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VUCA, Veterans, and Moving Up the Ranks in Higher Education
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Military veterans working in higher education may notice that promotion systems do not parallel the standardization, structure, and predictability of advancement they experienced during their military careers. Veterans should keep in mind that career advancement in higher education can be similar to the volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA) they often encountered in other parts of their military careers, with deployments or challenging missions. The acronym VUCA typifies advancement in academia, characterized by various factors, including timing, relationships, and institutional culture. This article explores options for veterans trying to navigate promotions and career advancement in academia. While veterans are regularly clumped into a monolithic group assumed to have the same characteristics and experiences, the article “America's Rural Veterans in Academic Scholarship” addresses how veterans are all unique, each with a disparate identity. William Doe’s article “A Personal Reckoning with Veteran Identity,” discusses the ways veterans adapt and use their identities which evolve and change over time. Some veterans more strongly express their veteranness while others “may shun or disclaim their veteran heritage” due to injuries, exposure to toxic people, or other factors. Nonetheless, through their military training and experience, Doe’s article relates how veterans have acquired traits typically valued and sought after in professional environments, such as “compliance, respect for authority, timeliness, and responsiveness and teamwork.” While these attributes don’t guarantee promotion in higher ed, they are, in many cases, foundational to advancement.
Read the Need, Then Lead
In describing the importance of situational leadership, the management expert John Maxwell calls on leaders to first “read the need, then lead.” The same goes for navigating the VUCA environment related to higher education promotion systems and veteran identity. Veterans may need to consider tailoring their veteran identities to their specific institutional context. In other words, you may have to embrace growth and change for your career to grow and change. While it may feel like an integrity betrayal to modify one’s veteran self-concept, this is not novel behavior applicable only to veterans. It is also observed in non-veterans, evidenced in scholarship such as “Antagonistic identity discourses in career transitions: an autoethnographic study in higher education” and “‘Don't call me an academic’: Professional identity and struggles for legitimacy within the vocational field of events management higher education.”
While not always practical, those dissatisfied with advancement opportunities at their current institution, or current field, may need to change departments or move for promotion. Military officers, especially, are usually expected to move (PCS) if they want to be promoted and it also might be a reality for higher education professionals., This may very well be the case when a current institution does not have any advancement opportunities available in your desired career field, academic discipline, or expertise. Quitting a job for a different opportunity may be viewed negatively, but it may be necessary. The organizational psychologist, Dr. Benjamin Hardy, boldly advises against staying in a “shadow career” contrary to your dreams: “Quit your lesser goals. Quit anything that isn’t taking you closer to the mountain. Don’t stick with something just because your former self invested in it. Quit everything that isn’t living as your Future Self.”
In some instances, stronger expressions of one’s military and veteran experiences may be appreciated or expected for advancement. Supervisors and coworkers may be surprised to encounter veterans as academic peers and not realize the training and experiences they can add to the workplace. In other situational contexts, veterans may be better served muting some aspects of their veteranality. Doe’s article relates how some veterans have experienced discrimination in their post-military professions, so muting one’s veteran identity or whistleblowing acts of discrimination may be necessary. Other helpful ideas are addressed in the articles, “Your Team Did Great Work. So Why Didn't You Get Promoted?” and “The Art of Negotiating for the Timid and Risk-Averse.”
To Bring or Not Bring the Trophies?
In the case of my cohort of servicemembers transitioning to civilian life, we were told to leave military “trophies” at home, do not bring them into your civilian office. It was drilled into our heads that the “civilian world” generally could not care less about your military experiences and that hiring and subsequent success are based on how you can generate profit for them. This perspective obviously cannot be generalized to all settings, especially higher education, there are exceptions where the sharing of veterans’ experiences may be welcomed and encouraged, as mentioned above.
As a junior military officer, I recall hearing the statement, "The Air Force owes you nothing." It was typically in response to those who were denied an assignment at a location of their choice, or when someone was upset about being denied an opportunity they believed they deserved, including promotion. The phrase fostered resilience and suggested that serving one’s country is honor and privilege enough in itself. As difficult as it may be to apply the same philosophy outside of the military, reassessing your post-military mission is worth considering. The reality is that timing and, yes, luck are sometimes key factors in one’s professional advancement. In my military career, I was selected as an alternate for a tremendous professional development opportunity. When the primary candidate turned down the opportunity, due to the location, it was offered to me. Timing and luck aligned for me at that moment.
It’s been said, “the harder I work, the luckier I am.” Work hard within your natural zone of excellence and, per the popular phrase, perform so well that you can’t be ignored. Flexibility, patience, learning to work within the system, and flexing your veteran identity to fit the situation are all important. Higher ed leaders should remember that veterans are as diverse and unique as members of any other social group, but it is incumbent that the veteran seeking advancement take charge of his or her situation. Operating in a VUCA environment demands embracing the career stage you’re in and employing the tips described above.
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