Perhaps you had the impression that you would be attending institutional Army training this summer. Be it Cadet Troop Leader Training (CTLT), Individual Academic Development, Cadet Summer Training, Airborne or Air Assault School, or any of the myriad other training opportunities afforded to Cadets, the unfortunate fact is that many of these opportunities are being curtailed or all-together cancelled due to the effects of the on-going COVID-19 pandemic. Fortunately, there are other opportunities available to you to aid you in becoming the best leader you can be.
Now is a great time for you to embrace the eighth Army Value, flexibility. Many of you are surely familiar already with how predictably unpredictable Army life can be at times. Oh, you thought you were returning from deployment on a specific date? Prepare to be disappointed. You expected to assume leadership of a certain platoon? That tattoo was a bit premature, wasn’t it? The point is that military life is inherently dynamic. You can choose to join the small but vocal ranks of the perpetually miserable and somehow astounded. Alternatively, you can accept that the Army rarely fails to accomplish its missions or to take care of its own, even if the plan doesn’t exactly match yours.
Take Ownership of Your Development
Your development as a leader is just beginning, but the process will continue as long as you continue to serve. FM 6-22 Leader Development describes Leader development in terms of three domains:
Institutional– training and development through Army courses/schools such as ROTC/USMA, BOLC, or Ranger School. These schools and programs are often tied mandatory career progression milestones, or to additional skill identifiers required for certain assignments.
Operational– on the job training through the conduct of your duties. Many tactical, logistical, and organizational skills are re-framed and refined only after fulfilling multiple functions within a unit.
Self-development– training, development, and learning opportunities that the individual takes the initiative to conduct. This can take the form of professional reading, studying doctrine, or taking classes that develop skills, leader attributes, or competencies.
Self-development is the domain that individuals have the most influence over and is unfortunately the most neglected. You will find it easy to identify those leaders that spend their free time studying, writing, and developing their skills. It is equally easy to identify those that treat their duties like a 9-5 job, just getting by. The fact is that your duties as an Army leader demand an investment of your time. When faced with a challenging, life-threatening, or mission-critical situation you will never regret the time that you spent preparing. Most importantly, the Soldiers that you are soon to lead deserve that time.
Set Development Goals
Chapter 4 of FM 6-22 describes the importance of understanding one’s strengths and weaknesses to setting goals and constructing a self-development plan. There are several tools and techniques are used to conduct self-assessment, but the important matter is internalizing it, and focusing on leveraging strengths while improving weaknesses. A wise brigade commander I once worked for had all of the Company Commanders write their three greatest strengths and weaknesses on a 3 x 5 card and carry it in our breast pockets at all times. He understood that by simply putting these concepts on paper, we were forced to acknowledge and address them.
Leadership attributes and competencies (chapter 6 of FM 6-22) are a great place to start when assessing your strengths and weaknesses. Cadet leadership assessments address these attributes and competencies directly, and may aid you in determining your developmental needs by providing an external perspective. Alternatively, you may consider asking your peers or Cadre for feedback. Aside from leadership attributes and competencies, consider technical, tactical, academic, social, and personal skills and how they may help or hinder you professionally. Finally, structure your development goals based on your perceived weaknesses.
Read Early. Read Often.
“If you haven’t read hundreds of books, you are functionally illiterate, and you will be incompetent, because your personal experiences alone aren’t broad enough to sustain you.” While this is far from the most memorable or colorful quote of former Secretary of Defense James Mattis, it is critically relevant to aspiring officers. The body of professional knowledge for military leaders is vast and consistently growing, and more accessible than ever before. Reading lists for Cadets are available from USMA, USACC, and a variety of other sources.
Professional reading need not be heavy, dense, and boring. The professional development canon is diverse enough that everyone can find works that appeal to them. Consider diversifying your reading list to prevent burn-out on a particular topic or genre. Include historical studies, biographies, corporate leadership reading, and novels (Ender’s Game and Starship Troopers appear on several professional reading lists). Consider listening to audio books while commuting, working out, or doing chores to increase your reading capacity. Professional reading is like investing- you may not always be able to do as much as you would like, but if you start early, and maximize opportunities when you can, you are ensuring a more successful future.
Books aside, the volume of professional articles, blog posts, white papers (professional studies or essays), videos, and podcasts is immense. Consider checking out some of the resources available and subscribe to the ones that pique your interest. Professional articles especially are beneficial to the profession in that they address problems in a concise and timely manner that books typically cannot. These articles often go viral in Army Leader circles, become part of leader professional development curricula, and may inform or influence senior leaders. As your expertise grows, contributing to the professional body of knowledge is an important way to steward the profession.
On Doctrine
Army doctrine can be an intimidating subject to delve in to. The volume of material available and confusing nature of the taxonomy are common excuses for neglecting to become doctrinally competent. The biggest hurdle standing in the way of most, however, is a willingness to invest their time.
As with most aspects of the job, no one expects a new lieutenant to possess a mastery of doctrine. Familiarization with doctrinal resources and the ability to find the reference you need is expected. Our Doctrinal Primer provides the basics on Army doctrine structure and content, and exposes readers to examples of applicable and useful publications from Army Doctrine Publications to Technical Manuals. With this foundation, aspiring leaders can expand their studies into subjects that interest them or to their desired career fields.
You may have more free time this summer than expected, but your responsibility to develop into a worthy leader has not diminished. Your formal development and training will resume soon, and the Army will do their part to hone your leadership skills. In the meantime, set development goals, get in great shape, read a good book (hopefully a few), and study doctrine. Your development as a leader is ongoing, and like your education, it should not be passively received, but actively pursued.
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