Martel joined the NCI Agency's predecessor organization, the NATO Consultation, Command and Control Agency (NC3A), as an Operational Analyst with maritime domain expertise in September 2001. Since then, she has supported Strategic Commanders across NATO in capability development activities that enable the Alliance to accomplish its mission.
In addition to her role as Chief of Operational Analysis, Martel was also a driving factor that contributed to the Agency's new campus in Braine l'Alleud, Belgium, and the completion of renovations at the Agency's campus in The Hague, Netherlands. Martel is currently involved in plans for the future NCI Agency Digital Enterprise Centre (NDEC), providing clear, pragmatic and robust guidance to ensure the completion of the project.
Why is Operational Analysis important to the NCI Agency and NATO at large?
Operational Analysis (OA) is about analyzing problems to provide support for solutions to decision makers. Operational analysts have the ability to methodically assess the issues described by a customer, formulate the problem in a structured manner and develop an approach fit-for-purpose. Within the Agency, the extensive expertise of the OA team is applied to various projects and programmes, ensuring consistency in capability development activities with broader NATO ambitions.
In the wider NATO context, the analytical support provided by my team reaches across the Alliance, bolstering strategic level activities such as the NATO Defence Planning Process (NDPP) and operational level activities with close involvement in recent and ongoing NATO operations and missions. The products developed by operational analysts reach the top leadership within the two Strategic Commands, Allied Command Transformation (ACT) and Allied Command Operations (ACO), and at NATO Headquarters, which allows us to support the traceability and analytical rigour with which significant decisions within NATO are taken.
What are the keys to success when managing a team?
I believe one of the key skills to being a successful manager is the ability to listen. It is essential to take the time to talk to your team to hear whether they have concerns or new ideas. It is important to allow your team to express their opinions and provide them with the support and development opportunities they need to be successful in their current position and in the future. I have a fantastic team, every individual works very hard at delivering high quality products and advice to our customers in a timely manner. I am very proud of what they achieve, they make my job easy!
What has been your biggest contribution to the NATO mission?
Our most significant and enduring contribution to NATO is the support we provide to ACT for the conduct of the NATO Defence Planning Process. This is a crucial process defining the capabilities and forces that NATO needs to execute its mission. It is the cornerstone of the significant efforts within NATO and the Nations to develop future capabilities in all domains. OA plays a significant role in supporting ACT and ACO, with their contribution and decisions throughout this cyclical process – we have done so for over two decades. That said, the OA team has also been an integral part of the NATO operations in Afghanistan, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and Resolute Support (RS), for over a decade, including OA staff embedded within the Headquarters in Kabul. Having been at the heart of these significant NATO missions is something of which my team and I are very proud.
What are the biggest challenges you have encountered as Chief of Operational Analysis and how did you overcome them?
My biggest challenge at the moment is meeting the numerous high priority demands for OA support within NATO without overloading my team. This situation brings great opportunities for my staff to apply their skills in different work areas but at the same time creates challenges in synchronizing all these demands across numerous projects. Maintaining close coordination between the project managers in my team helps reducing significant work overload to individuals. Strong communication with our customers is also critical to manage expectations.
How do you navigate failures or major setbacks when working on a project as big as planning a new campus or a major location renovation?
It is expected that large and complex development or renovation projects will bring a fair amount of issues and challenges. In my recent experience with managing such programmes, I capitalized on my team's strengths to find ways to resolve the problems we faced; keeping everyone engaged, trusting their advice in their respective areas of responsibilities, and coming to a firm decision on ways forward in a timely manner. When facing difficulties or setbacks, it is essential to be transparent and keep our key stakeholders, internal and external to the Agency, well informed of the situation.
What do you enjoy most about working at the Agency?
The people. Throughout the various roles and tasks I have undertaken so far within the Agency, I have had the opportunity to work with many people from different entities and I have really enjoyed the diverse range of background, expertise, and culture of the Agency working environment.