Dr. Jason Womack: Connecting through Coaching & Leadership

“Connection is not something you find,” said Dr. Jason ‘JW’ Womack, a best-selling author, speaker, and United States Space Force civilian. “It’s something you create.”

Womack has spent most of his career learning about and becoming an expert in organizational leadership. With more than 20 years of industry experience, he has spoken to thousands about the importance of human connection.

In 2019, Womack shifted from the civilian world to becoming a Department of the Air Force civilian teaching at Air University in the Leadership Development Course.

“I taught an eight-day course to senior leaders on trusting, adapting, and connecting,” said Womack. “I was able to practice what I taught through a global pandemic, changes in administration, and social unrest that happened over four and a half years.”

Now, working as a USSF civilian, he’s able to take his education and experiences and help drive change in service members of all ranks and their families.

“You cannot effectively lead others until you understand yourself,” said Womack. “This can go for a spouse as well. You can’t effectively engage and connect with others until you understand who is looking back at you in the mirror.”

The acronym he uses for this idea is N2C2: nature, nurture, choice, and chance.

With military spouses and families in mind, consider this:

• Nature: What is the military spouse’s nature? Is it to travel around or stay in one place?
• Nurture: How were they rewarded or corrected?
• Choice: What choices has the spouse made for themselves or had made for them?
• Chance: What chances have they taken or were taken on them?

He describes the spouse’s life as being in full color, not monochromatic. Spouses have a purpose for their lives, for their finances, for the family unit, and so many other things. It’s not black and white what spouses deal with living the military lifestyle.

“Spouses took the chance to marry into this organization. They chose to follow along wherever their service member was going,” said Womack. “Now, how will their nature and nurture patterns affect them where they’re at? How can we help them succeed?”

When asked how to create meaningful relationships, he said you have to be present without having the pressure to solve.

As humans, we naturally want to solve the problems put in front of us. As a military spouse, you may want to solve a friend’s problem when instead they simply need you to lend a listening ear.

“How can you call somebody tonight and be present without the pressure to solve the problem?” he asked.

To create meaningful relationships, Womack recommends being intentional, being available, and being valuable:

• to want the best for the other person
• to figure out how to be available in someone’s life when they need you
• to see what value you can provide

“Do I wait for connection to happen or do I do it myself?” said Womack. “That choice is a military spouse’s life.”

He shared his own personal experiences that it’s always a risk extending your hand with the chance of getting hurt, but connecting with others is not a luxury.

Connection is not a nice-to-have. It’s a foundation for military spouses feeling resilient, feeling successful, and feeling fulfilled.

Volunteer. Mentor. Lead. Those are the words Dr. Womack used to encourage people to get involved in their community.

“Every human has an experience that can be shared with someone else,” said Womack.

“To make meaningful connections, you have to separate the difference between connection and connecting. Connecting is the present tense. Volunteer on base, mentor another spouse, choose to lead in your community. Connecting is being present and making connections that matter.”

This article was written by Savannah Stephens, an Air Force Reserve Public Affairs Officer and Department of the Air Force Civilian. You can read Savannah’s full bio and the complete edition of United Forces & Families ENGAGE: United Through Community here.