Many high performing, active-duty military leaders will seek high demand industries upon career transition, such as management consulting, but still want to stay connected to their service as a reservist. Alternatively, many high performing civilian employees seek to serve their community and country by way of the same channel. One of the key considerations and potential friction points before making the commitment becomes how to balance two concurrent career paths.
I’ve spent approximately a decade between balancing consulting and serving as a military reservist with the Virginia Army National Guard, and thought I would share my experience on how to successfully manage each career to maximize your impact, enabling you to manage dual careers as a management consultant & military reservist to effectively serve clients and the community:
1. Define your career success criteria. Before you make what will be a multiyear commitment, evaluate what you want to get out of your career that would be the most fulfilling, and be pragmatic about the likely outcomes. Consider the following:
- Serve selflessly. Understand the sacrifices you are making with respect to your civilian career and family, accepting that your selfless service is for a cause greater than yourself (and particularly for the Army, a core value). In many ways, “it’s not about you.”
- Optimize a nonlinear career path. Occasional to frequent requirements for training, and even mobilizations, will give you an incredible unique set of experiences as well as personal and professional development. However, in the short term, it may feel like you are giving up or missing out on certain things. Understand that you are in a marathon — not a sprint — and your collective military and civilian resume will develop into an extremely marketable package.
2. Create a two-way support model. The military reservist life is a constant balancing act of priorities and demands, so rather than “serving two masters,” find a way to make this a symbiotic relationship:
- Leverage complementary skills. Identify areas where core values and principles in military service (e.g. leadership, integrity) are directly attributable to civilian careers, namely management consulting. Some career paths may not have direct transferable technical skills, but will forge excellent “soft skills” and leadership experiences. For example, some aspects of my time in combat arms roles, such as training for reconnaissance and infantry tasks, may not be directly attributable to the private sector. However, strategy and war gaming; mission planning; operating in an ambiguous and dynamic operational environment; and leadership and accountability for 25+ soldiers in a platoon have proven incredibly valuable. Alternatively, serving in a cyber brigade more recently has a high degree of common problem sets, technology landscape, and leading network and security practices that we partner with in cross-industry forums (critical infrastructure and utilities, financial services). Regardless of your military role, you are developing a set of soft and hard skills that will help you in the future.
- Evangelize to both employer and your military chain of command. Many large companies today have dedicated support structures for veterans and active reservists. For example, BCG Veteran’s Network is a key component of its broader diversity and inclusion program. For those who do not have an explicit support apparatus, you can blaze a trail based on your knowledge, experience, and relationships.
- On the military side, the Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) is an excellent resource. It employs programs like Boss Lift to provide employers and supervisors the opportunity to better understand what their employees do when they are away from their civilian occupation for military duty. After a day of riding in a Blackhawk, eating military meals, and checking out equipment, vehicles and weapons, you will strengthen the bond with your employer and an appreciation for how you serve. (For more on the ESGR, check out their website.).
3. Lead from the front. Now that you’ve established your career trajectory and have an operating model in place for your dual career obligations, it’s time to execute:
- Utilize your military leadership and technical experience. As previously mentioned, you have a unique skill set and leadership experience to bring to the table and contribute toward solving any complex client challenge on a case.
- “Live the values.” Many of your core leadership values will pay dividends as you adopt them to commercial life, some literally and others metaphorically (e.g. the Army Values, “mission first/troops always,” eat last after all of your soldiers, first in/last out, counsel in private/praise in public).
- Embrace mentorship and pay it forward. You’re certainly not the first or last to encounter these obstacles. Embrace both your military and civilian leaders as they counsel you and challenge you to develop yourself in different ways. As you develop, take the same opportunities to counsel and develop your Soldiers and fellow consultants dealing with both similar and different events. I’ve found uncanny similarities with other Diversity and Inclusion program members that have given me an increased appreciation and empathy for dealing with their situations, and working together only improves the overall corporate and military ecosystem.