Early in her career, when she was a software technician, Karen Gilliam, PhD, had to teach an engineer at the company she was working for how to use a software package. Usually, she would proceed in one-on-one sessions. Her boss remarked on how helpful her teaching methods had been and suggested she develop a full-fledged class to teach. “I never taught a class,” Gilliam said. “I was a behind-the-scenes software technician. He could see something in me I could not see myself, and that was the beginning of a productive and meaningful career for me.” Gilliam is now the agency chief learning officer and 0rganizational-development capability lead for NASA.

In fact, after occupying managerial positions in communications agencies, higher-education establishments, and environmental services organizations, Gilliam has now been at NASA for the past decade, having started out as chief of the Human Capital Development division. Throughout her tenure, the importance of learning has remained at the forefront. Gilliam shared what she has learned during a fireside chat titled, “Strategies for Coaching Excellence in a Legendary Agency,” as part of From Day One’s May virtual conference on employee coaching and recognition.

From a practical standpoint, Gilliam is a proponent of a three-fold strategy when it comes to coaching, a balance between external coaches, internal practitioners, and managers being taught coaching skills. External vendors came in handy in times of stagnating budgets. “We needed a service where we could have 1:1 coaching services, individual assessment, on-demand resources, and curated materials,” she said. “We have rolled this out, officially for all new executives, and then focused on our new supervisors.” Upon promotion at NASA, one has the opportunity to have a coach. “One of the things I like is that we get periodic reports. They’re very informative in terms of letting us know what’s of most importance,”  said Gilliam. “Where do we see some strengths, [or] content we need to focus on more?”

For the internal coaches, the International Coaching Federation (ICF) training program is mandatory, but they can elect to do additional work beyond that. At NASA, there are quite a few internal coaches in the Human Capital division, but it’s not unheard of to have a scientist or an engineer who decided that coaching was something they were drawn to. “We use them in some of our development programs, and we add a coaching component,” said Gilliam. The third strategy consists of teaching managers about coaching skills. “That’s something that, at one of our centers, was required,” Gilliam said, while it was an option for those who had a supervisory or management position.

A further component of Gilliam’s methods at NASA is the so-called 70/20/10 approach, which goes back to the 1980s, when it started as a way to measure how seasoned managers learned: 70% was an on-the-job experience, such as a stretch assignment or a rotation; 20% fell into “exposure,” where one gains additional learning by having a mentor through coaching and communities. Finally, 10% is both informal and formal learning.

On a more theoretical level, Gilliam’s book Finding Your Voice in a World That Needs It is a continuation of her doctoral studies, bridging storytelling and leadership, and it has practical coaching applications, too. It advocates for finding one’s own voice, meaning one’s soul's code. “I believe everyone has a signature purpose, and finding a voice is not a destination, it’s a journey,” she said. “And the findings from my research suggests that as long as one of the four universal dimensions of life are in the story, that’s the connective glue–those dimensions are living, loving, learning, and leaving a legacy.”

Learning, already a key component in Gilliam’s methodology, aligns with NASA’s culture of continuous education. “NASA has been long committed to fostering a culture of continuous learning; it’s part of our DNA, she said. “At this particular time, supervisors are all going through performance reviews. One of the requirements is to identify one of the strategic objectives that tie into a critical element of your performance plan.”

Leaders, in particular, are continuous learners. “Being a leader is a learning journey,” Gilliam said, adding that characteristics of a good leader include having focus, a vision, being a planner, a team-builder, a promoter, and being fair. “Those are all places that are a good start. Leadership is an inside-out job–I don’ believe you get to a point where you’re done.”

This view entails showing grace towards the idea of unconscious bias, which can be better understood through self-awareness. “We all have our biases, and it’s not that I don’t want to label them as bad. They’re shortcuts, and it’s a way to categorize information that’s coming for us. When it can be harmful is when you’re holding on to beliefs without questioning them,” she said. “It starts with self-awareness, with educating yourself.”

Angelica Frey is a writer and a translator based in Milan and Boston.