The Secret to Success? Collaboration

When you read about getting ahead in life, many times you’ll hear people discussing cutthroat options, ruthlessness, or other ways of dealing with the competition. But we really think that it’s actually collaboration that’s the key to success. Oftentimes, being a member of a collaborative group pushes members to excel, and make them feel like a part of a team effort.

ACT-IAC is trying something similar by creating a new environment for growth and collaboration. They call their program the Voyagers, and it’s aimed at providing young professionals, specifically those at the GS 7-11 levels and their industry counterparts a chance to collaborate on joint projects.

Kent Taylor, Business Manager at GSA FEDSIM, and Madaleine Hillsberg, Senior Associate of ISYS Technologies are current members of the Voyagers program. They told Chris Dorobek on the DorobekINSIDER program that Voyagers is more than just a leadership development program – it helps you get to the next step in your career.

“In the Voyagers program you are able to talk to the other side [government and industry] and find out what their biggest issues are,” said Hillsberg. “You can see if there are ways we could address them and problem solve together.”

The Voyagers program works by building a strong network of participants at different levels. “There are folks who are rising stars, folks who have management experience, and very senior leaders,” said Hillsberg.

Taylor agreed, “For me personally, the largest benefit that I’ve gained form this is the network. I think at one level, you have the cohort base where you’re really talking about the issues that you’re coming across. Then you have the former Voyagers and their managers in the network.”

The community and collaboration that comes from these public-private partnerships can also help dispel some of the rumors and stereotypes that exits between government and industry. “I would hope that most people who live in D.C. and are either working with the government, consulting to the government, or vending to the government, have seen that government employees are devoted to their mission. But a lot of people outside the network haven’t. This is a good opportunity to show that these relationships can work,” said Hillsberg.

You can register to be in the next Voyagers class here.