Javia Houston

The best career advice that I've ever received was find your leadership style and stick to it. Going from being their peer to a leader was a little tough. I have to look at how other people lead entirely. But it wasn't me. So when I was given that advice, I was like, well, how do I lead? How do I get to know my people? And how can I treat them so that everybody feels like I'm treating them fair? And so when I found out what type of leader I wanted to be, it was easier for me to move forward and lead.

The first thing I would tell them is that you have to know when to use your emotions, and when not to. You have a lot of men who work in my field. And so trying to be emotional won't work. Like, you gotta have tough skin if you're going to do a job with the military, because they have no filter. But number two, just stick with it. It's gonna be hard in the beginning, because it's something new that you haven't done before. If you stick with it, you have the right people around you that will help you along the way. And then once you learn your job, that's it. It's like once you learn your job, it's a skill that you can probably do in your sleep until you go and apply for something different, and then you have to repeat the process. But it's worth it.

In my field, I think the biggest one is that nuclear power is still changing, everything is changing, so it doesn't stay the same. So we're always learning a new process that wasn't previously allowed or even offered before. Sometimes it's easier, and sometimes it takes more time and effort. But I think that's the hardest thing, is that once you get good at something, you realize that, oh, there's another way we're going to do this, so here it is. And it's not like we can argue it if we want to, but we just go along with it.

The values that I live by, integrity and accountability. In the field we work in, we have to be able to be accountable for the things that we do. So if my techs do something that's not right on the waterfront, they're held accountable for it, but as their supervisor, I'm also held accountable, because there's always something that I could have done better to prepare them for the work. So it's not like a we blaming you for this type thing, it's we're a team, and so as a team, how can we make the situation better for next time? I want them to be able to make mistakes without feeling like they're going to be penalized in a negative way each time. So the more safe that we make the area, talking to them, being with them on a waterfront, briefing with them about pros and cons, and figuring out what their game plan is. It helps them to admit their fault without trying to hide them.