Col. Jay Shell is an Energetic and Empathetic Leader

Col. Justin (Jay) Shell is the project manager of Defense Communications and Army Transmission Systems (DCATS). Prior to joining PEO EIS, he worked for the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (USD(A&S)). This included roles that assisted with COVID-19 responses, such as restocking the Department of Health and Human Services’ Strategic National Stockpile. A native of Virginia, he lives with his wife Jenna and “doghter” Lula, and is today’s #PEOEISTeammateTuesday.

Where did you grow up, and what influenced you to join the Army?

I was born in Alabama, but due to my dad’s career in federal service, we moved often, ultimately settling in Richmond, Virginia, which is what I consider home now.

My inspiration for joining the Army came from a long line of military service in my family that traces back to my great-great-great-uncle. He was a prisoner of war after his capture by Union forces around Petersburg during the Civil War. My great-grandfather served in World War I, and my grandfather stormed the beaches of Normandy. I have relatives that are Vietnam-era service members as well. My dad served in the Marine Corps. I attended military high school. From there, I joined the Junior Officer Reserve Training Corps (JROTC), applied for Army scholarships, got one for college and have been in the Army ever since.

What also inspired me was the penchant for service modeled by folks throughout my life. My dad said, “No matter what, you have to serve. You have to give back; you can't just live life for yourself.” He served 30 years in the Secret Service on protection details. Between his military service and that, I think service was always something in the forefront of my mind. My brother also served in the Army; actually, we were both tankers at the same time in Iraq. Like our dad said, we will always serve. I've been wearing an Army uniform since 1989. It's all I know.

Who inspired you along your Army journey and why?

I struggle with this question. What everybody expects you to say is, “Hey, here's some great leader and how they inspired me and why,” or “I was inspired by Eisenhower,” or something along those lines. As I was thinking about it, I realized that what inspires me most are the folks whom I have the privilege to lead. Right now, those folks are in the project management shop — the acquisition program managers, program officers and engineers. They are the ones who inspire me to come into work every day. It's the guys and gals who are on the gate at a forward operating base or watchtower. It's the people doing maintenance in the motor pool. That's why we do what we do.

Where do you see the Army going in the next 10 years, and what’s something you'd like to see implemented to make it better?

The Army is going to do what it's always done — defend the nation. The purpose of the Army is to overpower any enemy of the United States in ground combat and keep the nation safe both at home and abroad. No matter what the mission is, I think the Army will always do that. There's nothing new about the next 10 years, whether it be counterinsurgency or near-peer power competition, that we haven't already seen.

I don't really like the term “better.” I think the DNA of the Army is good enough. I think that those who serve within a democracy see the flaws, but we also see how fantastic it is and how there's no better system in the world. So I don't think there's much that we can do to make it better. What I hope is that the Army will continue to be a bastion of meritocracy where anybody in our society — through intellect, hard work and patriotism — can better themselves and give back to the nation. I hope that in the next 10 years, they will continue to maintain the trust of the population.

What's something you've learned from somewhere that you didn't expect, such as a person you had difficulties with, or just an everyday moment that stuck with you?

I didn't expect that when I joined the Acquisition Corps, the civilian workforce would change my leadership style as much as the Army did. It's not that I necessarily had difficulties, but by nature of leading such a diverse and talented population, it required me to change drastically from being an armor leader — like from leading tank formations — to successfully leading the civilian population within our PM shops. I'm glad I was able to start small. I had some pointed mentorship sessions from the product shop deputy, a lady named Patty Grashek, who had been there for many, many decades. She took me under her wing and helped me temper my energy and change how I lead civilians. For that, I’m really appreciative. She taught me how to communicate with the civilian workforce and provide for them, just like you do with Soldiers. And most importantly, provide them a compelling kind of vision, purpose and inspiration to lead.

What's one aspect of leadership you rarely heard about but wish you had known before?

I think the one word I rarely heard anybody talk about when I was growing up in the Army was “empathy.” If you want to make an organization do really well, the only way you can do that is by leading through its people and understanding how they feel. I’m paraphrasing a quote I love from Maya Angelou — it’s about how people won't remember what you said or did, but they will always remember how you made them feel. I think that's something the Army and other organizations don’t talk about, perhaps because of reluctance to be touchy-feely. But we should embrace it. It shows a bit of maturity and self-awareness to be able to relate to individuals in the workforce and think about how they feel. You have to care about the people you lead like you care about your family. I mean, they are our work family. If you don't have empathy, you'll never truly appreciate what they go through, their motives and how you can help them be their best selves.

Do you have any recommended books or movies?

Again, this is where I'm supposed to throw out something inspirational. How about this — "Terminator II." Or "Aliens." They're iconic. They're mindless. They're great. Or anything by Stephen King, especially "The Dark Tower" series. Epic.

I actually did read one of those workplace books that was poignant for me. I really enjoy organizational psychology, which is half soft science and half hard science. The book is “How Will You Measure Your Life?” by Clayton Christensen. It's enlightening to me from a scientific standpoint as to what can give people purpose throughout their lives. It opened my eyes about how you measure success and happiness, and how to adjust your life to be happier.

What are some things you enjoy doing in your free time?

Home improvements and hanging out with dogs. I don't know if I'm handy or if I'm cheap, but they go hand in hand. I enjoy improving my house. My wife and I are kids-free, and we have always adopted old shelter dogs to give them a great life in the twilight of their years. But we just had a foster-fail. We have an oversized, two-and-a-half-year-old, half-Bulldog, half-pound-dog thing. She's all over the place. But other than that, I enjoy traveling with my wife, watching Army football, and petting dogs — any dog at all.

Any advice you'd like to give to the workforce?

Always improve. Improvement gives us purpose and challenge. More importantly is to have fun. Because being happy in life makes us all better people and improves the lives of everybody around us.