By Crystal Hardinger

	Seeing beyond the surface
	John Desmond tossed his hat into the entrepreneurial ring when the right opportunity came along. Now retired, find out how he helped our company become a top-notch supplier of HUD technology.

David Austin didn't get where he is today by accident. He orchestrated it.

Now the senior director of Rockwell Collins Head-up Guidance Systems (HGS) in Portland, Ore., Austin realized early on that his talent was in developing concepts and relationships. So, three years into his engineering career, he readily moved into a project management role.

"You have to understand what you're good at, and what you're not good at," said Austin, who joined our company 10 years ago. "If you think you want to move into a certain role at some point in your career, it doesn't hurt to try. Taking the risk, and taking it sooner rather than later, is pretty advantageous."

Austin also admits he had a few mentors along the way who played an important role in helping him identify his strengths and weaknesses, and what career moves were possible.

"I think it's really important to work through the process of your career with people you can trust and those who have an interest in you over time," he continued.

Thinking about the future

Within the past three years, more than 10,000 positions have been filled at Rockwell Collins. About 4,000 of those positions were filled by current employees taking on new roles within our company, and more than 6,000 positions were filled by new people joining our company.

With members of the vast baby boomer generation preparing to step into retirement, and a shift in our workforce expected to continue over the next 15 years, it's now more important than ever for employees across our enterprise to think about their future career paths.

In addition, if Rockwell Collins continues to grow at its expected pace, our company will need to hire about 20,000 new people in the next 10 years.

According to Ron Kirchenbauer, senior vice president of Human Resources, that means a number of advancement opportunities for our employees.

But that also means that Generation X – those workers behind the baby boomer generation – and Generation Y – the newer generation of workers entering the workforce today – will need to think about the future in order for our company to carry on its operational excellence.

"It's like saving for retirement," said Kirchenbauer. "If you start saving at age 55 and you plan to retire at age 58, don't expect to have a great retirement.

"The same is true in developing your skill sets for the advancement of your career," he continued. "If you start educating yourself very early in your career, you'll be able to take on much more substantial responsibilities."

Planning pays off

Early recognition – David Austin realized early in his career that he had a knack for developing concepts and relationships. Austin recently assumed the role of senior director of  Rockwell Collins Head-up Guidance Systems in Portland, Ore.
Photo by Tim LaBarge, Portland, Ore.

While most of Austin's career moves came with careful thought, there were some surprises along the way.

After 11 years at Allied-Signal – now a part of Honeywell – Austin's corporate position disappeared. It was then that he used his aerospace and defense industry network to talk to a contact from Rockwell Collins about a potential job.

In January 1998, Austin started at our company as a principal engineer. But, early planning helped him get to where he wanted to go much faster than normal.

With management experience, an MBA degree from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and a strong desire to lead a team, Austin was able to quickly move into new and more personally fulfilling roles.

Last year, when John Desmond announced his retirement after leading our Head-up Guidance Systems business for more than 25 years, our company needed a dynamic leader and Austin was ready for the challenge. He assumed his new responsibilities on Jan. 1, 2008.

"I'm really excited about being in Portland," said Austin. "We have a great product line, and a great reputation."

In 1981, Desmond came to Flight Dynamics in Portland to develop a product that would project critical flight information on a transparent glass screen in a pilot's forward field of view.

Since then, he's spent a lot of time developing the product and convincing customers such as aircraft manufacturers Bombardier, Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Dassault, and airlines like Southwest Airlines and Alaskan Airlines, that the product line was viable for their aircraft.

"It was about building trust," said Desmond, who was named president of Flight Dynamics in 1987, and vice president of Head-up Guidance Systems when our company acquired 100 percent of the business in 1999. "We did what we said we were going to do, and our products did what they were to do.

"By building a very strong team, there were a lot of things I didn't have to worry about," he continued. "I didn't have to spend a lot of time working with engineering on execution, or working with manufacturing on building the product. I could spend a lot of time visiting and focusing on our customers."

For Desmond, it was important that his successor recognize and understand that history.

"What the team really has to accomplish now is execution on a lot of good programs that we were able to bring in," said Desmond. "It's important to have a successor who is ready to work with the team and lead them forward."

Taking action

Managed and mentored – Jennifer McAllister, manager of Advanced Operations Engineering, credits her former manager and mentor for encouraging her to think about her future and consider a management role.
Photo by Paul Marlow, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

At Rockwell Collins, leadership is defined as "taking people to a place they might not otherwise go." Had it not been for Jennifer McAllister's manager and mentor, Steve Redman, she might not be where she is at today.

In 1998, four years into her career as a mechanical engineer in Application Engineering in Operations, McAllister was encouraged by Redman to think about the future and consider a management role.

"I really didn't think about career development until my manager pulled me aside," she said. "I had never considered a formal management position, or really what I wanted to do with my career. He woke me up to the fact that I needed to take a look at what I wanted to do and start making some choices."

After leading a team within Application Engineering for five years, and then taking on individual contributor roles in e-Business and Enterprise Procurement, McAllister was able to develop the networks, insight and experience needed for her next leader role.

So, after Ted Copple announced his retirement following three decades of service at Rockwell Collins, McAllister was appointed to take over his job as manager of Advanced Operations Engineering.

"When this opportunity came up, I was thrilled," she said. "Having spent time in two individual contributor roles, it really solidified for me that I enjoyed being a leader of people, and I enjoyed being a leader of engineers as opposed to other areas."

In 1976, when Copple began his career in our Switching Systems Division (which is no longer a part of Rockwell Collins), he was hired to take care of the automatic call distribution system. Back then, he remembers how leaders typically managed through intimidation, and tried to keep their distance from employees – a style he opposed.

"If you don't actually know your people, you don't know what's going on in their lives or what's affecting their work," said Copple. "I found that it's very important to know what motivates people, what they need, and how to work with them."

McAllister couldn't agree more. Yet, had Copple not agreed to a transition period, it would have taken longer for her to catch up with knowledge and insight.

"Ted really was able to help me understand what he perceived to be his team's strengths and weaknesses, and what he had done to support them to make sure they had the tools and information to do the best job they could," said McAllister. "It was nice to have someone to go to with your 'dumb' questions, and he gave me insight that otherwise would have been lost."

Looking ahead

It's inherent that our workplace today, which is different from the past, will not be the same in the future.

According to Kirchenbauer, whether you have a desire to move into a specific leader role or be the best personal leader you can be as an individual contributor, it's imperative that you begin looking ahead.

"The earlier you understand what it is that motivates you and provides you with self-satisfaction, and you prepare for that, the better off you are," said Kirchenbauer. "But, it really comes back to what motivates and engages you as an individual. There isn't a right or wrong path, but you need to think about what fits you, what interests you and where your skills and abilities are."