Leader_Development__How_Will_It_Assist_My_Duties_as_a_Field_Grade_Officer_

“Just as the diamond requires three properties for its formation—carbon, heat, and pres-sure—successful leaders require the interaction of three properties—character, knowledge, and application. Like carbon to the diamond, character is the basic quality of the leader… But as carbon alone does not create a diamond; neither can character alone create a leader. The diamond needs heat. Man needs knowledge, study and preparation…the third property, pressure—acting in conjunction with carbon and heat—forms the diamond. Similarly, one’s character attended by knowledge, blooms through application to produce a leader”. - General Edward C. Meyer Army Chief of Staff (1979-1983) There are many popular definitions of leadership. According to the Army’s leadership doctrinal manual, Field Manual (FM) 6-22, Army leadership is “the process of influencing people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation while operating to accomplish the mission and improve the organization.” Leader development is one of the most important predictors of whether Soldiers are able to effectively adapt to transitions, provide guidance, and perform in a war or peace time condition. The purpose of this paper is to concentrate on leader development and how it will assist me in my duties as a Field Grade officer over the next 10-years of my career. Because of the ongoing military change and transformation, I will rely on effective leader development more than ever to allow adaptation to strategies and become more responsive in today’s military environment. My future in the military will rely heavily upon leader development to effectively orchestrate changes, adapt to technology, society, and doctrinal knowledge. Effective leader development will provide a better understanding of one’s strengths and weaknesses as a leader, follower, mentor, and begin the development of a personal approach to a successful command. A good leader doesn’t just lead. They must lead by example. Leader development provides the opportunity to hone skills, capitalize on weaknesses and learn to make the most of challenging job assignments by improving knowledge and resources. Anyone can possess the fundamental characteristics necessary for leadership but it’s how they are developed that’s key. The future success of the military is dependent upon outstanding young men and women who pursue thorough professional leader development. Future leaders will need to be self sufficient as they prepare a plan based on the commander’s training objectives and alter the plan as conditions dictate. It has been well documented through several conflicts that leaders will learn to live with uncertainty, take bold risks, and assume greater responsibility for decisions concerning their unit. Leader development will provide a foundation to support decision-making and quick thinking on the battlefield, garrison, and improve interpersonal and team-building skills. The Army is relying on leader development mentality that encourages reactive instead of proactive actions. Developing leaders is critical for the Army; given the amount of time officers spend in units and on Temporary Duty, that experience and education would be important to their development. In order to enhance leader proficiency, Army leaders must take advantage of opportunities to learn and gain experience of leader development. Officers and NCOs should seek new learning opportunities, ask questions, seek training opportunities, and request a performance review that is now mandated through the Multi-Source Assessment and Feedback (MSAF). This lifelong approach to learning ensures that leaders remain viable as a professional asset to the military forces. To master the leadership skills at every level, a leader must be committed to a lifelong learning process. Self-improvement leads to new skills necessary to adapt to changes in an evolving environment. To prepare for the increasingly demanding operational environment, Soldiers must invest time on self-study and self-development than previously before. The military depends upon leaders who can accept and lead change, work collaboratively, and be versatile to control their unit. "We need to challenge this generation of young leaders to apply their substantial combat experience and creative energy to address the problem of training a broader set of requirements amidst the context of an increasingly complex operational environment." - General Robert W. Cone Leaders are challenged to develop themselves and mentor subordinate Soldiers’ to acquire the individual attributes, intellectual capacities, and competencies to become the future leaders of the military. To achieve leadership success in an increasingly more complex tactical, operational, and strategic environment, leaders need to expand professional knowledge and develop a keen sense of self-development. Self-development is continuous and must be pursued during both institutional and operational assignments. Successful self-development begins with the motivated individual, supplemented by collaborate team effort. Part of that team effort is quality feedback from multiple sources, including peers, subordinates, and superiors. The ability of the United States Armed Forces to effectively perform its mission may be at stake if it does not take major steps towards ensuring leader development, promoting skill development, and adopting alternatives learning towards success. Soldiers at all levels should strive for improvement and serve as role models of the Armed Forces investing daily in the military’s future. Today’s military leaders will one day be tomorrow’s greatest military commanders and have learned to become more operationally and tactically competent than past military predecessors. As we are faced with the cycle of reducing the force and budget cuts, leadership development is a very important role. As our future leaders continue to learn from our forefathers, there have been many leaders of the past who achieved great success through their military knowledge. Because of that, we can ensure we will have the best possible leaders in our next conflict. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1). (2009, August). FM 6-22, Chapter 2 Excerpts 2). Snider, M. D. (2012, February). Once Again, The Challenge To The U.S. Army During A Defense Reduction: To Remain A Military Profession. (Professional Military Ethics Monograph Series, Vol. 4)