Category Archives: Self-Development

Posted on

CGSC: Or How I Learned to Stop Complaining and Love the “Best Year of Your Life”

A Guest Post by Mike Maurais

U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Daniel Love

I read the article as I out-processed from Yongsan and prepared for a transpacific permanent change of station journey to Fort Leavenworth. A recent Command and General Staff College (CGSC) grad lambasted the school and faculty, declared the education was broken, and bemoaned everything wrong with the institution. That article, and others like it, formed a negative narrative before my arrival. I trust the authors intended to be advocates for improvement, but that intent was buried beneath their obvious cynicism. I can relate to frustration that arises from unmet expectations, and I experienced moments of disappointment and dissatisfaction during my year at CGSC. This essay intends to offer a more balanced narrative to the incoming class by building on a Twitter thread I recently created that gained more attention than expected. It expands on the most pertinent points, and hopes to form a more objective narrative for the incoming class and gives constructive feedback to the faculty and staff.

Posted on

Command and Staff College: Maximizing Learning without Living in the Library

By Field Grade Leader Editor Heather Venable

U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Brennan Priest

Your upcoming year of Intermediate Developmental Education (IDE) is a year of learning. It’s also a year to recharge. From my perspective as an instructor at Air Command and Staff College, I want to share a few ideas to help you do both. These ideas promote active learning and white space, which refers to the time needed to process and ponder information, not just read the required material for the day. Both active learning and white space provide the necessary foundation for creative thought, which is the highest form of learning.

Posted on

Six Ways to Maximize Resident CGSC

A Guest Post by Jon Michael King

U.S. Army photo by Maj. Carson Petry

Congratulations! You’ve been selected to attend the Command and General Staff College (CGSC). You have an impressive experience ahead of you, one with boundless potential and opportunities. The faculty, staff, and guest speakers will tell you consistently, “this is the best year of your life.” They are right. Here are a few things you can do to get the most out of the wonderful experience called CGSC.

Posted on

The Army Combat Fitness Test: Building Well-Rounded Tactical Athletes and Transforming Army Fitness Culture

A Guest Post by Ed Arntson

It is time for the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) to politely excuse itself from the party. Besides the semi-annual beating your spine takes from performing the 1940s-era sit-ups, the APFT is an outdated physical assessment for today’s Army. The APFT is limited in scope, beats up your neck each fall and spring, and lacks a mental fitness assessment. The Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT) arrives in October 2019 to help units build tactical athletes capable of more than they previously thought possible.

As the Army adapts to meet future battlefield challenges, the new six-event ACFT is the right assessment for Soldiers in today’s Army. The first part of this article explains how the ACFT provides a more holistic physical gauge of our Soldiers with direct transferability to tasks on the battlefield, will build more physically fit and mentally tough Soldiers, and helps transform the Army’s fitness culture. Part II provides Soldiers and leaders with an eight-week program to help prepare for the ACFT.

Posted on

Reflections

A Guest Post by Josh Bookout

U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Ian Ives, Jan. 25, 2019

Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value. – Albert Einstein

Einstein’s quote is one of many I have scribbled in my journal over the years. I did not grow up writing in journals. I actually came into the practice fairly late. I was a newly promoted Army Major in my mid-thirties when I bought a journal to make a single depository for my accumulated life and professional lessons. The two sections with the most notes are entitled “Leadership” and “People.” Leadership because it is a continuously evolving process and people because relationships are the most important part of our journey through life.

Posted on

Useful Tips from My Time as a BN S3 and BDE S2

A Guest Post by Leon Matthias

U.S. Army photo by Matthew Moeller, Aug. 1, 2018

We have all seen the staff section with too few rowers rowing with all their might while the others sit idle in the boat. Too few carry a disproportionate share of the work, while others drag their oars in the water. I am one of the lucky ones. As a Battalion S3 in Korea and a Brigade S2 on Fort Bragg, I was fortunate to lead Intelligence Warriors: men and women who understood the unit’s mission and tirelessly worked to achieve the Commander’s vision. Here are a few lessons I learned as these phenomenal teams advanced towards success.

Posted on

Success in Three Simple Steps

A Guest Post by Thurman McKenzie

NATO photo by Jake Tupman, March 07, 2018

In my current assignment as the U.S. Army Field Artillery Branch Chief, officers repeatedly ask me the same question: “What must I do to be successful?” My response is usually the same and can be distilled into three simple steps:

  1. Ground yourself in foundational components of your chosen profession. For Field Artillery Officers that includes the Five Requirements for Accurate First-Round Fire for Effect; and, the 13 Principles of Fire Support Planning.
  2. Be confident and play to your strengths while always seeking to learn and grow.
  3. Take care of your team!

In my experience, officers’ careers progress through a familiar sequence. First, an officer is placed in an unfamiliar environment. Next, the officer seeks to build his team applying foundational concepts. Then, the officer adapts to that new environment and effectively integrates into the larger team. Following the three steps above will serve Field Grade Leaders well as they learn and grow in the military.

Posted on

To Broaden, or not to Broaden, therein lies the Question

A Guest Post by Colonel Brad Nicholson

U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Henry Villarama. March 6, 2019

There are several points in an officer’s career where the possibility exists for individuals to pursue broadening opportunities. These broadening experiences are probably the most sought after and least understood opportunities available for officers. The three primary windows for such opportunities open immediately following basic branch qualification or company command, key and developmental field grade positions, or battalion-level command and key billets. While not all Army career fields or branches are the same, Army Regulation 600-3, Officer Professional Development and Career Management, highlights that basic branch and functional area officer development models share a generally accepted or standard path of professional progression associated with success.

Posted on

Turning Failure into Success: Four Lessons to Capitalize on Hard Times

A Guest Post by Jason Quash

“Failure is not an option!” It is the phrase that so many of us who serve in the military have been indoctrinated into believing, especially when the stakes are the highest. However, as renown author and speaker John C. Maxwell states in his book Failing Forward, “The terrible truth is that all roads to achievement lead through the land of failure. It has stood firmly between every human being who had a dream and the realization of that dream.  The good news is that anyone can make it through failure.”1 In the 5thEdition of their book Leadership: A Communication Perspective, Michael Hackman and Craig Johnson further explain, “Typical leaders ‘fail backwards’ by blaming others, repeating their errors, setting unrealistically high expectations, internalizing their disappointments, and quitting. Successful leaders ‘fail forward’ by taking responsibility for their errors and learning from them, maintaining a positive attitude, taking new risks, and persevering.”2 These are the attributes I have noticed in leaders I admire, and they are the characteristics we must absorb if we are to turn our failures into success.

Posted on

Managing Stakeholders: An Analytic Approach to Understanding Others

U.S. Army photo Spc. Lane Hiser – Nov. 4, 2018

Imagine you possess the ability to walk into any situation and solve a problem with a clear understanding of what’s important to those involved. You’ve anticipated what they’re thinking and what you need to do to get everyone on your side. In reality, we all have this superpower and use it every day. When we’re at work, we prioritize and shape our actions based on the power and influence of those around us. Prior to a meeting or presentation, we consider the audience and anticipate questions and concerns. Throughout this process, we identify those involved, analyze their interests and expectations, and develop appropriate dialog; this is stakeholder management. Understanding the methodology and techniques behind stakeholder management gives us additional tools to use in our professional and daily lives. Since its part of our natural thought process for daily decisions, we often dismiss stakeholder analysis and forget that there are qualitative and quantitative tools to assist project leads, project managers and commanders in gaining an understanding of the problem they face and the environment around the decision.