Freedom Learning Group (FLG) honors our Veterans – past and present – this Veterans Day. Our team works every day to ensure military-connected professionals have opportunities to further their careers through project-based work and upskilling programs.
FLG is proud that since its inception in 2017, 65% of our workforce has been Military Spouses and Veterans. FLG was founded specifically to be a landing zone and provide meaningful career opportunities to displaced professionals also living the unique lifestyle that comes with being a military family. This Veterans Day, FLG shines a light on Anna Christen – our SVP of Content Operations.
After graduating from the United States Military Academy in 2008, Anna completed a combat deployment before transitioning to finance in the civilian sector. Additionally, Anna continues to serve as a Reservist, working as an Assistant Professor of Military Science at Princeton University’s ROTC Program. She earned her MBA at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. Anna is also a proud Military Spouse with 3 daughters.
Anna, Happy Veterans Day! Thank you for your service – both active duty and now in the Army Reserves. As you know, FLG encourages our workforce to commit to acts of service in their community. Today, we wrap up a 60-day campaign that started on 9/11.
How important is it to you that the company you work for encourages their talent community to pay it forward?
Throughout my military and civilian career, servant leadership has always been important to me – in and out of any organization. Not every company is mission-driven…FLG is. Serving and empowering others are concepts wrapped in every layer of our business model; paying it forward is truly part of our culture.
When you are in the military, you are part of a community, an entity so much larger than the individuals. After transitioning to the civilian sector, finding something similar can be difficult. The team at FLG embodies the values that are most important to me professionally and personally.
We all have something that we can give to our community, whether that’s sharing our time, teaching and mentoring, or giving something to someone in need. During our 60 Days of Service campaign, my family has been focused on donating food and clothes to local organizations.
How has your time in the service shaped your leadership philosophy?
Throughout my time in the military, I’ve been fortunate to have compassionate, empathetic leaders who I’ve tried to model. There are a few guiding principles that I try to bring to every team: mission first, people always; lead by example; and team above self.
At FLG, our mission is to deliver the highest quality educational content to our clients; a job that only gets done by people! My leadership philosophy is to always focus on our team – our professional development, personal goals, and well-being – in parallel with the mission. That is what is going to create the best experience for our clients.
Secondly, and it sounds cliche, but leading by example is also important to me. We move quickly here, so if something needs to be done, I want to be the first to volunteer to help us reach our goals.
Finally, I grew up playing sports, so my natural default is team above self. Regardless of job titles or standard responsibilities, we have to be willing to step up and fill whatever role our team might need.
Tell me about your Content Operations team and what they’re up to.
There’s not enough awesome things that I could share about the Content Operations team! We have amazing subject matter experts (SME) who join our projects from 40 states and 10 countries. About 65% are Military Spouses and Veterans, so this is a group of people who know how to work together and get the job done.
Our Project Managers lead the daily management of our projects, working closely with our SMEs and clients to ensure we’re producing exactly what our clients need. Our Senior Project Directors, Instructional Design team, and Video Production team oversee many different client projects and ensure our team is trained and delivers quality content.
What I find so unique about FLG is that each client has different needs, so every day is different. Our Content Operations team has developed project management, instructional design, and content development frameworks that we can apply to those specific project requests. The environment keeps us on our toes, but also allows us the chance to consistently go above and beyond for our client’s needs.
What advice do you have for Veterans or those in the Reserves looking for their next career? Why should they consider FLG?
Transitioning careers is both an exciting and overwhelming time. Taking time to reflect on what facets of a career are most important is always a good first step. Prioritize factors that go into employment – flexibility, company mission, salary, job responsibilities, culture. Talking with those at companies you are interested in is also helpful; while informational interviews might be out of your comfort zone initially, set some up!
In addition to FLG’s mission, I was also attracted to the Training Hub, which is an upskilling program for our contributors. I would definitely encourage Veterans or Reservists to check out this program.
We all learned a ton of hard and soft skills serving in the military. Every day, it is so cool to see the breadth of talent and skill sets that our clients seek. This is tangible, impactful work that our contributors are able to take with them, no matter who they work for. At FLG, we want our talent community to be set up for a career, not just a job.
Never underestimate the skills learned in the military. They can absolutely translate to an FLG project. We look to not only secure talent but ensure our contributors are successful on day 1 and beyond with the Training Hub and upskilling program.