{"id":2827,"date":"2016-09-06T16:03:28","date_gmt":"2016-09-06T20:03:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/questrom-magazine\/?page_id=2827"},"modified":"2016-10-12T14:08:23","modified_gmt":"2016-10-12T18:08:23","slug":"be-a-young-top-gun","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/questrom-magazine\/fall-2016\/be-a-young-top-gun\/","title":{"rendered":"Be a Young Top Gun"},"content":{"rendered":"

The lives of fighter pilots<\/strong> and those they\u2019re protecting depend on an aircraft\u2019s ability to detect and defeat threats long before they can be seen. At BAE Systems<\/a>, Operations Program Manager Catie Perrella (MBA\u201916) coordinates production of the electronic warfare equipment that helps keep tactical fighter jets battle ready. Just five years after earning her undergraduate degree\u2014and months after finishing her Questrom MBA\u2014she\u2019s leading an operations team, building customer relationships, ordering and inspecting parts, and tracking factory capacity. Here\u2019s her advice on how to be a great leader, no matter how many years you\u2019ve been in the business:<\/p>\n

1<\/span> Age isn\u2019t everything<\/strong> \u201cWhen I first started working, some colleagues would make comments about my age: \u2018I\u2019ve worked in this room for longer than you\u2019ve been alive.\u2019 As a young employee, those comments can be tough to deal with. I find the most effective way to overcome the experience difference is to be honest with people. I tell folks, \u2018I know you know more about this factory than I do, but my job isn\u2019t to know more; it\u2019s to help make your job easier.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

2<\/span> Find your style<\/strong> \u201cThere are different leadership styles and it\u2019s important to find yours and be true to yourself as you grow in your career. Reflect and determine what the right leadership style is for you and be open about it with your team.\u201d<\/p>\n

3<\/span> Stay cool<\/strong> \u201cWhen you receive bad news at work, the worst thing you can do is react immediately or negatively. I always take a deep breath, try to keep things in perspective, and then look at my options. Yes, we\u2019ve got a problem, but what are the things that we can do to solve it? It\u2019s best to eliminate the emotion and judge the situation on the facts.\u201d<\/p>\n

4<\/span> Push, don\u2019t punish<\/strong> \u201cIf you have employees who want to become company leaders, challenge them, push them outside their comfort zones, and give them opportunities. But be aware of setting someone up to fail. Challenges are key to growth, but impossible assignments can lead to demotivation.\u201d<\/p>\n

5<\/span> Be a great coach<\/strong> \u201cMy mentor has taught me two valuable lessons that I try to replicate with my own employees. The first is to create a safe mentoring environment\u2014let your mentee know your conversations are confidential. Confidentiality allows the conversation to be vulnerable and honest. The second is to truly listen. Often, mentors are quick to jump in with problem-solving advice. The best coaching relationships are collaborative.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The lives of fighter pilots and those they\u2019re protecting depend on an aircraft\u2019s ability to detect and defeat threats long before they can be seen. At BAE Systems, Operations Program Manager Catie Perrella (MBA\u201916) coordinates production of the electronic warfare equipment that helps keep tactical fighter jets battle ready. Just five years after earning her […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10779,"featured_media":0,"parent":2801,"menu_order":20,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"story.php","meta":[],"yoast_head":"\nBe a Young Top Gun - Questrom Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/questrom-magazine\/fall-2016\/be-a-young-top-gun\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Be a Young Top Gun - Questrom Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The lives of fighter pilots and those they\u2019re protecting depend on an aircraft\u2019s ability to detect and defeat threats long before they can be seen. At BAE Systems, Operations Program Manager Catie Perrella (MBA\u201916) coordinates production of the electronic warfare equipment that helps keep tactical fighter jets battle ready. Just five years after earning her […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/questrom-magazine\/fall-2016\/be-a-young-top-gun\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Questrom Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-10-12T18:08:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/questrom-magazine\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/questrom-magazine\/\",\"name\":\"Questrom Magazine\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/questrom-magazine\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/questrom-magazine\/fall-2016\/be-a-young-top-gun\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/questrom-magazine\/fall-2016\/be-a-young-top-gun\/\",\"name\":\"Be a Young Top Gun - Questrom Magazine\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/questrom-magazine\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-09-06T20:03:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-10-12T18:08:23+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/questrom-magazine\/fall-2016\/be-a-young-top-gun\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/questrom-magazine\/fall-2016\/be-a-young-top-gun\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/questrom-magazine\/fall-2016\/be-a-young-top-gun\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/questrom-magazine\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Fall 2016\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/questrom-magazine\/fall-2016\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Be a Young Top Gun\"}]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Be a Young Top Gun - Questrom Magazine","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/questrom-magazine\/fall-2016\/be-a-young-top-gun\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Be a Young Top Gun - Questrom Magazine","og_description":"The lives of fighter pilots and those they\u2019re protecting depend on an aircraft\u2019s ability to detect and defeat threats long before they can be seen. At BAE Systems, Operations Program Manager Catie Perrella (MBA\u201916) coordinates production of the electronic warfare equipment that helps keep tactical fighter jets battle ready. Just five years after earning her […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/questrom-magazine\/fall-2016\/be-a-young-top-gun\/","og_site_name":"Questrom Magazine","article_modified_time":"2016-10-12T18:08:23+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/questrom-magazine\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/questrom-magazine\/","name":"Questrom Magazine","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/questrom-magazine\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/questrom-magazine\/fall-2016\/be-a-young-top-gun\/","url":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/questrom-magazine\/fall-2016\/be-a-young-top-gun\/","name":"Be a Young Top Gun - Questrom Magazine","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/questrom-magazine\/#website"},"datePublished":"2016-09-06T20:03:28+00:00","dateModified":"2016-10-12T18:08:23+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/questrom-magazine\/fall-2016\/be-a-young-top-gun\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/questrom-magazine\/fall-2016\/be-a-young-top-gun\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/questrom-magazine\/fall-2016\/be-a-young-top-gun\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/questrom-magazine\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Fall 2016","item":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/questrom-magazine\/fall-2016\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Be a Young Top Gun"}]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/questrom-magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2827"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/questrom-magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/questrom-magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/questrom-magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10779"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/questrom-magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2827"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/questrom-magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2827\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2981,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/questrom-magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2827\/revisions\/2981"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/questrom-magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/questrom-magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}