Leading from open: How military veterans view open culture at Red Hat

Red Hat’s culture is built on the open source principles of transparency, collaboration and inclusion, where the best ideas can come from anywhere and anyone. You might not immediately think that this culture has a lot of overlap with that of the military, which may appear to be hierarchical and rely on command and control, but Red Hatters from our Military Veterans Diversity and Inclusion Community would disagree. 

Jason Thompson, director of Information Risk and Assurance  

Jason Thompson is a 33-year veteran of the U. S. military, with experience in both the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy. Much of Jason’s career was spent in joint operations.. When he joined Red Hat, he noticed that these groups operate similarly to us, saying, “Every echelon in the military from joint task force headquarters to small tactical units must work together and with other teams to successfully accomplish the mission.“ He notes the rigorous training in the military is meant to prepare service members to handle unexpected situations. This is similar to how Red Hat trains our developers and security analysts to have the foundational skills to be agile when things do not go as planned. 

Red Hat is Thompson’s first and only foray into the corporate world. In his four years here, he’s been able to grow his career from individual contributor, to manager, and now director, through the guidance and support of his manager, as well as professional development programs like Red Hat’s Accelerated Leadership Development Program (ALDP). ALDP is a custom Red Hat program for rising leaders to get an intensive learning experience and prepare them for more complex leadership positions. Jason found the program incredibly valuable in deepening his understanding of the broader Red Hat internal ecosystem. 

Emmy Eide, senior manager in Product Security  

Emmy Eide is a U.S. Army veteran who transitioned to the private sector through the Hiring Our Heroes program. HireOurHeroes is a non-profit organization focused on supporting veterans who are looking to transition into the workforce. She was a fellow in the first-ever HireOurHeroes cohort and grew her career in security with a few different technology companies before coming to Red Hat in May of this year. When deciding to join the organization, she says that along with the innovative nature of her new team, the open culture, flexibility, and strong benefits program, are what ultimately swayed her to put on the red fedora. 

Eide knew that this is a place that values open management and taking a servant leadership approach would be critical. She credits the military for preparing her, calling the experience “a giant leadership development course”. This experience has been directly applicable to her approach to leadership at Red Hat. She believes that a leader’s role is to serve others and that “the most important people are your soldiers, or the people that work for you. You’ll always get better results if you lead through collaboration and influence.” 

Sam Broussard, container infrastructure consultant 

Sam Broussard, has been a member of the U.S. Air Force for more than twelve years and is a current Hiring Our Heroes fellow, consulting with the Red Hat container infrastructure team. When going through the interview process, he was drawn to our values of openness, helpfulness, and the belief that everyone has something to contribute. 

Being new to the private sector workforce, Broussard was also looking for strong mentorship. He says that he’s been able to work with members of his team, some who are also former military, to find his place on the team and in Red Hat as a whole. When speaking of the support from his fellow Red Hatters, Broussard said he has had “an amazing amount of Red Hatters reaching out, offering to talk through problems and help with anything to support [his] smooth transition. It's been truly humbling, appreciated and inspiring.”

Red Hat's North America Public Sector Consulting Team is driving innovation across the U.S. public sector. In showcasing the unique stories of Red Hatters around the world, it's clear that there's no one path to finding success at Red Hat. For each of us, it's about open collaboration and building something together. Interested in joining the Red Hat team? Learn more about open opportunities here.