We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Terron Sims, II. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Terron below.

Terron, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Have you ever had an amazing boss, mentor or leader leading you? Can you us a story or anecdote that helps illustrate why this person was such a great leader and the impact they had on you or their team?

The best “boss” I ever had was my second Squadron commander, LTC Mark Calvert, who had over 800 soldiers under his command. When he took command of the Squadron, I was a platoon leader. A little more than a month into our deployment in Baghdad, Iraq, to simplify the story, he placed me in charge of our Squadron’s civil military operations. Understand, that the Baghdad district (Tisa Nissan) of which we had command-and-control had 1.25 million people and was 139 sq km. I oversaw every aspect of municpal government operations for Tisa Nissan, including standing up and liaising on behalf of the district council and its 10 neighborhood districts.

Working for LTC Calvert was phenomenal because he did not micromanage me and allowed me to be myself and utilize my unique leadership style in executing our mission. A trusted me to do what I needed to do, and because I produced results, as time progress, he gave me more and more freedom to operate and make decisions on his behalf.

My work in Iraq is what placed me on the path I am on today. LTC Calvert’s trust in me taught me that every problem is solvable – that there is no such thing as hard. I gained a sense of confidence that was “above my pay grade”.

Terron, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

There is no clear definition of what I do, from an overarching view – the best way to describe who and what I am is a problem solver and strategic planner. Some would say that I am a connector. One of the best pieces of advice I garnered from a good friend is to remain relevant. I preach that to all of my mentees. When one begins in an industry, it takes time to become a subject matter expert and trusted agent. You also will hit many obstacles and setbacks. Stay the course like I did, because one day, and this day will come to you as a surprise, you will get a call asking for your help from someone or an organization that you would never have expected.

Case in point, one summer afternoon in 2015, I received a call from my DNC staffer. He had just received a call from one of President Obama’s senior advisors seeking assistance in getting the Iran Deal Ratified, and referred them to me. I organized a meeting for the following day with three of my national security policy leaders and two of President Obama’s advisors and together, we crafted a successful plan.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

This is a lot simpler than most believe. The Army taught me that if you truly care for your subordinates and give them a sense of ownership of their work, then they will generally perform at an optimal level.

When people know that their superiors, boss, etc truly care about their welfare, and that of their families, while also empowering them to perform, their output and performance is high.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I have built a reputation of reliability. I learned in Baghdad never to make promises to anyone, but to always promise to do your best – so that is what I do. Reliability, combined with your subject matter expertise and ability to produce is what will drive your [positive] reputation amongst your colleagues and your universe.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.terronsims.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TerronSims
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/terron-sims-ii-637b358/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/terronII