Category Archives: Self-Development

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Self-Discipline and the Profession

A Guest Post by Major Janessa Moyer

U.S. Army Photo by Sgt. Jesse D. Leger. May 23, 2017

The commonly accepted definition of self-discipline is the ability to control one’s feelings and overcome one’s weaknesses. It is the ability to pursue goals despite temptations to abandon them. Self-discipline means following a proverbial compass. This compass includes moral, ethical, and legal azimuth checks and one must also follow this compass to an endstate. It is the foundation that drives an individual to succeed in the completion of tasks, the accomplishment of goals, and it is also the driving force behind happiness.

When considering self-discipline within the profession, there are a few different aspects to consider. Self-discipline can be a blanket term for all of the individual responsibilities that one must ensure they maintain or complete. Some examples of individual responsibilities that require self-discipline within the profession are physical fitness, medical readiness, and professional military education.

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Balance – It’s Not a Four Letter Word

A Guest Post by Dan Von Benken

 

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U.S. Air Force Photo by Airman 1st Class Clayton Cupit

Balance is a commonly misunderstood topic in the Army. When leaders mention the need to have balance, many react with an eye roll (here we go again), or a smirk (does it really exist?). Many leaders are viewed as having workaholic-like characteristics. A cursory Google search confirms this: Army leaders possess workaholic characteristics. We come in early to free up time during the day; we spend more time at work than intended; we work hard because our buddies are working hard.[i] But we are who we are: Soldiers and leaders who have endured 17 years of persistent conflict, force structure realignments, force reductions, and lowered promotion rates. We are in a profession that comes in early, works hard, and depending on requirements, stays late. Balance is difficult to understand.

My recent promotion triggered me to reflect on my years as an “Iron Major,” the years often considered the most challenging in an officer’s career. It subsequently led me to reflect on the ebbs and flows of balance during my career and ask myself where I was out of balance, why I was out of balance, and how did I manage to balance it all? When I looked at the problem through this lens, I concluded balance really does exist, and it is a combination of personal choices and professional requirements.

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Defining Balance as a Military Professional

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Balance – it’s a concept many military professionals embrace philosophically but fail to employ in their day-to-day lives. We are committed to our profession, and with that commitment comes significant responsibility. We carry the organization’s weight on our shoulders all day, every day, knowing our performance impacts Soldiers’ lives and their ability to accomplish mission. Further, we know that most jobs are “make or break” for our military careers. If you want to be a battalion commander, you have to excel in key and developmental positions. We know our personal lives are important, but that often importance gets lost in the grind of our daily duties: emails, meetings, last-minute tasks, serious incident reports; the list goes on and on. This article isn’t intended to solve balance, providing a simple equation to calculate how much time you need to spend at the office today. Unfortunately, it just isn’t that simple. The purpose of this essay is to provide a better definition of balance for the military professional.

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Achieving and Maintaining Balance

A Guest Post by Stephen Ford

 

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U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Roberto Di Giovine

“Discover what it is that makes you passionate then grab a firm hold. Cherish it proudly and guard it with great DetermiNation.” -Linda Henson

It is Friday afternoon in the office and you can barely hear yourself think. People are talking, phones are ringing, keyboards are clicking, and meetings are being called. You find yourself wondering, where was this energy on Monday? On Tuesday? Why does the noise-level steadily increase throughout the week until it becomes a deafening roar on Friday afternoon? Just as you prepare to leave for an anniversary dinner with your spouse, the brigade executive officer calls a meeting with all the staff primaries to discuss the operations order he just received from division. Regretfully, you call your spouse with the news that you’ll have to reschedule the dinner – again.

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Is Balance Truly Possible as an Army Leader?

A Guest Post by Charles H. O'Neal

 

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Photo by Staff Sgt. Joe Armas

Senior leaders throughout my career have always told me to live a balanced life. “The Army will get you when it wants you,” they would say. “Take advantage of family time now.”

I once asked a panel of senior leaders – a former member of the National Security Council, a former Service secretary, and a retired commanding general of a combatant command – how they found balance. Without hesitation, they smirked and replied, “At this level, it’s just about impossible.”

In a high operational tempo, high demand, high responsibility career in the military, how do career professionals best find balance?

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Work-Life Balance is not an Equal Distribution

A Guest Post by Dave Wright

You are probably expecting me to offer advice on how to achieve a state of bliss between service to the Army and time with your family. Sadly, I believe that achieving perfect balance between work and family is impossible. Balance, by its very definition, implies an equal distribution of weight. However, in my opinion, any implication that a service member can achieve a perfect balance is a lie. Instead, as Army Leaders we find ourselves in a state of constant internal conflict, an emotional struggle between the duality of our obligations to duty and to our loved ones. On one hand, we have the obligations to our oaths, our Soldiers, our unit, and a desire to accomplish the mission. In direct opposition, but no less important, are the commitments we have made to our loved ones and family. In more simplistic terms, you love two families; one of brothers and sisters in arms and equally important, your family. You will struggle to give both families the time, energy, focus, and love they both deserve and require. Nevertheless, it will never be an equal distribution, the gravity of this profession and the sincerity of love prevent this. If we try, seeking perfect balance becomes an unwinnable zero-sum game where a relationship will collapse.

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Photo by U.S. Army Spc. Christopher M. Blanton

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Why a Lack of Prioritization Leads to Imbalance

A Guest Post by James McCarthy

 

An Airman assigned to the 14th Weapons Squadron at Hurlburt Field, Fla.

U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Kevin Tanenbaum

Successful leaders understand the value of command guidance and task prioritization. Through 17 years of war, sequestration, and military force reductions, our armed forces are consistently asked to “do more with less.” It is the job of commanders and supervisors at all levels to separate the mission essential from the extraneous in order to give both themselves and their subordinates ample time to rest and recover.

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Terrain Model Construction – A Guest Post by David Chichetti

Terrain Model construction is an often undervalued step to enhance shared understanding of the mission.  For a combined arms rehearsal (CAR), a good terrain model is necessary to enhance collaboration and dialogue requisite for good planning and unity of effort.[1]  But both the literature and training on this skill are thin. The March 1998 CALL Newsletter “Rehearsals” has good information, but could be updated to meet the requirements of the modern battlespace. Captains Career Courses and the Command and Staff College have not dedicated curriculum to this subject.  At the Brigade, Division and Corps levels, site construction is often last in planning priorities. This results in the purchase of large-scale maps or simply arraying plotter pictures of objectives. These techniques are expedient but do not accurately convey the challenges of terrain. As a result, rehearsals can suffer, sometimes causing confusion or even embarrassment. To better convey the commander’s intent, units must build an intricately detailed terrain model to provide clear visualization.

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Win Friends and Influence People as a Field Grade Leader

A Guest Post by Kyle Trottier

If you are going to close the deal, generate and preserve options, and enable units to accomplish their mission, you must understand how to handle people. Dale Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends & Influence People” proposes three principles to handle people: 1) Don’t criticize, condemn, or complain; 2) Give honest and sincere appreciation; and 3) Arouse in the other person an eager want. By applying these principles, field grade leaders will be better prepared to successfully improve their organizations and lead their units towards mission accomplishment.

.S. military personnel assigned to Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa, along with French Foreign Legion soldiers, attend a desert commando course in Arta, Djibouti. Through unified action with U.S. and international partners in East Africa, CJTF-HOA conducts security force assistance, executes military engagement, provides force protection, and provides military support to regional counter-violent extremist organization operations in order to support aligned regional efforts, ensure regional access and freedom of movement, and protect U.S. interests.

U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Barry Loo