Sergeant William Jasper (c. 1750 – Oct. 9, 1779) of the 2nd South Carolina Regiment fought at the Siege of Savannah. On October 9th, 1779 during the failed American attempt to take Savannah, Sergeant Jasper was mortally wounded while rallying the troops around the colors. He was able to retain his regimental colors during the retreat and died shortly after.
As a company commander, your quarterly training brief (QTB) is a big deal. You feel the pressure to show how you are preparing your organization to be successful and accomplish its mission. In the spring of 2015, I conducted my first QTB as a commander. We spent weeks as a leadership team preparing our training plan and brief. One of the critical portions I would brief as the company commander, was my plan to take all my NCOs and officers on a “staff ride” through the Siege of Savannah. As we walked into the session, I felt there was little that could go wrong. We had prepared thoroughly, nested our training plan, rehearsed multiple times, and felt confident we had a solid briefing that would impress our leadership. The brief started, and we were off to a great start. As we came around to the staff ride portion, I was genuinely excited to show how our company was investing in leader development. When the “Siege of Savannah” slide popped onto the screen, I saw my commander’s face begin to contort. After my introduction to the event, I jumped into how the staff ride synchronized with my command philosophy, and that’s when I was stopped…
“So, this is great, but tell me, how does the staff ride relate to your METL?” The room was silent.
I responded, “Sir, it’s leader development. We are utilizing history to build upon lessons that we can apply to us today. It’s also an opportunity to invest in the leaders of this company. They can use historical examples to understand their roles better. This will make us better as individuals and an organization.”
“Leader development…show me that in your METL…”
Honestly, it was a fair question. Leader development is not something you will find in the Mission Essential Task List (METL) for your unit. So why do it? It takes time. It takes effort. Is leader development worth it?
As a young officer, I had the opportunity to participate in a staff ride through the Siege of Vicksburg, and I remember the impact it had on all who attended, especially me. Most of us had returned to Fort Hood from deployment the year prior and were a tightly-knit group. As we drove away from our few days retracing the steps of our Civil War counterparts, we were shocked at how much we learned from our few days in Mississippi. On the bus ride back to Fort Hood we all had the opportunity to reflect, and it dawned on me why we had all just spent almost an entire week in Mississippi while our squadron conducted daily operations…our commander was investing in us. He wanted us to have an opportunity to learn about those who came before us. He wanted us to make connections between their experiences, our own, and how we could apply them moving forward. Most importantly, he wanted us to understand that this profession is about the people we lead and ultimately serve. The purpose of the staff ride was to understand as leaders we have the unique opportunity to impact organizations and people.
General McConville, the new Army Chief of Staff, defined his top priority as, “People are the Army” and our investment in those people is critical to how we accomplish our mission of “fighting and winning our Nation’s wars”. The Army has an entire field manual dedicated to the topic, FM 6-22 “Leader Development.” FM 6-22 states, “…leaders want to serve in an organization that values camaraderie and teamwork and improves the capabilities of others. Leaders have a directed responsibility to develop their subordinates…” But it’s even more critical than our doctrine explains. Our people are what has made the difference in every fight in our history. Our people will make a difference in our future battles. So, is it in your METL? No. Should we invest in it? Yes.
Is leader development worth it? Well, are your people worth investing in? That’s a question you have to answer. The Army hopes your answer is yes. Your Soldiers hope the answer is yes. This week we will offer up articles that give insight, perspective, and “how-to” guides on leader development. Stay tuned! We hope you enjoy and take something away from this week to improve yourself and your organization.
“People will never be replaced by machines. In the end, life and business are about human connections. And computers are about trying to murder you in a lake. And to me, the choice is easy.” – Michael Scott (The Office)
Captain Billy Folinusz is currently a student at the Command General Staff Officer’s College. He was commissioned as an Armor officer from James Madison University in 2009. He also holds a Masters of Public Policy from Temple University. He is married to his wife Theresa and the proud father of Theodore.
Great point and the culture will not change until Sr Leaders embrace the change. Sr Leaders are shown to be less receptive to creative or outside the box ideas from subordinates. The key IS linking it to your METL such as comparing distribution, command and control, orders process, maneuver, etc then to today. MG Cloutier said once to our CGSC class at Ft Belvoir, “your job as you move up the ladder with one hand is to reach back with the other hand to pull someone else up”…that is leader development.
If your battalion commander does not think it is important, then it is not important but that does NOT make them right. But as Rudolf Abel said in the movie Bridge of Spies…”the boss may not be right, but he is still the boss.” Remember, when YOU become boss, to give that wider latitude to your subordinates to be creative and outside the box.
Great article, Billy!