Model Leader of the Month: Meghan Wieten-Scott

Congratulations to Meghan Wieten-Scott , Senior Director of External Affairs at Blue Star Families , who was selected as June’s Model Leader of the Month. She was nominated because “fun and play are at the core of what Meghan does and who she is.” 

Before Meghan met her husband, she had no military affiliation. When he told her he attended West Point, she responded, “What’s that?” She had a promising start to a career in community relations, but after meeting her husband, her plans changed and she decided to reinvent herself.

She noticed the overwhelming challenges that military families were going through with repeated 15-month deployments to warzones overseas, and she decided to do something about it. She started supporting military family groups, which led to her work at Blue Star Families , an organization that empowers military and veteran families to thrive, or as Meghan puts it, “making military life awesome.”

Among other things in her role as Senior Director of External Affairs, Meghan oversees events and activities for military and veteran families. Through her life and career Meghan follows a pattern of noticing a challenge, investing her time and energy into understanding it in order to contribute to solutions.

Wieten-Scott’s Leadership Model

Servant Leadership

“To me this means being willing to get in the weeds with the team if something needs to be done. Whether it's setting up tables and chairs in an event, or stepping in and giving the remarks because somebody else couldn't be there, or doing the really not-so fun-work of project management and script-writing.”

Recognizing Team Members

“I like to lift up my team. I always like to see the people around me succeed, and to highlight those successes, and make sure that everybody is highlighted. There are people who are always front and center, but then there are others who do the hard work like on our technology team or on our web development team. They don't get to be at the event. People don't say, ‘You did a great job on that website,’ but it’s important to make sure to call that out because we would not be successful without everybody on the team playing their part.”

Self-Awareness

“I think it’s really important to surround myself with the people who can do the things that I know I'm not good at. I need to have the humility to know that I'm not a good stage manager, for example. It's not something in my event experience that I like to do. And I don't know lighting or how to set up the stage and make sure that the drapes look good. So that was a position we added to our team–someone who could really do those technical pieces, knowing that I could help oversee that.”

If this newsletter goes on any longer without mentioning Disney, friends and colleagues of Meghan will probably think we didn’t actually talk to her. Meghan is a huge Disney fan. She grew up on Disney and she takes her family to Disney World as often as possible (which, it turns out, is a lot). She appreciates how accepting they are of neurodivergent people, like her son.

She has organized numerous events for Blue Star Families, including three weeks ago, where over 100 military families gathered together at a Marine Corps base and where Mickey Mouse appeared as the surprise star guest.

“You have all these super serious marines, but then everybody's so excited to meet Mickey Mouse. The dad is making a crown with his daughter and wearing the crown around. When you see people from all levels of the organization being real people and having fun with their kids, or getting out and meeting Mickey Mouse—when they let loose and they have fun, it’s a reminder that we don’t just sit behind our desks all day. Play and fun humanize us.”

Meghan recommended two books written by people who worked at Disney that have shaped her leadership: “Creating Magic: 10 Common Sense Leadership Strategies From a Life at Disney” by Lee Cockerell, and "Ride of a Lifetime” by Bob Iger.

Practices for Remote Play at Work

Beyond the amazingly fun events put on for military families, Meghan makes consistent effort to ensure that the staff at Blue Star Families are also able to find connection through play at work.

“It’s important to see what people value, and encourage them. Having that little bit of connection and fun and silliness. . .It re-centers people and connects them to one another.”

She pointed out that especially when there is conflict and times get tough, there is great payoff for having invested in relationships through play. While there are a lot of ways to connect and have fun in-person, Meghan also finds a lot of ways to play at work in a remote setting. Below we share some of the ways Meghan and her colleagues connect through play:

Fun Fact Friday

“This is a silly question we post in the group chat, such as, ‘What’s your dream job?’ People thought I would say ‘Disney’ which of course would be amazing, but really I want to be a mail carrier, so I can just walk around and deliver mail and listen to my murder podcasts.”

Starting a virtual meeting by asking participants to put a meme or gif in the chat that represents their state of mind.

“Sometimes I’ll include something and see other junior staff share something similar, helping us better relate to each other. It builds those connections that are so important. When things do get tough where there is conflict it just humanizes us and brings it down a level.”

Book Club

“Sometimes they are serious books, sometimes they are silly. It’s helpful to have that space for connection if people want them.”

Virtual Happy Hour

“People just pop on and connect if they want to, and that connection is important for sure.”

Supporting niche groups like “Dungeons and Dragons”

“Recentering yourself is so important. We have people on our staff who were empowered to put together a D&D group and it was one of the most successful activities we had that quarter. It allowed them to bring something they love to the military families that they serve and it went well because it acknowledged staff members as people and let them develop this in their job. It’s important to know what matters to people and encourage them in their interests.”

Modeling a Healthy Work/Play Balance

It might sound like Meghan’s work is all fun and games, but she has put in her share of long weeks. When work is stressful, that’s exactly the time to ramp up the play.

“I always say, ‘Work hard, play hard.’ If I put in a 60-hour week, you better believe I’m going to take my vacation next weekend, and take four days to go hike with my son, or go to Disney World with my family.”

And she makes sure others around her are doing the same. She recently said to her boss, “You know, I noticed you've really been centering time with your family on your calendar, and I appreciate that.” She asks her team if they’re taking the time they need for their families. “As a leader, to know the influence that you have on the people that work with you is really important.”

Thank you, Meghan, for modeling the often underrated and underutilized power of integrating fun, play and humanity into leadership. Your commitment to fostering connections, supporting your team through both challenges and victories, and prioritizing work-life balance is inspiring. We wish you success as you continue to make a meaningful impact through your work and play.

Andrew and Ariel