C171_End_of_Theme_Essay

C171 End of Theme Essay Critical Thinking and Problem Solving: The Key to Career Success Today’s modern military environment demands leaders of all levels develop the ability to respond objectively to any situation. The modern leader must be able to effectively communicate with others in determining solutions to highly complex problems while using their own abstract ideas to reach the most logical and practical solution. The environment is complex and extremely dynamic. The C100 Foundations Block module that will assist me most in my duties as a Field Grade officer over the next ten years of my career is C121, Introduction to Critical Thinking and Problem Solving. Critical thinking and problem solving are skills are acquired through a lifetime of learning and are further refined through continuous use and applicable employment. Michael Scriven of the National Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking Instruction defines critical thinking as "The intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action." As a successful field grade officer, I need to facilitate asking the right questions and then effectively question the answers I generate from my line of questioning. In order to ask the right questions, I must first gather and organize the relevant material. Through this process I will end up with a series of facts and assumptions. The facts are tested as statements that are verifiable truths tested against my experience. With assumptions being assumed to be true and from which a conclusion can be drawn. For example, the fact in the statement, “the UH-60 is used as a U.S. Army helicopter”, implies that the United States Army operates helicopters, and it is the UH-60. The assumption is the U.S. Army operates additional types of helicopters or, it is further assumed; the UH-60 is used in other branches of service. Through Experience, I can readily differentiate facts from assumptions and apply that experience to the important process of leadership at the field grade level by asking the right questions, answering those questions and ultimately questioning those answers. Questioning answers to interrogatives that are already solved is limited in scope and often results in less than a superior product. Questions and answers must be tested against a broad base of experience. We often ask questions within a defined circumstance and answers are provided within that specific framework. It is important that the specific framework of the question be used to clarify an answer, resolve uncertainty or keep track of a solved solution using a series of questions. What questioning answers does for the leader is it distinguishes the significance and credibility of the issue and allows the issue to rise and stand-alone. For example, the answer to the question, “what is the premier Army Battle Tank'” is easily answered as the M1 Abrams. But advanced critical thinking would cause me to further ask, “If the Abrams is the premier tank, then why do the British rely on the Challenger 2'” Or taken further, “What makes the Abrams the best armored battle system'” As a field grade officer, I cannot reach a solution to a problem without looking for other ways to solve it. The current problem-solving environment is too complex and dynamic. Understanding the methods of problem solving is challenging in today’s complex and dynamic environment. When used in conjunction with skills learned through critical thinking and experience, the desired goal can be met. The problems a field grade officer faces are complex and are best exhibited through the large disparity of problems and the scaleable issues within the current environment. For example, how to conduct home station training after returning from a twelve-month combat deployment is a challenge that faces leaders at all levels. How to balance a soldier need versus the needs of a unit and the needs of the units future mission require a fine set of problem solving skills that require a defined end state with no map to success. A field grade leader will attempt to map success by utilizing fundamental skills gained by approaching solutions indirectly and creatively. In our current dynamic environment, this can be a challenge. For example, time constraints are such that there is literally not enough man hours available to meet all of the military and personal requirements that are imposed upon today’s modern soldier. A successful Field Grade Officer will understand and empathize while at the same time have the cognitive ability to reach a modern solution that meets all objectives, both personal and professional. Conversely, the time-sensitive nature of the current generation is, “I must have it now.” A successful organizational leader will understand that cultivated solutions do not occur overnight and a degree of patience must be exercised when working toward solving a problem. When solving a problem or asking a question, experience cannot be overlooked. I have to ask the right questions and I must question the answers that I come up with. The problems today are as complex and dynamic as they have ever been and in today’s electronic environment sensitivity to time constraints must quickly be factored into any solution. As a Field Grade Officer at the organizational level, I have the requisite experience to apply abstract thought to solving today’s modern issues. Over the course of the next ten years, I must apply that experience and translate it into actionable solutions to real world problems. I have begun to make the move from the unit level to the organizational level of leadership through my studies of the C100 block. Specifically the C121 module, Introduction to Critical Thinking and Problem Solving, will assist me the most in my career. I look forward to the next ten years.