REFLECT
Operationalizing and Prioritizing Leader Development Programs
By Derek Prario Particularly in the time of preparation, modernization, and ‘culture reset’ that we find ourselves in, an effective military leader must develop others for future battles. The mandate to ‘develop leaders’ is essential and commonly...
The Army’s Purpose is NOT to “Deploy, Fight, and Win Our Nation’s Wars”
By Ben Ordiway I hope our wisdom will grow with our power and teach us that the less we use our power, the greater it will be. –Thomas Jefferson What is the Army’s purpose? The answer depends on where you look. Doctrine enthusiasts will point...
Good Leaders Ask Better Questions
by Ryan Cornell-d’Echert “Once you have learned how to ask questions – relevant and appropriate and substantial questions – you have learned how to learn, and no one can keep you from learning whatever you want or need to know.” -Neil Postman and...
Mission and Motherhood: Tools for Leading Pregnant and Postpartum Soldiers
By Katie Walter I was terrified when I discovered I was pregnant as a young Second Lieutenant in the Armor branch. Among the other stressors of pregnancy and raising a child, I was nervous my Squadron’s leaders might view me negatively for being...
What Junior Leaders Need to Understand About Their Field Grade Boss
By Quentin O’Neal Major Dave Leydet and Major Ryan Stephenson recently penned a phenomenal article detailing the importance of the relationship between a unit’s Executive Officer (XO) and its Operations Officer (S3). It also expounds upon those two...
Does Your Organization Need a Command Sergeant Major?
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on LinkedIn for a corporate audience. Listen to Joe’s interview with Juliet here. And keep your eyes open for Juliet’s return to the podcast! by Juliet Funt I have no military family, nor do I...
4 Reading Recs For Holistic Self-Development
by Jack Hadley Military professionals’ reading for self-development tends to fall into two general categories. First, well, military professional reading. This genre is flexible, but generally includes things like A Message to Garcia (and other...
Overcoming Imposter Syndrome: One Foot In Front Of The Other
by James Duncan July 1st, 2013. I only remember bits and pieces of it, but make no mistake about it – I was there. You have only to look at the picture of an incredibly nervous, skinny kid sitting in a bus, waiting. For all I knew, I was about to...
How to Lead Where Excellence is Already the Norm
By Terry Lee and Chevy Cook It’s no surprise that elite performers and high achievers tend to produce at a higher level, have outsized impact on their organizations, and are rewarded with selection, promotion, and more leadership...
240 Seconds to Save Your Own Life
by Dustin Diefenderfer It was the day after Christmas in 2004 when a 9.1 magnitude earthquake hit the Indian Ocean, triggering massive 100 foot tall waves that would later became known as “The Boxing Day Tsunamis.” The tsunamis took the lives of...
Toxic Leadership: Learn from My Mistakes
By Danita Darby In February 2019, I lost my company. I was suspended because I was suspected of counterproductive leadership, also commonly referred to as ‘toxic leadership.’ Leaders accused of counterproductive leadership may display...
Don’t Become Apathetic Toward Empathy
By Larry Kay A few weeks ago, a friend of mine posted the following on Twitter: “Leading with empathy” – explain please…”[1] Since then, I have observed numerous discussions about empathy. To be honest, empathy is not a strength of mine, which is...
Don’t be a Half-Baked Leader
By CW3 Mike Philbert Imagine a time when you went to someone’s cookout out event and they had some great smelling BBQ chicken sizzling on the grill. They heavily coat the meat so everything has a nice brown color as the high flames quickly...
Junior Officer Success in a Joint Command: Insights from a Joint Leader
By Brandon Temple My career has been uniquely joint. I enlisted in the Air Force as a member of Tactical Air Control Party (TACP), an inherently joint career field. I spent the last five years of my enlistment in the joint special operations...
A Note to the Slick Sleeves
By Micah Ables During my time in command, I had numerous conversations with disappointed young soldiers who regretted that they hadn’t had a chance to go to war and get a deployment patch. I signed reenlistment contracts for several outstanding...
Speaking Up: What Matters to You?
By: Jia Wu Often, employees will disagree with a supervisor’s directives yet execute blindly with little apprehension. In organizations that clearly delineate authorities, it may not be considered appropriate for subordinates to violate orders –...
We All Need to Have a Little More Briefing Empathy
By Joe Byerly Have you ever been in a meeting and felt like a prisoner? It’s Friday afternoon, you are sitting in the last meeting of the week. The final briefer begins to speak. They see the clock. They know there are only five minutes left but...
Harnessing Your Discontent in the Military
By Mark Jacobsen When I arrived at my first C-17A unit, I was chomping at the bit. Finally, after years of education and training, I was ready to join the fight. The September 11th attacks had occurred during my senior year at USAFA, and I had felt...
Getting the Most Out of Your Green Notebook
I started this blog in 2013 as a captain in the US Army. It was a hobby and a way for me to think through topics that interested me. I never imagined that I would still get the opportunity to share ideas here as a lieutenant colonel seven...
Is Your Counseling A Deep Dive or Drive-By?
By: Jacy Park “No one told me that I would be a promotion risk, I was always told I was doing fine,” said a Chief Warrant Officer 2 with tears in his eyes as I advised him to get his family ready for a career outside the military. Countless...
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LTG Rainey Discusses A Practical Approach to Developing Leaders
At the recent Army Virtual Maneuver Warfighting Conference, LTG Rainey the Commander of US Army Combined Arms Center, Fort Leavenworth gave a short 20 minute talk on how to develop leaders. He says that leaders need to have a goal for their...
How to Develop a Unit Reading Program
By Joe Byerly Lately, I’ve had several conversations with incoming battalion commanders about creating reading programs for their units. They’ve all agreed that having one is important, but their philosophies differ greatly on the scope, the...
These ROTC Alumni Give the Coolest Gift to New 2LTs
By Jason Criss Howk Steal this idea to improve our officer corps; we don’t hold the patent. Since Spring 2016 our ROTC class has awarded one graduating cadet a library of 50 books that we believe could help them navigate the challenges they will...
Is Your Counseling A Deep Dive or Drive-By?
By: Jacy Park “No one told me that I would be a promotion risk, I was always told I was doing fine,” said a Chief Warrant Officer 2 with tears in his eyes as I advised him to get his family ready for a career outside the military. Countless...
Why We Never Get Anything Done in Meetings
By Joe Byerly In a book published in the late 1950s, C. Northcote Parkinson tells the story of a committee that gathered for a two-hour long meeting to discuss the construction of a new nuclear power plant. However, the committee members only spent...
Why Every Field Exercise Needs Salad
By Colonel Michael D. Schoenfeldt and CW2 Edmund M. Perez Jr. Salad is not only an important staple of a well-rounded diet, it can serve as a mechanism in field training exercises to stress a multifaceted supply chain. Every time salad is added to...
Our Clear and Present Need: An Emotionally Intelligent Military
By: Jay Long Amid the many crucible moments confronting America’s military leaders in 2020 were moments of brilliance, perhaps best personified by Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Kaleth Wright’s response to the George Floyd protests. While...
Tactical Decision Games in a Virtual Setting
By Cadet John B. Douglas During the spring 2020 semester, Army ROTC Cadets at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Naval ROTC Midshipmen at the University of Illinois adapted to the challenges posed by COVID-19 by organizing online Tactical...
The Leader’s Guide to Creating a Daily Maintenance Battle Rhythm
By MG Jeffery Broadwater, COL Patrick Disney, and MAJ Allen Trujillo Have you ever walked into a situation in which you had no clue what was going on? Have you ever been in charge of a process that used a language to communicate that you did not...
Hate Meetings? Maybe Its Your Fault
By Joe Byerly Most people hate meetings –especially with large groups. Sure, meetings are a great opportunity to get business done in the military, but many of the meetings I have attended and personally ran were squandered opportunities. I hate...
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