Tag Archives: Leadership

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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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The First Element

Leadership and Combat Power

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What does it take to bring the full power of the U.S. Army to bear upon enemies of America? Army Doctrinal Publication(ADP) 3-0 says that combat power “is the total means of destructive, constructive, and information capabilities that a military unit or formation can apply at a given time.”  Combat power contains eight elements which include the six warfighting functions intelligence, movement and maneuver, fires, protection, sustainment, command and control coupled with leadership and information.  The six warfighting functions are easy to comprehend with their tangible effects on the battlefield, but the effects of the other element, leadership, are often intangible and difficult to comprehend.  A recent training rotation at the National Training Center (NTC) provided a concrete case study about the true power of leadership leading to an infantry company with incredible lethality and the commander selected as the hero of the rotation.

Smoke billows to provide concealment for Soldiers as they maneuver across the battlefield to their next fighting position during a Combined Arms Live Fire Exercise as Joint Base Lewis-McChord Jan. 16, 2020. Soldiers execute small unit tactics during rehearsals including dry-fire, blank-fire and live-fire iterations to gain multiple repetitions and increase proficiency across the formation.
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Counseling in the Guard and Reserves

A Personal Observation

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Counseling is one of the most important tools given to Non Commissioned Officers in today’s Army. It allows us to provide valuable feedback to our subordinates, and allows us to map out development plans that will ultimately shape the Army of tomorrow. So why is it so rarely utilized in the National Guard and Reserves?

 

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Moving a Mountain

An essay about SHARP

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You cannot move the mountain alone overnight.  The purpose of this essay is to inform about sexual harassment and assault in the Army.  Army Regulation 600-20, chapter 8 requires annual training on Sexual Harassment and Assault Response Program (SHARP).  So, why do cases of sexual harassment and assault continue to take place?  Simply put, tackling the topic of SHARP can feel like moving a mountain.  You can move a mountain if it is broken into smaller, more manageable pieces.  We can begin to move the “mountain” of SHARP issues by addressing contributing factors.  Three contributors of SHARP issues include toxic work environments, behavior patterns, and dated teaching methods.  All missions have a starting point.  Moving this mountain begins with addressing toxic work environments.

CAMP HOVEY, Republic of Korea — Staff Sgt. Chamiracle Earls, right, the Sexual Assault and Harassment Response and Prevention, or SHARP, victim advocate for the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, explains a scenario room decorated as a bar to other Soldiers during an open house event for the SHARP 360 building on Camp Hovey, South Korea, Dec 13. The SHARP 360 building contains scenario rooms that consist of vignettes such as a gym, a shower room, a bar, and a barracks room designed to provide realistic scenarios that Soldiers could encounter in their daily lives. (Photo Credit: Republic of Korea Army Cpl. Dasol Choi, 1st ABCT Public Affairs)
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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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Abandon Perfection

A Practitioner's Guide to Mission Command

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Mission Command doctrine empowers subordinate leaders and facilitates mission success. The Irish Defence Forces employs Mission Command doctrine and senior leadership encourage its practice, but not all leaders in the Irish Army embrace the concept. To fully operationalise Mission Command at the tactical-level, commanders need to engage and empower junior Irish Army leaders, particularly NCOs. The successful implementation of Mission Command requires those with the most to lose to do the unthinkable: abandon perfection.

Stepping it out, Marines with 7th Marine Regiment conduct a ruck march. @1st_Marine_Div conduct a hike on Camp Wilson. Photo courtesy of @combatcenterPAO and @USMC.
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The Science of Management

Applying and Managing Systems at the Company Level

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I vividly recall walking into my Squadron Commander’s office shortly after I took command of my first Troop.  He asked me how things were going. I replied, “Sir, I feel like I’m treading water with a 20-pound brick right now. As a platoon leader and assistant operations officer, if something was wrong, I could always take things into my own hands and fix it myself. Now, it is impossible for me to fix everything myself. I have to get my headquarters section or PLs to fix everything for me.”  He replied, “Welcome to command.  It’s great, isn’t it!”

Leadership may drive systems, but without systems leadership often falls flat. Photo from Operations Group, National Training Center 1st Battalion, 35th Armored Regiment
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The Dangers of Mirror Mentoring

A Response to "October Baseball"

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We are in a daily…scratch that…a moment-to-moment fight against our biases. They blur our sight-picture and color our perceptions. This is especially true in our mentorship of junior NCOs and officers. It’s human nature to build a picture of success that is predicated on our own experiences and views. It’s even more prevalent among successful leaders who believe they got where they are by doing what they’ve done. In “October Baseball,” a recent post on The Field Grade Leader, Major Jim Plutt provides some insightful advice on the development of captains and the transition to major. His point about broadening assignments provides a lens through which to assess the dangers of the Mirror Bias when mentoring our leaders.

Army Sgt. Forrest Layton applies face paint before a training event at Bemowo Piskie Training Area, Poland, Nov. 14, 2018, during NATO joint training exercise Anakonda.
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Nobody Puts LT In The Corner

The NCO Responsibility To Mentor

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The second lieutenant walked through the office door, I sat at the squad leader desk working on counseling’s and my platoon sergeant was napping behind his desk. The lieutenant greeted us and introduced himself as our new platoon leader, I welcomed him and turned back to my work. My platoon sergeant squinted at him and stood up, he grabbed a chair and put it in a corner. “This is where the kids sit until they learn their place.” He grunted and turned around to sit down at his desk. This first interaction set the tone for the new platoon leader and his interactions with all NCOs.

1st Lt. Timothy Goldstone, platoon leader, Company C, 1st Battalion, 68th Armor Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, briefs an operations order over a terrain model with his Soldiers and visiting U.S. Military Academy cadets at Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany, July 26, 2017, during a platoon live-fire exercise. The cadets are spending three weeks in Germany training with the “Iron Brigade” as it hones its Soldiers’ readiness in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Ange Desinor)