Tag Archives: Leader Development

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Preventing Disappointment through Counseling

Connecting Army Tools to Develop Leaders

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Have you ever been disappointed with the performance of a new team or new leader? Perhaps your expectations were too high or something else went wrong. How do we close this gap between expectations and the desired end-state? Maintaining performance through transition requires the commander to over communicate the vision and guide their people through the discomfort zone. The best commanders will also listen to feedback in stride to best direct resources towards changing priorities or emerging risk. 

U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Randolph Delapena, the 82nd Airborne Division Command Sgt. Maj., speaks with Paratroopers assigned to the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, prior to conducting a Joint Forcible Entry (JFE) for exercise Panther Giant on Fort Bragg, North Carolina, March 8th, 2023. Exercise Panther Giant is a validation exercise for elements of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team to demonstrate readiness and lethality before attending the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC). (Sgt. Jacob Moir, U.S. Army)
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How to Grow your “Chem-O”

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You’re a Maneuver Captain, fresh out the Career Course. After showing up to your new battalion/squadron, you meet the Commander, the field grades, and the staff primaries. In your initial counseling, the battalion commander tells you that you’ll be grinding in the 3-Shop (operations) while you wait out the queue for a company command. The Battalion Operations Officer briefs you on  expectations, and your roles and responsibilities. Then she drops a bomb on you; “Oh yeah, you’re also in charge of the Chemo.” You smile and nod while thinking, “what the hell does the Chemo do?”

Soldiers of the Chemical Reconnaissance Platoon , 29th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division conducts a Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) Academy for the Soldiers of 3IBCT in order to increase proficiency within the unit on CBRN capabilities and limitation with immediate and operational decontamination at the Kahuku Training Area, Hawaii on August 20, 2020. (U.S. Army photo by 1st Lt. Angelo Mejia)
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A Beginner’s Guide to Army Doctrine

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The task of familiarizing oneself with Army doctrine can be both daunting and confusing.  With the information being so readily accessible, becoming doctrinally fluent should be as simple as firing up ArmyPubs for some leisurely reading.  But with the high rate of change in publication and the breadth of publications available (ADPs, FMs, ATPs, ARs, etc…) it is no surprise that many young leaders have difficulty understanding where to begin their studies.

This article serves to demystify Army’s official body of knowledge and provide a foundation of understanding to foster self-study.  We examine four different categories of Army publications and provide recommended readings for each.  While the focus of the piece is specifically doctrine (defined in the following paragraph), it also introduces other publications that are of critical importance to aspiring leaders.*  Study and application of regulations, doctrine, and other publications is an ongoing endeavor that must be sustained throughout the span of a career.  As in all professions, the earlier and more broadly one immerses them self in their professional body of knowledge, the more successfully they will access and apply it.

*Suggested readings selected primarily based on their applicability to the primary audience (cadets and new lieutenants).

A fine setting for studying doctrine. photo by Staff Sgt. Jeremy Crisp
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The Selfie-Leader Part I

Please Like, Share and Follow Me As I Lead

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“A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves” – Lao Tzu

 

For those who read articles published by the Company Leader and other leadership initiative based sites in support of the Armed Forces, you understand that in order to dissect what a “Leader” is, it is important to first understand its definition. According to ADP 6-22, Army Leadership and the Profession, leadership is defined as “the activity of influencing people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation to accomplish the mission and improve the organization” (Department of the Army, 2017). This should sound remarkably familiar, as it is one of the most common board questions asked during any evaluation or promotion board.

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Principles to a Successful Army Career

A Command Sergeant's Major Perspective

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Command Sgt. Maj. Scott Schroeder, U.S. Army Forces Command senior enlisted adviser, discusses trends and priorities for Army leaders, and gets feedback from 1st Cavalry Division enlisted leaders during an open forum at Howze Auditorium Dec. 8 at Fort Hood, Texas. Schroeder, who served as the III Corps and Fort Hood senior enlisted adviser from September 2012 to June 2014, discussed FORSCOM priorities and topics with leaders, including improving readiness, equipping the force, training, operationalizing the total Army, sponsorship, career progression and development, family care plans and many other topics. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Keith Anderson, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs, 1st Cavalry Division) (Photo Credit: Staff Sgt. Keith Anderson)

Military service is a unique profession that less than one percent of our nation answer the noble call to serve their country. Some are motivated to join based on a relative that served or something more profound such as, answering a higher calling. In the quest to serve, some will make a career of their service while others will only commit to their first term obligation. Whether they decide to make it a long-term profession, or move on after a few years, one should aim to have a successful career serving their country. While there’s no exact recipe or secret to a successful Army career, it takes dedication and sacrifice to ultimately achieve success.

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A Corporal’s Perspective

Why We Write #4

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Why do we write? As humans, we write to communicate information and ideas across time and space, when we cannot do so through oral means with physical presence. As Non-Commissioned Officers in the United States Military, we do so because we can no longer afford to do otherwise. Writing is now a part of all professional military education, starting at the Basic Leaders Course that all enlisted soldiers must go through to become NCOs.

Promotion to Corporal

Four soldiers assigned to 444th Engineer Company, Oswego, N.Y., receive lateral transfer from specialist to corporal rank, during the company’s annual training event July 14 at Ft Drum. Pictured here are Barry J. Bullis, of Baldwinsville, Christopher Zajac of North Syracuse, John M. Anderson of Henderson, and Charles J. Delaney of Brewerton, N.Y., receiving promotion from Sgt. 1st Class Charles Haws, unit training non-commissioned officer. (Photo Credit: Spc. Karen Sampson, 362nd MPAD)
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Nothing Basic About It

Developing Basic Combat Training Platoon Leaders

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We often enter new positions or jobs with some pre-conceived notions  In July of 2018, as I prepared to take over a basic combat training (BCT) company, I had a few expectations. I thought I would spend the majority of my time with a team of highly effective and well-trained non-commissioned officers who were charged to transform volunteer civilians into soldiers. This proved to be true. But I did not expect to be mentoring or managing junior officers. In an effort to increase the ratio of leaders-to-led in basic training, the Center for Initial Military Training is working to place a Lieutenant (Platoon Leader) in each basic training platoon. There are many constants and foundational tenants to developing junior officers across billets. But there are also nuances to being a platoon leader in a basic combat training company that requires a tailored approach.

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Don’t Schedule – Prioritize to Maximize

Maintaining Consistent Development During Seasons of Inconsistency

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Five hundred, twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes – if you were able to read that without singing, you may not have seen RENT. We have 525,600 minutes in a year, each of them equal in seconds but varying in value. We define the importance of these minutes by how we use them. Tailoring this to a week, we have 168 hours to accomplish that to which we invest our hearts and minds. Josh Bowen of 3×5 Leadership provides a great overview in terms of structured time in his piece “6 Ways I Develop as a Leader Each Week.” But, what if this framework doesn’t work for you? In this post, we will review 3 guidelines to maintain consistent self-development in an inconsistent schedule.

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Are You Passionate about Leader Development?

A Case for West Point Broadening Assignments

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West Point’s mission is “to educate, train, and inspire the Corps of Cadets so that each graduate is a commissioned leader of character, committed to the values of Duty, Honor, and Country, and prepared for a career of professional excellence and service to the Nation as an officer in the United States Army.” To this end, West Point selects senior captains and junior majors to serve as rotating faculty members at the academy. West Point’s rotating faculty members serve approximately two to three year tours in one of thirteen academic departments, teaching various core and elective courses. These faculty members are in the proverbial trenches, charged with mentoring our nation’s next generation of leaders. If you are passionate about leadership and contemplating a broadening assignment as a West Point faculty member, here is a list of things to consider.

‘Frozen in Time’ photo by Cadet Victoria Martin, USMA Class of 2020. Retrieved from West Point Facebook Page.
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Process….Not Program

Leader Development is a Process

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Leader development “programs” in our profession require a comprehensive approach to building competent and capable leaders in both tactics and character. Building character without competence is negligent; enabling competence without character is dangerous. Developing “leaders” who aren’t technically and tactically sound is self-defeating. Conversely, a program that focuses solely on the execution of war and neglects the development of the whole person and the effects of war on the human condition is lacking. For this reason, leader development should be viewed as a journey rather than a program. It is a process and not a “check-the-box.”