MEL #042 | From Lab Fellow to Tech Advocate through Stakeholder Alignment with Dr. Zach Sims

In this episode, I speak with Dr. Zach Sims with Small Business Consulting Corporation. He is a Technical Director of Laboratory Capability Integration and Transition with Air Force Global Strike Command. Zach followed an early inspiration from his engineer father, studied physics, then pivoted to applied materials and energy engineering. He worked at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, completed a PhD through the University of Tennessee's Bredesen Center, became a Lawrence Fellow at Lawrence Livermore National Lab, and moved into joint faculty at the University of Tennessee. He now serves as a technology and stakeholder advocate linking Air Force needs with national lab capabilities.In our leadership segment, Zach talks about how while at the University of Tennessee, he organized idea days to match Tennessee Valley Authority program leaders with university researchers. He aligned two very different stakeholder groups by setting a clear objective, curating the right presenters, enforcing audience-appropriate depth, and giving direct feedback to ensure outcomes.Zach's advice to engineering leaders? Grow by taking progressively larger risks and building the resilience to recover from mistakes. Tailor your story to the audience, deliberately practice your communication skills, and use listening and reflection to convert stakeholder needs into actionable steps.Explore the full episode summary, including guest bio, key takeaways, transcript, and recommended resources in the shownotes at https://drangeliqueadams.com/podcast/.