Please contact Dr. Works (keworks@fsu.eu) for additional help: Submission navigation links for Research Symposium Program Portal WF ‹ Previous submission Next submission › Submission information Submission Number: 161 Submission ID: 9009 Submission UUID: 02e04a59-6abb-464d-beda-1dac9f394e33 Submission URI: /student-research/symposium/research-symposium-program-portal Submission Update: /student-research/symposium/research-symposium-program-portal?token=flXr9pvEVfjWswphOx0FwukLkaSyk0m1F07FoIR_eCw Created: Wed, 01/21/2026 - 10:58 PM Completed: Wed, 01/21/2026 - 11:24 PM Changed: Wed, 01/21/2026 - 11:24 PM Remote IP address: 98.19.0.68 Submitted by: Anonymous Language: English Is draft: No Webform: Research Symposium Program Portal WF Submitted to: Student Research Symposium Program Portal Primary Student Contact First Name Primary Student Contact Last Name Pronouns Primary Student Contact FSU Student Email Photo of all individuals presenting this work Michael's Professional Picture_1.JPG138.78 KB Remove Upload requirementsOne file only.2 MB limit. Major(s) of all individuals presenting this work Bio of all individuals presenting this work Michael Finley is an experienced Technology and Systems Engineering leader with over a decade of success delivering mission-critical solutions across complex engineering and business environments. He currently serves as a Staff Systems Engineer at Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth, Texas, where he leads high-performing teams supporting F-35 integration, test, and simulation labs. Michael is known for aligning technical execution with strategic objectives, driving operational excellence, and improving system performance in high-stakes, security-focused environments. Throughout his career, Michael has progressed through increasing levels of technical and leadership responsibility, contributing to major defense programs including the F-35, F-22, and F-16. His work spans system requirements development, verification and validation, integration and test leadership, lab operations, and cross-functional coordination with customers, vendors, and program stakeholders. He has led and mentored engineers, reduced certification timelines, improved onboarding efficiency, and strengthened communication across multidisciplinary teams. Michael holds an MBA in Security Management, a Bachelor’s degree in Technical Management, and is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Systems Engineering. His strengths include analytical thinking, leadership, and problem solving, along with a strong commitment to continuous learning and sharing knowledge to develop others and strengthen the organization. Poster Title Abstract Colin Powell was a renowned military and political leader who rose from being poor to becoming a four-star General in the U.S. Army and then U.S. Secretary of State. Powell's leadership skills and actions were examined throughout his life, from when he was a child to when he was a top military and diplomatic leader. It examines Powell's leadership through the lens of various leadership theories, employing significant events from his career as a timeline to illustrate the evolution of his character, decision-making, and people-oriented approach over time. He puts a lot of emphasis on being honest, responsible, working as a team, thinking strategically, and staying calm as a leader when things get tough. This research seeks to identify the characteristics that contributed to Powell's effectiveness across various contexts by comparing his actual behaviors with established leadership concepts. The results reveal leadership practices that consistently yielded positive outcomes, alongside aspects requiring additional consideration. In the end, this study is a personal commitment to becoming a better leader through gaining knowledge from Powell's experiences to find qualities that are good and those that require caution. The goal is to make a leader who is more self-aware, moral, and effective. Research Mentor Name Research Mentor's College (or High School) Research Mentor's Department (or Subject) Research Mentor's Email Additional Research Mentor(s) Co-presenter(s) Keywords Poster Session/Number Work Complete Exploratory (the research question has been identified and design of approach is outlined) Presentation Modality Face to Face Poster session Synchronous Online Presentation Asynchronous Online Presentation Poster PDF Upload Upload requirementsOne file only.100 MB limit. Poster Thumbnail Please take a screenshot of your poster to be a thumbnail on your Symposium Program Profile. Upload Upload requirementsOne file only.2 MB limit. I will be printing my poster CAPTCHA What code is in the image? Enter the characters shown in the image. This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions. Save Leave this field blank
