Many of today’s leaders “grew up” in combat zones, learning the ropes in exceptionally challenging conditions. In combat, the bumper sticker motto FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION often applies, but with a little context. In combat, failure can be defined as allowing an obstacle or setback to stop an operation. Failures prevent successful mission accomplishment. Though many of us experienced setbacks in combat, few quit on the way to the objective. Even in the worst of conditions, combat leaders innovate, finding creative ways to bypass obstacles, formulate a new plan, or adjust their framework to meet the commander’s intent.

Fast forward 10-15 years and here we are, organizational leaders with a whole new set of concerns. Do you view these challenges the same way you did as a Lieutenant? Do you break through obstacles and setbacks like you did when the mission depended on it, or do you overthink the context? How do you react when it looks like a subordinate is going to fail? Do you allow them to figure it out and grow from the experience, or do you swoop in like a helicopter parent, solving problems for them so they don’t embarrass themselves or the organization?

We are looking for articles on the topic of failure. Here are a few broad ideas:

• How do you define failure as an officer and a leader?
• What’s the worst failure of your career? What did you learn from it?
• How does failure in training enable learning?
• How do use red teaming to spot points of failure during planning?

Interested in submitting an article? Shoot us an email with the topic at fieldgradeleader@gmail.com. Here are some additional notes:

• The target for submissions is approximately 1,000 words, though longer and shorter articles are acceptable.
• The cut off for this initiative is 17FEB.
• Please include a title for your article.
• If interested, please include a high-quality photograph (approximately 100K), with photographer attribution and photo date, to accompany your article. If unavailable, we will provide a photo to accompany your article.
• Please include a short bio to accompany your submission. Here is an example:

MAJ XXX is currently a PhD Student at the Colorado School of Mines. An Armor officer, he has served in Armor and Infantry Brigade Combat Teams with operational experience in Iraq and Africa. He completed his KD time in 3/1AD (ABCT) and recently redeployed from Iraq as the Joint Command Inspector General for CJFLCC-OIR and 1st Armored Division.

• Articles will be selected for publication based on readability and relevance to the Field Grade Leader audience.
• Articles should be submitted via email to fieldgradeleader@gmail.com in Microsoft Word format.
• Please include hyperlinks and footnotes as required.

**Disclosure of Material Connection: The Field Grade Leader uses some “affiliate links” to offset the cost associated with maintaining the page. If selected for publication, we may use affiliate links to accentuate your content. One example is adding an affiliate link to a book you reference in the article. By submitting an article for publication, you forfeit any revenue associated with affiliate links. Further, The Field Grade Leader retains the right to reuse or republish your submission. Continuing with submission indicates an acknowledgment of these terms.