Joy Bryant-The Boeing Company
National Engineers Week
Keynote address by Joy Bryant - The Boeing Company

Space exploration can spark visions of a new frontier and a challenging environment, even for people comfortable in “Big Sky Country.”

Firsthand accounts from Joy Bryant, a 20-year veteran of the space exploration industry, captivated people who attended the Montana State University’s 2008 Women in Engineering Dinner on Feb. 21. Bryant, Vice President and Program Manager, International Space Station, Space Exploration, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, was the keynote speaker at the event hosted by MSU’s College of Engineering (COE) and sponsored by Boeing.

Bryant explained why she believes succeeding in the workplace requires leadership skills and emotional intelligence to the audience comprised of female high school students and their parents, current MSU students—mostly enrolled in the COE—COE faculty and staff, and some of Bryant’s Boeing colleagues who were at MSU to attend a Career Fair.

Emotional intelligence (EI) is “a form of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one’s own and others’ feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them, and to use this information to guide one’s thinking and action” as defined by Peter Salovey and John Mayer, the professors of psychology who first drew attention to the term.

Bryant framed her address with Boeing’s list of what leaders should do: (1) chart the course, (2) set high expectations, (3) inspire others, (4) find a way, (5) live the Boeing Values, and (6) deliver results.

According to Bryant, when engineers see a barrier, they build a bridge.

Challenges of being the first woman in a role

Joy Bryant shared stories about challenges she has faced during her career because she is often the first female in roles she fills. Bryant’s stories highlighted times when humor, instead of sensitivity, helped her move herself and teammates closer to a goal.

Her first professional job interview ended when she demonstrated to the man interviewing her that she could take whatever the men working at the Cape Canaveral launch site could throw at her.

Bryant said that with his feet propped up on his desk, leaning back in his chair, the interviewer told her of many ways in which men at the site had tested the mettle of co-workers.

According to Bryant, when he asked, “Well, Joy, would you like to work with Boeing?,” she said,

“Well, Bill, I don’t really think so.”

“Well. Really? Why not?,” he asked.

“Well, if Boeing doesn’t pay their managers enough so that they can get shoes without holes in the bottom of them,” said Bryant, “I don’t think I want to work here.”

Bryant said that she had told him what he needed to know; she could handle what was being dealt. Bryant followed this story by assuring the audience that, although our first instinct is to react emotionally, responding in a calm, measured way gets easier with time.

She advised the audience to practice thinking before acting. “Something we say in woodworking may help, ‘Measure twice, cut once.’ So, when you apply that to the office, think twice and speak once. When you apply that to e-mail, read twice, send once, or maybe not at all.”

Emotional Intelligence (EI) and micromessages

EI is divided into four areas: self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills.

Bryant said that the first step to building EI is to be aware that every message you send, whether in person, by phone or e-mail, is full of micromessages. Bryant said that “Micromessages are small, subtle, seemingly unimportant communications. They’re transmitted by words, signals, or tone, body language, expression, inflection and other means from one person or a group to another person or a group.”

Bryant said that people send as many as 150 micromessages in a 10-minute conversation. Micromessages can be intentional or unintentional and may be received as positive or negative.

“Multiplexing”, doing more than one task at a time, can send micromessages that Bryant warned against. She explained that answering a phone call while meeting with a person may unintentionally tell that person that the call is more important than he or she is. Young people are especially at risk for unintentionally sending this particular micromessage to older generations according to Bryant.

Gender and cultural differences can also cause communication challenges. According to Bryant, she unintentionally sent messages of agreement to male employees when she nodded while listening to them share opinions and plans. She meant to convey that she was actively listening and understanding their points. They, however, took her nods as a sign of agreement and approval. Subsequent decisions that Bryant made which were contrary to their opinions left her “crosswise” with them.

Bryant also believes that when Russians working on the space station say, “No,” they often mean, “Yes, but I really can’t say that right now.” On the other hand, Japanese who say absolutely, “Yes, yes,” often mean “No.”

Bryant encouraged listeners to assume that others have no ill intent, and to let go of unintentional insults, especially those rooted in cultural differences.

She ignored a propulsion engineer’s comment when he called her “little girl” as he told her that she needed to fix a switch. She knew that this man, who had 30 years of experience, wouldn’t change his attitude in one day, so she let it go, moved forward, and eventually worked very well with him. Likewise, she took no offense to being called “little lady” by a Texan who saw it as a term of endearment, not an insult.

Bryant said that “It’s not about being without emotions,” but, she recommended that audience members “stay in control, be adaptive, and build trust, rather than barriers, and work innovatively to change the organizations.”

Before moving on to describe photos of the space station, Bryant stressed that motivation is also important. She suggested that audience members seek passion for work beyond money and status and that they develop the drive to pursue goals with energy and persistence.

“You won’t be able to build a bridge if you don’t want to go anywhere and you won’t be able to take people along with you if you don’t have insight to their feelings.”