Like many other concepts in the Army, Leader Professional Development is usually generated with good intentions. Leaders selected for command spend a considerable amount of time crafting their professional development philosophy as they attend pre-command courses, stressing over how each word represents their heart and their soul. Still, professional development is an effort that even the best organizations improvise their way through, often overlooking the recurring calendar event until it is yet, another forgotten task. So how is it that such an important effort often becomes an afterthought, only to be overcome by the daily minutiae of short suspenses and rapidly shifting priorities? 

When it comes to leader professional development, many organizations struggle to turn ideas, or more specifically those deliberate command philosophies, into actionable programs of tangible execution. This article isn’t about the what of leader development, or the areas of focus and most important lessons; instead, this article focuses on the how of leader development, which is operationalizing the commander’s philosophy and creating a useful and creative program. 

A great starting point is your organization’s Annual Training Guidance, a document that should show where the commander prioritizes professional development and the resources the organization will employ to achieve the aforementioned philosophy. As a Brigade S3, my Commander used Annual Training Guidance to sharpen our focus on Leader Development, especially as we prepared for a rotation to the National Training Center and a follow-on iteration of Pacific Pathways. Here’s an excerpt from that specific concept of operations:

Lancers’ professional development starts the moment Soldiers arrive and continues through departure from the Brigade, ready for challenges at the next level.  Lancer LPD nests activities within DIV, CORPS, and Army programs to prepare leaders to go to WAR and WIN. The BCT establishes objectives by cohort, with quarterly focus areas for commanders to shape their LPD programs to develop their leaders.  All leaders are expected to include leader development objectives as part of their CONOP/Training Plan briefs. This, along with the 8-step training model, will demonstrate that units have effectively planned the training and maximized leader development opportunities throughout.  Every training event in the BCT has leadership development opportunities – units must capitalize on them wherever possible.  

Additionally, the guidance defined Brigade-level programs that we conducted throughout the year, to include The Company Commander’s LPD Series, senior-rater counseling sessions, and professional reading programs. The Annual Training Guidance solidified these events through inclusion into our organization’s battle rhythm. 

Another example is Quarterly Training Guidance, where the organization translates priorities into tangible actions over the subsequent 12 weeks. While Annual Training Guidance is broad in nature, quarterly guidance provided subordinate units a more detailed understanding of objectives, specified tasks, and quarterly endstates. In the context of professional development, this is where the rubber meets the road. Successful organizations operationalize previously provided focus areas by assigning topics to sessions and assuming responsibility for content and administrative support. Effective programs are then paired up with other training activities and corresponding focus areas. As an example, our Brigade rehashed live fire fundamentals, created group live fire plans, conducted a terrain walk, and then fought in simulation. This occurred prior to Company Commanders executing squad live fires and platoon situational training exercises (STX). Clear Quarterly Training Guidance is crucial to an effective professional development program.   

There’s an old adage in the Army that states, “Good units do routine things routinely.” Units that are good at Leader Professional Development accomplish this by codifying key activities in the Battle Rhythm, and adhering to it. The battle rhythm serves as a weekly program of key activities and meetings, which the organization adheres to and observes. When properly used, these events create a template for each week. Disciplined units plan the battle rhythm weeks in advance, and then manage friction as events coincide or conflict with the reality of unforeseen events. More importantly, good organizations effectively combine qualitative content (provided in the Quarterly Training Guidance) with appropriate timing and flow to create a logical progression of activities, as opposed to rushed, poorly planned sessions. 

Even the best organizations face challenges and constant distractions. Last-minute FRAGOs, Serious Incident Reports, and overwhelming demand for information from higher headquarters will always cause a shift in priorities. To best overcome and thrive amid these distractors, effective Leader Professional Development programs require a deliberate focus through the use of training management tools. I hope the considerations offered in this article prove useful, as you contemplate Leader Professional Development, as a vital yet often overlooked facet of any organization’s training plan.