Biggest Challenges Faced by an Associate Director Contracts at a Fortune 500 Aerospace and Defense Company
Daria's biggest challenge as Associate Director, Contracts, is balancing "conflicting interests" of internal stakeholders; the need to build consensus among experienced, strong-willed managers ("a lot of a-type personalities") to achieve optimal contract outcomes hinders efficient decision-making.
Negotiation, Consensus Building, Stakeholder Management, Leadership, Conflict Resolution
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Daria Sayan
Associate Director, Contracts
Fortune 500 Aerospace & Defense Company
University of Massachusetts Amherst
University of Arizona, MBA
Legal & Policy, Business Management & Admin
Aerospace, Aviation & Defense, Government & Public Sector
Operations and Project Management
International Student, Honors Student, Scholarship Recipient, Pell Grant Recipient, Took Out Loans, Worked 20+ Hours in School
Video Highlights
1. Balancing competing interests of internal stakeholders (e.g., capture managers, program directors) when negotiating contracts.
2. Building consensus and getting buy-in from experienced, strong-willed management on contract strategies.
3. Navigating the challenges of group decision-making when multiple stakeholders have differing opinions and approaches.
Transcript
What is your biggest challenge in your current role?
I would say it's dealing with conflicting interests. When you think about that in my current role, I really think, "Okay, the company's interests first." Those are the customer, but when I think of it in my current role, I think of the conflicting interests of internal stakeholders.
For example, during a negotiation, I might want to take one path that I believe is the most effective for securing new business. However, a capture manager or program director might feel that's not the most efficient approach.
Consensus building and trying to get people on board with your strategy is the hardest thing. This is especially true when you reach management levels, because everyone got there because they feel they are the best at what they do.
When you get all those Type A personalities together with a lot of experience, it creates healthy friction but makes the job really hard. You want to get something done because you think it's best, but that may not always be the way you end up going.