Understanding the Value of Culture: Q&A with James ‘Woody’ Woodhead

Jacobs Release Manager James ‘Woody’ Woodhead shares the value of company culture and collaboration.

Having participated in Jacobs’ Leadership Development Program, James values understanding company culture to promote effective communication with the team. We sat down with James to discuss his experience with the program in this Q&A.

Tell us about your role and what you are most passionate about. 

As a Software Release Manager for Jacobs NORAD Operations Group, I support space and missile threat detection and command and control systems. I enjoy leading teams to their full potential and delivering value to the customer.

Tell us about an exciting project you have worked on. 

Our Sustainability team recently completed a software upgrade. This upgrade took several years of software coding and was delivered before the deadline. We were able to overcome several challenges with effective communication, teamwork and perseverance. I enjoy the sense of urgency and purpose of the mission. The need to produce impactful results drives the contract and my daily effort.

What accomplishments are you most proud of? 

The software release I mentioned earlier was a considerable effort for the space community. It is the backbone of several other systems that the enterprise and nation rely upon, and delivering it on time for the customer was a significant accomplishment.

Talk to us about your experience with the Jacobs Leadership Development Program.

I took part in the Leadership Development Program (LDP) for just under five months (April 2023 - August 2023). I completed a two-minute candidate video for selection into the program. The program began with video teleconferences for LDP participants and Jacobs senior executives. LDP participants then chose a business challenge to participate in. The students were placed into five different business teams to solve a challenge assigned by Jacobs senior executives. The teams had to research and develop their presentation topic (challenge) to the senior leadership as a course graduation requirement. This provided hands-on learning and the opportunity to get to know and network with many senior executives across the company. I learned so much about the company outside of the contract I support. I greatly appreciated the outside business talent, support systems and company culture.

How is understanding Jacobs' company culture important for your role as a leader?

It serves as a benchmark and guide for the behavior that I model. Jacobs is a diverse company that positively interacts with my fellow employees and has many different employee attitudes that differ from mine. Understanding the company’s culture is with different employee attitudes, varying attitudes of employees that differ from mine, so understanding the company's mine helps me positively interact with my fellow employees.