6ers, your transition from being an individual contributor to becoming part of the management that oversees teams and organizations is a rewarding career journey. It will teach you to create meaningful relationships and as you take on bigger and more complex projects, these relationships can positively impact your success.
This week, Tony Nash is joined by Chris Petkas, a US Navy SEAL veteran and head of the defense at Modern Intelligence; a company that builds AI for defense. He graduated with a B.S. in international relations from the US Naval Academy in 2010. He served in the Navy as a surface warfare officer until 2012 then moved to the SEALs branch and served until 2020. He was a member of the Naval Men’s Lacrosse team for 4 years. Chris obtained an MBA at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business with the class of 2020.
You'll discover that increasing your leadership capacity and performance begins with knowing your own strengths and weaknesses as an individual contributor. The deliverables for which you become responsible increasingly grow which is why navigating relationships and professional networks, and how you engage will all contribute to having strategic decisions.
As a result, you’ll understand that to get to a level where you become a leader in your own right, you must first aspire to be a true expert in your area of responsibility. Until then, you need to train yourself well in managing people, relationships, and resources before you become the person that will provide on-the-ground guidance as well as manage partnerships with different stakeholders.
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- 01:13 - Overview of Chris’ work Head of Defense of Modern Intelligence
- 03:08 - Leveraging on-the-ground experience for upper-level negotiations and bargaining
- 05:32 - Navigating the human network and pushing the ball forward
- 07:22 - Opening conversations from a place of empathy
- 09:18 - Strive to be an individual contributor before becoming a leader again
- 12:41 - Blame can roll downhill but it can always stop with you
- 15:19 - How Chris’ relationship with his wife has become so valuable
- 17:41 - Expectation management and aligning goals with life partner
- 18:00 - How TEAM continues to enhance his relationship
- 19:57 - ‘A hungry man doesn’t think about the past’
- 20:32 - You can always improve your fighting position
- 21:52 - When you open up, there are people who are interested to help
- 24:28 - Comparison is the root of all sadness
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Here is how to connect with Chris Petkas:
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Connect with Got Your Six podcast:
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Connect with Tony Nash:
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