Garland Williams

Location: i live in chandler, az, and work in phoenix.

About me

I retired from the Army on Halloween 2009 after having served 28 years on active duty and reaching the rank of Colonel. I was a combat engineer and commanded units up through and including brigade level. My family and I spent 11 of those 28 years overseas in various locations including Germany, Italy, and Japan. Currently I am the Associate Regional VP for Military at the University of Phoenix and have been in this position for just over 3 1/2 years.

Originally from Atlanta, I attended Auburn University for my undergraduate degree in Pre-Law/Journalism and was fortunate to attend graduate school on an Army Fellowship completing my Masters and Doctorate in Political Science at Duke University. I have published three book length manuscripts including Defense Reorganization and Change (my dissertation), Engineering Peace (published by the US Institute of Peace), and Perspectives on Leadership.

Finally, my wife and I have two grown daughters who have both earned their bachelor's degrees and one overgrown cat (who really acts like a dog).

Interests

sports, running, sailing, reading (novels and non-fiction)

Skills

writing for publication, public speaking, leadership and management

Activity

Garland Williams

Discussion Comment

Returning Behind the Trend

Adam, it sounds like your school has put a lot of resources into play to help the veteran highlight their abilities and experience. Does your placement office have a way to overtly "get the veteran's foot in the door" of key corporations? From my own transition a few years ago, I struggled to find the right companies to approach and often many of the jobs were unadvertised. How do you advise your students to find these unadvertised positions?

Garland Williams

Discussion Comment

Identifying Transferable Skills

Often the skill that most find in veterans that are transferrable to civilian occupations is that of leadership. But I notice that you do not list that trait. Is this an oversight or do you feel that the four traits you list overshadow leadership experience? I like the "Capture the Flag" exercise. It requires the student to think fast and also to be confident in their answer since they have to subsequently share their solution with the class. Do you find a difference between your veteran students and your civilian students in the ability to successfully present their solutions?

Garland Williams

Discussion Comment

Turning Wrongs Around

Adam, since your classes are mixed, do you sometimes find your veterans to be reticent about sharing their true feelings during the introduction? Or do you find that veterans take awhile to warm up to the class? At the end of a term, do you find that your veteran students have changed in how they approach their education? Finally, great comment about "present what you represent". What kind of feedback do you get from your students about this particular axiom?

Garland Williams

Discussion Comment

Confidence and Culpability

Stephanie, great post. Are your veteran students intermixed with your civilian students? If so, do you notice that your veterans are reluctant at first to lead a conversation or stand out, but gain confidence as the course progresses? Or do you see your veterans taking a lead in the class due to the leadership they demonstrated during active duty? Your success board is a great idea. How could you do that on a larger scale or is it something that can only be done in small, intimate classroom settings?

Garland Williams

Discussion Comment

Making a Match

I think you are correct, but I believe the HR Managers in the various corporations need to do a better job of describing the specific attributes that they are looking for. Is it critical thinking, is it IT specific skills, is it leadership, or is it other functional skills that they are looking for? Our veterans are used to applying their knowledge to a specific skill set and have a decent idea if they meet the required skill or not. In this new environment, what do you think HR managers can do better to help narrow the desired skill set… >>>

Garland Williams

Discussion Comment

Overcoming Networking Apprehensions

Do you use outside opportunities such as Hiring Our Heroes events or MOAA job fair opportunities? Also, do you find that your alumni with a military background are more successful in mentoring potential employees than are those without military experience? Or do you find that your military students look more for a pure civilian experience believing that those who "grew up" in the civilian world of more benefit? I can see the benefits of using both types of "mentors", but was curious as to what you have found to be the more beneficial trend.

Garland Williams

Discussion Comment

Companies Supporting Military Personnel

I have not heard of the hiring guidelines that you mention above, but many companies are publicly announcing their intention to hire a certain number of veterans or that a certain percentage of their new hires will be veterans. What we have seen is that veterans will remain loyal to where they find consistent, honest assistance. Provide some career path assistance with the idea that you can provide the education to reach that goal. Have you run into the issue where the Corporate HR Managers are not military savvy and need a Military 101 to become effective at hiring veterans?

Garland Williams

Discussion Comment

Foundation of Trust

That sounds like a great plan and very personal help for the veterans making the transition. In Arizona, we are attempting to do something similar by combining all of the organizations in the veteran hiring space into a network where the Veterans will have more or less a one-stop shop for job opportunities. The career services team that you have at your school is right on target and use individual competency to determine how little or how much help to provide.

Garland Williams

Discussion Comment

Value of Soft Skills

I agree. Veterans have a very hard time talking about themselves. They have been taught that the team is the ultimate fighting force and all individual efforts are manifested through the success of the team. In the civilian world it is different. As hard as it may be, veterans must learn to talk about themselves, what they bring to the "civilian fight", but remain humble at the same time. What are some ways that you can help the veteran brag on themselves so their civilian bosses can quickly discover the attributes of leadership and dedication to task the veterans bring… >>>

Garland Williams

Discussion Comment

Confidence and Culpability

When talking with your students have they commented on the impact "kudos" have on their performance? Everybody wants recognition when they do well, but do you think it is enough to encourage them to overcome their academic obstacles and reach graduation? Finally, do you think "kudos" can be overused? Is there a point where kudos start to sound repetitious and possibly trite? In the military we are taught to praise in public and counsel in private. In this scenario, you indicate that you are able to do this in a like manner, but virtually. Are there other things that you… >>>

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