Katherine Goble Johnson was one of the pioneers of the American space movement and she was a research mathematician and physicist. She calculated trajectories and orbits for missions such as the first space mission that landed on the moon. She was born in West Virginia in 1918, a period when women and black Americans had limited career opportunities. Therefore, since she was both, she had a lot of hurdles early in her career. However, because she was a gifted mathematician, her gift was discovered and that changed the course of her career path. She excelled in school and went ahead to be a teacher and later went to work in the male-dominated aerospace industry. She was very active and she made major contributions to aerospace studies and her role in many missions done by NASA was critical to their success. Her contributions that have had an impact on the world were made possible by her determination, courage, and motivation. In an interview, she said that a person should do his/her best and like what he/she does, and then he/she will be the best. In all her achievements, she had unique leadership abilities that enable her to go to the highest in her career. She had integrity, assertiveness, trustworthiness, thankfulness, and she was a team player.
Katherine was one of three women whom she referred to as “computers who wore skirts.” At the time, they were tasked to read data that was on the back of boxes of the planes and undertake simple mathematical tasks. She received an invitation to temporary help the all-men dominated workforce to do calculations. Her knowledge in analytical geometry made her new friends and allies and that made them forget to return Katherine to her pool of other two women. She, therefore, became a permanent member of the aeronautical workforce because of her professionalism (Shetterly, 2016). Her ability to showcase her abilities to associate well with her bosses and colleagues enabled her to work in positions that had much influence on their research.
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After the death of her husband, James Goble in 1956, she remained focused and determined in her duties and she went on to fight for more inclusion in vital projects. During this period, she and other colleagues worked on a secret program and she authored her first book on space. She had specialized in the calculation of trajectories for space shots. She said that her biggest problem was to answer questions but she did all she could to do so at all times (Shetterly, 2016). During an interview, she said that she did her best and she never missed a day and never failed to undertake her duties which show that she was focused and determined as a leader.
As a leader, Katherine had integrity in all she did at all positions and duties she was assigned. Leaders need to have integrity because they are responsible for making countless and critical decisions (Daft &Lane, 2005). Katherine Johnson had integrity and she was trusted in NASA and therefore when the work became more complex, she was tasked with the calculation that would help in propelling space capsules into the orbit around the moon. She was also mandated to determine how landing units would be sent to and from the lunar surface. She is lauded for the plotting of backup navigational charts that helped astronauts to navigate their ships using the stars in case there was an electronic failure (Shetterly, 2016). Her achievements made her recognized and in 1962 she was entrusted to verify numbers derived from computers which were used for the first time to calculate John Glenn’s theories of orbit around earth.
Katherine was a good team player who appreciated the efforts of her teammates. As a leader, she was also able to delegate duties to colleagues to facilitate teamwork. Throughout Katherine’s career and the many recognition and awards she received for her work, she emphasized the significance of team effort in reaching great heights and achieving amazing things that would otherwise not be done by an individual. In an interview in 2017, she said that she was always excited to do something new and discovering new things (Kouzes &Posner, 2016). However, she added by crediting everyone whom she worked with and helped her achieve great things. That shows that as a leader she had gratitude which helps leaders to create a good working environment in the workplace.
Katherine also worked on the Space Shuttle program and she was among the scientists who laid down the plans to go to planet Mars. She co-authored 26 scientific papers. In her service of 33 years at NASA, she had many achievements which she was awarded for. She received the Group Achievement Award from NASA for her groundbreaking work that solved navigation problems. In 1998, Katherine received an honorary Doctor of Laws from SUNY Farmingdale. She was then chosen in 1999 as the West Virginia State College Outstanding Alumnus of the year. Katherine was also awarded by Capitol College of Laurel Maryland an honorary Doctor of Science in May 2006. In 2015, former President Barack Obama awarded Katherine with the Presidential Medal of Freedom which is the highest award a civilian can receive (Shetterly, 2016).
As a leader, Katherine was assertive and for that reason, she was able to overcome gender barriers and racial discrimination. In an interview, she said, as a woman, she needed to be aggressive and assertive the degree of which depended on where a person was (Hendrix, 2018). During her days, women were not allowed to put their names on research reports, and no woman during her time had her name on a report. When she was working on a report with Ted Skopinski who wanted to go to Houston, their supervisor Henry Pearson who discriminated against women insisted that Ted had to finish the report. However, Ted said that Katherine should be the one to finish the report since she was the one who did most of the work. Katherine finished the report and her name went on it becoming the first woman in her division to have her name on something. She asked to be included in editorial meetings where women had not gone before. She competed on merits and for that reason, she was able to compete with men who dominated the aerospace industry at the time. She was the leading person in the calculation of trajectories for shots which were critical in determining the timing of launches. Her assertiveness made it possible for her mathematical abilities to be recognized and therefore she was allowed to sit in all-male meetings at NASA (Shetterly, 2016).
Katherine showed high levels of learning agility which was characterized by her quest to discover new things in the field of astronomy. She was able to excel in unfamiliar fields whenever she was tasked to undertake new tasks that she had no experience in (Feynman, 2010). in 1937 when Katherine was only 18-year-old, she graduated with the highest honors from the West Virginia State College in Bachelor’s Degrees in Mathematics and French. She then joined the first three African American women to enroll in West Virginia University for a graduate program. Her duties at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics’ West Area Computing unit were challenging and required learning agility. She would compute complex mathematical calculations manually (Shetterly, 2016). She and the other two women’s work of analyzing test data and providing mathematical computations played a significant part in ensuring that the early American space program was successful.
I have learned how to be assertive and aggressive in my position of leadership from the leadership depicted by Katherine Johnson. This will enable me to achieve a lot in my place of work. I have also learned to be a team player and to be thankful to people I work with by appreciating their efforts in achieving the organization’s goals. Katherine was able to achieve a lot at his place of work by working with colleagues like the two African Americans she worked with immediately she joined NASA. It is also evident from Katherine’s leadership skills and abilities that integrity and trustworthiness are vital for a leader. Integrity allows a person to be trusted with essential tasks such as critical decision-making responsibilities.
In conclusion, Katherine Johnson was a leader who overcame many barriers to be a successful person in the field of Astronomy and science in general. She was focused, determined, and committed to her duties and therefore achieved many things. She paved way for not only women but also African American women who had low chances of being in positions she held and therefore reducing gender discrimination during her time. Her contributions were important in the exploration of space and her studies became the basis of modern research. It also motivated many women both of color and white to work hard in reaching the greatest heights. Therefore, her life is a reminder of what is possible when women become courageous, smart, confident, determined, and teachable. Her leadership, achievements, and legacy reveal to women that it does not matter the obstacles or the times they are living in.
References
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