Leading With Character at Enterprise Scale

Eric Hayes, MBA in Dallas for Executives and Professionals

254th Combat Communications Group - Commander

Eric Hayes has led organizations where clarity, trust, and accountability are essential. As commander of the 254th Combat Communications Group, he operates in environments that demand precision, adaptability and principled leadership. Preparing for the next chapter of his career led him to the Baylor MBA in Dallas for Executives and Professionals.

“I recognized that my tenure in my current role would conclude within the next few years, so I pursued an Executive MBA to ensure I had the skills required to successfully transition back into the civilian workforce,” Hayes said.

The experience quickly became more than professional preparation.

“What I did not anticipate, however, was the depth of the relationships formed throughout the program,” he said. “In addition to refining essential business competencies, I gained invaluable lessons and insights from fellow leaders in our cohort who have achieved significant impact in their respective organizations and roles.”

A More Disciplined Approach to Enterprise Leadership

For Hayes, the impact of the program became evident beyond the classroom.

“The Baylor MBA curriculum and professors have fundamentally changed how I approach strategic leadership and enterprise-level decision-making,” he said.

Rather than relying solely on experience, the program added rigor and structure.

“Instead of relying primarily on intuition and operational experience, I now discipline myself to ground major decisions in data, scenario modeling and a clear view of enterprise risk and value creation,” Hayes said.

He said Baylor’s emphasis on ethical leadership also shaped how he evaluates long-term impact.

“These experiences have shifted my leadership style from being largely execution-focused to a more holistic, forward-looking and enterprise-oriented approach that better equips me for senior roles in the civilian sector,” Hayes said.

Leading Through Uncertainty

High-pressure environments have long been part of Hayes’ responsibility. The MBA in Dallas for Executives and Professionals coursework provided frameworks he now relies on when facing time-sensitive decisions.

“The Baylor MBA has helped me bring more structure and intention to how I plan, communicate, and lead in those challenging moments,” he said. “I now approach crises with a clearer strategic framework, using tools from our strategy and analytics coursework to quickly prioritize what truly drives mission success, assess risk and align limited resources to the highest-value actions.”

Connecting Experience with Business Frameworks

While Hayes entered the program with extensive leadership experience, the Baylor MBA supplied language and frameworks that strengthened how he sets direction and builds alignment.

“Business frameworks from the Baylor MBA, particularly in strategy and leadership, have given me a structured way to extend and refine what I’ve done for years in my military command roles,” he said.

Those tools clarified how he develops teams and communicates intent.

“Leadership-focused coursework has complemented this by deepening my approach to developing people, building alignment within my current organization and leading through change,” Hayes said.

Perspective Gained Through the Cohort

One of the defining aspects of the program has been learning alongside executives from a wide range of industries.

“Learning alongside civilian executives in the Baylor MBA program has sharpened my leadership as a military commander in multidimensional environments,” Hayes said.

The cohort experience reshaped how Hayes approaches partnership and coordination.

“I approach complex problems by mapping my customers’ needs, understanding what success looks like for each and establishing clear communication rhythms to keep everyone aligned during mission execution,” he said.

Values That Translate Across Roles

Hayes said the program reinforced principles he already strives to live out as a leader.

“Baylor’s focus on integrity, service and stewardship aligns with my leadership philosophy and my approach to leading myself and others every day,” he said.

Those principles mirror the core values he lives out in uniform.

“This directly translates to the Air Force core values of integrity, service and excellence in everything we do,” Hayes said.

Over time, that alignment sharpened his view of responsibility and leadership.

“Lead with character when no one is looking, serve in a way that makes life and work better for others, and treat every command, budget line and partnership as something I am merely borrowing on behalf of the next generation of Airmen and leaders,” he said.

Applying Learning Immediately

Hayes said one lesson from the program reshaped how he organized his team.

“The most impactful takeaway from the MBA in Dallas for Executives and Professionals has been learning to deliberately design structures around strengths and outcomes, rather than from a traditional approach,” he said.

That idea led to meaningful organizational change.

“This inspired realignment has made the unit more agile and has given my leaders permission to think in terms of ‘right structure for the mission,’ not ‘we’ve always done it this way,’” Hayes said.

Preparing for the Next Chapter

As he approaches graduation and military retirement, Hayes sees the Executive MBA as a transition point, not a starting over.

“As I approach graduation, the day before I retire from the military, I see the MBA as a bridge between military command and leading complex civilian enterprises,” he said.

The result is confidence in entering a new environment.

“As a result, I expect to step out of uniform not as a first-time civilian leader, but as a values-based enterprise leader ready to guide cross-functional teams, shape strategy and deliver results in this next chapter of my journey,” Hayes said.

A Baylor Connection Across Generations

Hayes’ decision to enroll was rooted in family experience as well as professional goals.

“Watching my son thrive at Baylor and seeing my wife’s pride as a Baylor Bear herself made it clear this was more than just a good school,” he said. “It was a community that formed both minds and character.” 

That shared connection has deepened the meaning of his MBA journey.

“Sharing Baylor across generations has been one of the unexpected joys of this journey,” Hayes said. “It has turned my time in the program into something we experienced together, not just my next professional step.”

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