The value of leadership programs for veterans

Inspired by values and veterans from home, Bob embarked on a 15-year mission-driven career with the U.S. Army. When it was time to bring those skills to the private sector, landing on the leadership development programs (LDPs) at Johnson & Johnson felt like a homecoming. Here’s why Bob thinks LDPs are uniquely valuable for transitioning veterans—and how you can join him.

"True desire”: Bob's value-based journey

Bob grew up with military veteran role models in his family: two grandfathers who served in World War II, an uncle in the Marine Corps, his cousin in the Army. “I knew in my heart it was something that I wanted to do,” he says.

At Michigan State, Bob enrolled in ROTC, rising to the rank of Cadet Battalion Commander in his senior year. As a marketing major in the university’s school of business, he also excelled academically.

“I was really interested in marketing, but when I graduated in 2010 my next step was a commission as a second lieutenant slated for airborne infantry, because that was my true desire,” Bob says, capturing the sense of purpose that he carried—and that carried him—through 10-and-a-half years of active-duty service.

But after his fourth combat deployment, Bob and his wife sat down to chat. They were both in their early 30s and eager to start a family. “We agreed that this lifestyle can be hard on a family and it was time to make a change,” Bob says.

“Competitive advantage”: Honing leadership skills opens many doors

First, however, Bob made what he jokingly calls “a quick pitstop in school,” earning an MBA from Cornell with G.I. Bill and Yellow Ribbon funding. As pitstops go, this one at least put our Leadership Development Programs (LDPs) on his radar.

Why he decided on the Marketing Leadership Development Program (MLDP) in particular, one of many such specialized programs at J&J, is probably worth calling out for transitioning veterans in general.

• Continuation of service: “Healthcare is a mission-driven field that aligns with the civil-service aspects of a military career.”
• Reciprocal commitment: “An LDP is a two-way street, with the company investing in you while you’re investing in it."
• Build on core strengths: “LDPs harness what I believe to be the chief competitive advantage the military confers: core leadership ability. It’s a pathway to elevate your career and grow into future leadership endeavors.”
• Gain experience while keeping your options open: “LDPs at J&J are rotational, so you aren’t pigeonholed into a single career track. I gained a year of experience in an upstream operations and strategy role, and now I’m getting a year in a truly commercialized setting, closer to the product launch, marketing and sales space.”
• Grow and learn as part of a tight-knit team: “You’ll go through this experience as part of a unit—a cohort of 12-15 people—which is familiar for military folks. It facilitates mentoring and complements the on-the-job training you receive.”

Since joining J&J, Bob has also come to believe that the work itself is different from what you'd see at, say, a traditional consumer packaged goods (CPG) company. “You aren’t simply handed the P&L, shown a playbook for success and told to move the needle a little bit by allocating resources more efficiently, which was sort of the vibe I got from the CPGs,” he explains. “It’s more open ended and dynamic.”

“Family within a family”: Securing successful career transitions

“Transitions in life are naturally tough,” Bob observes, admitting to his own anxieties coming into the program. Yet he urges other military veterans not to underestimate their level of preparedness for the private sector.

“Leadership, communication and interpersonal skills are developed to such a high degree in the military that these are areas where you might even have a competitive advantage over your civilian peer-group,” Bob points out. “Whether it’s leading with formal authority, leading peer groups or leading up, you know how to do it, and you’re trained to guide situations toward optimal solutions.”

As for cultural adjustments, Bob says, “It’s true that you live in a very specific world in the military—it can feel like a bubble—but it’s also an extremely diverse environment. You’re constantly meeting and building relationships with people from all walks of life and finding common ground.”

It helps that such camaraderie carries over in Bob’s career today through his involvement with the Veterans Leadership Council (VLC), our award-winning employee resource group for the military-connected community. In fact, Bob is already the co-chair of his local chapter, describing it as “a family within a family.”

As for Bob’s own family, thanks to the breadth of opportunities at J&J, the MLDP allowed him to relocate near Michigan, which for Bob and his wife—both natives of the Wolverine State (er, the Spartan State)—amounted to an eagerly anticipated homecoming.