fact, even with my work now, I have never met anyone with a major or minor in leadership. These women were receiving an exceptional education. These were exceptional women.
After my presentation, I stayed a little longer to talk with many of the cadets – most wanted to hear some military sea stories, others wanted to know about some of the challenges women face in their efforts to become stronger leaders. After I packed up my materials and started heading home, all I could think about was what a great day that I had -- and how glad I was that I made my trip to Mary Baldwin.
I’ve been thinking a lot about this experience lately. I can’t believe that I was dragging my feet that Sunday morning to get in the car and drive to Staunton. I learned from this experience a valuable lesson: some of the greatest opportunities come to you when you follow through with your commitments in a positive manner. I will take this lesson to heart as I continue to develop my leadership style.
The next time I get an invitation to visit VWIL from General Bissell, or any invitation to embark on any new adventure, I am going to promise myself to embrace it with an open mind. We all have opportunities and the potential for new adventures. We also all have busy lives and it’s difficult to always take on new responsibilities with a positive attitude. But it’s important that we try to do so. If we are going to commit to do something, we must commit to doing it well.
[End of article]
Angie Morgan is a Marine captain and graduate of the University of Michigan. She finished the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps at the top of her class, serving as Battalion Commander for 120 midshipmen, and completed her Marine training at Quantico, Virginia and Marine Corps Base Hawaii, where she was awarded the Navy Commendation Medal. Angie Morgan and her colleague Courtney Lynch are founders ofLead Star, a consulting firm that teaches women leaders the proven leadership principles taught to all Marine officers. Both recently published "Leading From the Front: No-Excuse Leadership Tactics for Women." See their Sonshi.com interview.