Shadowing: walk a mile in his shoes

By Bill Bartkus
NAVAIR Depot North Island

CORONADO, Calif. – Have you ever wished that you could be in someone else’s shoes if only for a day or a week? Mike Bogdahn experienced for a week what it was like to walk in the shoes of NAVAIR Depot North Island’s Dustan Sandoval when he shadowed the Components Program (Code 6.2.3) director, for a week. Bogdahn, who is employed at NAVAIR Depot Cherry Point, N.C., was at North Island taking part in the U.S. Agriculture Department’s Executive Leadership Program.

Bogdahn applied for and was accepted for the yearlong program this past summer. The nationwide program is open to individuals at the GS 11 to 13 levels who have little or no supervisory experience. According to the USDA’s website, ELP provides residential training, developmental work experiences, needs assessment and career planning, which gives participants the skills, experience and exposure to move into positions of more responsibility.

“At the ELP orientation session in September for 300 people, we were given the requirements for the program,” Bogdahn said. “The requirements include certain rotation assignments in various areas, interview executives and senior leadership personnel, and shadow senior executives in an area in which we would hope to enter.”

Bogdahn explained that the shadow concept enables the participant to learn managerial and supervisory skills. “By shadowing, we can see what that executive goes through on a day-to-day basis to gain insight,” he said.

When he was handed the shadowing assignment, Bogdahn recalled his days at the North Island Depot several years ago when he worked with Sandoval on an Enterprise Resource Planning project. Sandoval headed the ERP implementation program. Bogdahn was the Cherry Point representative, and Sandoval headed a large ERP team at North Island.

“I got to know Dusty and knew what he did for ERP, and I also knew that he transferred to the Components Program. So I called him and asked if he wouldn’t mind if I shadowed him for a week just to see what he was doing, and he agreed to it,” said Bogdahn, who works in the Program Office, Code 6.1.4, at Cherry Point. “My competency looks at and initiates new projects and programs that will benefit our facility. The last one was Manufacturing Resource Planning.”

His competency also implemented Theory of Constraints, a program under the new Lean concept, an initiative that increases efficiency and quality.

“I wanted to shadow Dusty because the North Island Depot is in the midst of implementing Lean. After we completed TOC at Cherry Point – and we’re still tweaking it here and there – we decided that we’re going to go Lean and I wanted to gain some insight into the program,” Bogdahn said. “I decided that not only could I learn Dusty’s managerial and supervisory skills, and what he deals with on a day-to-day basis, but I could also learn how Dusty is implementing Lean and how the whole process is working.”

This was Bogdahn’s second shadowing assignment since he started ELP in September. He first shadowed a Senior Executive Service Level IV program director in Crystal City, Va., who is in charge of ERP for the Navy.

“I have gained some insight into what Dusty does for the Depot and NAVAIR, and it would certainly take me more than a week to learn all that he does,” said Bogdahn. “He’s always on the go and constantly putting out fire drills along with his other duties.”

He said that everyone who works for Dusty has been superior and helpful. “They have allowed me to see the real picture. Since Dusty is a graduate of the Senior Executive Management Development Program, he has helped me get a look into this program because my goal is to finish ELP and then apply for SEMDP.”
Sandoval said that it was a most interesting week having Bogdahn follow him around the plant. “Mike was more than flexible,” Sandoval said.

“I did learn one major fact about Dusty in four days. He doesn’t eat lunch!” Bogdahn said. “The man doesn’t have time to eat.”