Middle Management in the Trenches

A guest post by Teddy Kleisner

 

Congratulations graduates, you’ve now entered middle management!

In all seriousness, well done to you all. The Army will be glad to see you back in the ranks making a difference – after some energizing leave, I hope.

It’s my honor to join “The Field Grade Leader” in offering you a few points to reflect on as you transition to your next Army adventure. For whatever my insights may be worth, I’d like you to consider the following. First, entering middle management, or what the CGSC calls organizational-level leadership, is not a quantum leap from what you knew as a company grade leader, at least not the quantum leap that it was built up to be when I attended CGSC ten years ago. Second, for most of you, your near-term calling is to succeed as a Battalion S3 or XO, not a member of a General Staff. My comments that follow are entirely focused on this reality.

Field Grade Officers Play Team Ball

A guest post by Scott Shaw

The transition from company grade officer to field grade officer can be a difficult one. After all, at the point that transition is made, an officer has spent up to 15 years training to serve and then serving at the Company level. Company grade leadership is very personal, and company command can be a very individual time. Sure, the Company Commander has a supporting team, but at the end of the day, the company reflects the Commander. Many officers, myself briefly included, leave command and think that they did all (or most) of it. Some may have (but again, unlikely). Even if they could have led their companies all by themselves, the end of that possibility is at the company level. No one can lead a battalion or brigade-sized formation by themselves.

Thoughts on KD from the Other

A guest post by Major Adam Brady

Congratulations on finishing ILE and beginning your transition back to the Army. There are many outstanding articles providing in-depth recommendations for your field grade time here on The Field Grade Leader, From the Green Notebook, the Modern War Institute, etc. What follows are a few recommendations that I gave to peers going into KD positions in the 1st Armored Division.

Understanding of Relationships as an Operations Officer

A Guest Post by Billy Dixon

“Similar to this larger outward understanding of unit relationships was an inward understanding of myself.”

To say having the opportunity to be a Regimental Operations Officer (Ops O) was a formative period in my career would be an understatement. It was my first experience moving from the troop and squadron level to a position which exposed me to the regimental headquarters and its interactions with the base, other units, and higher headquarters. When the Field Grade Leader asked me to capture a few thoughts as to what I would pass on as keys to success at this level, I quickly thought of the one theme that carried me through. During my time as Ops O, the most important aspect was relationships, both with respect to the unit in a broader context, and my relationship with myself. Understanding the relationships the regiment had with other units and organizations as well as respecting and knowing the limits of the relationship with myself were lessons I have carried with me in my career. I have also had the opportunity to pass these thoughts onto my previous subordinates who have subsequently completed the Ops O role. Moving into the regimental headquarters as an Ops O caused a required shift in focus as my areas of responsibility and interest grew significantly.

A Reflection of Things Learned at Leavenworth: A Letter to Those about to Graduate

A guest article by Kyle T. Trottier

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Like many going through Professional Military Education courses at Fort Leavenworth, I often wondered if there was value in what I was being taught. I often would wonder whether the course material would ever achieve practical application. Twelve months later I wonder no more. Below is a compilation of my thoughts on the CGSC curriculum that was useful throughout my deployment to Afghanistan as a J35 FUOPS Chief followed by a series of command post exercises in preparation for a division warfighter exercise.

The Professional Checklist

A Guest Post by Aaron Childers

I use checklists for everything from work-related tasks to items around the house. They help me organize my thoughts and let me view all of my tasks on one sheet of paper, but that is not why I like them. I enjoy the instant gratification of checking the items off. I enjoy this so much that if I accomplish a task not on my checklist, I will go back, add it, and then mark it completed.

Meetings Meetings Meetings

Meetings are often the bane of a staff officer’s existence. I’m pretty sure you could name a few meetings you’ve attended in the last month that were of no value to you or your unit. As organizational leaders we seek the opposite, to host meetings that effectively captivate the time and talents of the teams we work on. Leaders who run good meetings set a clear agenda, establish the conditions to meet it, encourage discourse, and clearly capture the outputs and way ahead. This article provides practical thoughts to set conditions for better meetings.

 

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Photo Credit: Eric R. Lucero, U.S. Army South Public Affairs, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, May 3, 2012

 

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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Leader Development

Your Role in the Process as a Field Grade Leader

Leader development is one of the most important contributions we make to the United States Army. We use leader development to build a foundation in the profession, instill unit culture, and evaluate subordinate leader attributes. This is the “what” of leader development, the focus areas a Commander emphasizes based on their perspective and experience. As Field Grade Leaders, the “what” is important, but we must also focus on the “how” of leader development.

Photo credit - 1st Squadron (Airborne), 91st Cavalry Regiment Facebook Page

Leaders from 1st Squadron (Airborne), 91st Cavalry Regiment prepare for a jump. Oct 27th, 2017.

Counseling Leaders to Cultivate Influence

A Guest Post by Major Kyle Trottier

Leadership is the process of influencing people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation to accomplish the mission and improve the organization (ADRP 6-22, 1-1).

U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Erin Piazza

In a 2010 New York Time OpEd titled The Unsentimental Warrior, Lucian Truscott, grandson of his namesake, a famous WWII general, argued that Army leaders must be willing and able to give deadly serious orders to accomplish the mission they are given, that men die for a cause and not for their generals, and if leaders are unable to influence Soldiers they may as well pack up their stuff and go home. Carl Von Clausewitz argues the nature of war is a human endeavor, it is brutal and violent, and it is uncertain. As leaders, we must develop our organization to maneuver through the fog of war and win against a competent and determined foe and we cannot do that without developing our organization’s leaders’ ability to cultivate and exercise influence judiciously. By understanding what it means to counsel, coach, and mentor, leaders will be better prepared to influence people to accomplish the mission and improve the organization. To empower subordinates, execute mission command, and accomplish the mission, leaders must develop their own organization through counseling, coaching and mentoring. This approach directly supports General Robert Abram’s FY18 FORSCOM Command Training Guidance which emphasizes “mastering the fundamentals, strengthening leader development, caring for soldiers and their families, and informing the future force.”