Drive: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us

A fantastic read about our flawed perception of motivation. Daniel Pink lays out a convincing argument that the old ‘carrot & stick’ approach to incentives is dead wrong. While a rewards & punishment approach works for simple tasks, one needs intrinsic motivation based on autonomy, competence, and purpose to accomplish complex and creative tasks. This is because we psychologically want to direct our own lives, be better than what we are, and yearn to be part of something bigger than ourselves.

Overall a short tome that is well researched and written. I burned through this one fast and did not need to flip back and forth to follow the thesis and evidence.

A must-read for anyone who aspires to lead or motivate others where commitment is valued over compliance.

A book review by Chris L’Heureux

 

Leader, Upskill Thyself: Learning Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) as an FGO

A Guest Post by Kurt Degerlund

This winter, as I watched my foreign language instructor spend 5-10 hours every week filling out routine administrative paperwork, I realized that there were AI/ML technologies available that could not only have automated most of that work but also made it more accurate. This would have allowed her to spend those hours working on class preparation or working on the textbook she dreams of writing. But, because I didn’t know how AI/ML works, I could not advise her on the basics of how to free her time. Who has not stayed late at work, filling out paperwork that should have been automated? Wouldn’t it be nice to not waste time filling out paperwork, but instead use the insights we are supposed to be getting from that data to build better units? This frustration motivated me to begin looking more closely at how AI/ML works, what it requires to be implemented, and how to prepare myself to lead in an AI/ML environment. As I investigated this field, I realized that my technical skills are lacking. I needed to go back to school to be an effective AI/ML leader so I began exploring where I could learn these skills on my own. And if I, one of the slower people in the room, am looking for ways to learn these skills, then other FGOs must be looking as well.

The Centurions

The Roman army’s disenfranchisement from the Republic is often used as a warning in modern civil-military relations. This story mimics the warning from a French perspective. Larteguy’s characters, archetypes with varied backgrounds, endure Indochina and captivity before engaging in the Algerian War. They experience ethical conflict and subsequent rationalization where the ends justify the means. The character of warfare changes and the characters change with it. The failure at Dien Bien Phu was a result of failing to recognize and adapt to the right kind of war. The characters understand this with reflection and adapt to the type of war they are fighting in Algeria – becoming what they fight.

“I’d like France to have two armies: one for display, with lovely guns, tanks, little soldiers, fanfares, staffs, distinguished and doddering generals, and dear little regimental officers who would be deeply concerned with the general’s piles: an army that would be shown for a modest fee on every fairground in the country. The other would be the real one, composed entirely of young enthusiasts in camouflage battledress, who would not be put on display but from whom impossible efforts would be demanded and to whom all sorts of tricks would be taught. That’s the army in which I should like to fight.”

A quick and easy read, Larteguy was a reporter during this period and this novel clearly shows his experience. There is much to unpack in this narrative from an ethical and moral standpoint.

A book review by Chris L’Heureux

Goal Setting – A Military Leader’s Perspective

A Guest Post by Chris L’Heureux

Goal setting is something we do almost every day without much thought. I carry around a list of things-to-do with 50+ items on it. Most of these tasks are simple – respond thoughtfully to an email for example. Many are sub-tasks that contribute to a larger goal. Within this list are a several things I want to accomplish but tend to carry from week to week. A few align to personal or professional development objectives, but these are rare. Is a things-to-do list the acme of goal setting? I think not, but it is a list of what needs to be done…and a start.

Uncertain Times


Doesn’t it seem like the world is just plain crazy these days? Should we attribute it to the 24-hour news cycle? The constant interconnectivity of human beings through social media? Perhaps it is just increased awareness associated with a coming of age. Whatever the cause, the world seems to spin faster and faster, pushing us along a path towards uncertainty and potential danger.

Talent Management: Expose your Captains to Post-KD Opportunities

A Guest Post by Zachary Griffiths and Nicholas Frazier

US Army photo, Oct 15, 2019

What advice should one offer to Captains for post-company command assignments? After Captain branch qualifying or key development (KD) positions, officers face significant career decisions. Should they stay in their current branch, leave active duty, or apply for a functional area? For those staying in, Intermediate Level Education (ILE) options present a wide-range of options. As first-line mentors, Majors have a responsibility to educate and inform Captains about broadening opportunities. In the spirit of talent management and AIM 2.0, the article explores methods to educate Captains to post-key developmental (KD) broadening opportunities. We conclude panels best educate and inform about their opportunities ahead. 

Your Best Year Ever: A 5-Step Plan for Achieving Your Most Important Goals

It’s that time of year again—when some of us ponder our new year’s resolutions, determined that this time we will PT more, read more, spend more quality time with our families, and never eat fast food again. And, depending on our level of discipline, some of us may stick with those resolutions for days or even weeks. Few of us, though, manage to adhere to them for an entire journey around the sun. Maybe, just maybe, you’re reading this laughing because you’ve already broken one of your 2020 resolutions. If so, no worries. It’s time to start over again and ensure you meet one goal by resolving to finish reading this short article.

Recently, Field Grade Leader held a timely series of Facebook and online book club sessions to discuss a book that promises to help us actually stick to our resolutions: Michael Hyatt’s Your Best Year Ever: A 5-Step Plan for Achieving Your Most Important Goals. Hyatt offers many reasons why we fail to meet our goals. First, our goals are too vague. Saying you are going to run 20 miles a week leaves too many loopholes for not running 20 miles. A better goal should explain how you will meet your goal, such as “Run at 0500 every weekday for 45 minutes.” Goals are also easier to achieve when one considers the motivations behind them, which helps you sustain them. It is also helpful to figure out triggers that help you avoid stumbling blocks. It’s easier to go running at 5 am if you’ve already set out everything you’ll need.

But you might fail at your goals, and that’s okay. Hyatt actually encourages us to embrace regret rather than trying to put failures firmly in the past because our past failures provide us with wisdom as to how we can improve. At that point it is important to figure out why you failed—was it because you were not specific enough about how to accomplish your goal? Because you did not identify obstacles in your way and figure out how to circumvent them? Or did you just set a goal you truly weren’t motivated to meet? If so, there is nothing wrong with going back to the drawing board.

Goal setting also should be a process that occurs throughout the year. In fact, you’d be better off if you spent a bit of time one day per week preparing for the week ahead and 5-15 minutes each day planning for your day at the beginning and assessing where you’ve been at the end. An easy way to do this is to use a daily planner geared toward goals, whether it is Hyatt’s or another. You can also use Hyatt’s template with Evernote.

Building in accountability also helps us meet our goals. So does the right mindset, which is where you can help as leaders. The main thing that gets in the way of us achieving our own goals is attitude and the beliefs we hold about ourselves, each other, and the world. Hyatt suggests moving beyond a “scarcity” mindset to one of “abundance.” People with scarcity mindsets tend to see a kind of zero-sum world and thus have more pessimism about the future. People with abundant mindsets, by contrast, tend to be more optimistic, open, and selfless. It is that positivity that is critical to meeting your goals, which should stretch you and entail some risk of failure.

As a leader, you can help others around you to reframe their negative beliefs (example: I’ll never pass the ACFT!) into something far more positive like, “I’ve overcome some major adversity in the last year, and I know I can do I again with the ACFT.”

It also can be as simple as taking a moment to be grateful. Gratitude will help reorient your mindset (again, the recommended planners have a spot that let you do that to make it easier than it sounds) because it can “amplify everything good in our lives.” Start off your day when you walk into work by telling someone why you appreciate them. It will do more to energize you and the recipient than coffee, and it will set a positive tone that will be contagious. (You won’t know until you try it, will you?)

Now that you have some goals to set better goals for yourself and hopefully help others do the same, how do you go about implementing this vision as a leader?

  • As mentioned already, many in the Army are currently worried about passing the ACFT. Sit down with your soldiers and identify their greatest concerns about the test and help them identify measurable goals that can help them start down a path to success.
  • Most people don’t have it all together, even when they seem to be outward successes. In part, that is because they are out of balance. They may, for example, invest too much in their careers and not in their families. Help those you lead discover where they need to improve their balance. Reveal your own vulnerabilities. It’s okay—it will help others mature while embracing one of the Army’s newest leadership principles of humility and empathy. Take Hyatt’s quick online assessment over lunch with a group you work with then discuss it. Did the results surprise you? Were they similar to the rest of the group’s? How can each of you support each other in developing a goal in your weakest area? And, best of all, how will you reward yourself when you meet your goal?
  • Set up a poster board at work with people’s names, a goal, and a tracker so people can showcase their path to improvement. Go all out and even buy a package of star stickers to use.

If you have other ideas, please share them on the Facebook or twitter feed!

Other resources from Hyatt other than the book include a podcast and a free downloadable template to focus on accomplishing three things each day here.

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Heather Venable is an assistant professor of military and security studies at the U.S. Air Command and Staff College and teaches in the Department of Airpower. She has written a forthcoming book entitled How the Few Became the Proud: Crafting the Marine Corps Mystique, 1874-1918. The views expressed are the author’s alone and do not represent the official position of the U.S. Air Force, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government.

Not Already!: How to Escape the Dreaded New Year’s Resolution Curse

A Guest Post by Heather Pace

It’s that time of year again—when some of us ponder our new year’s resolutions, determined that this time we will PT more, read more, spend more quality time with our families, and never eat fast food again. And, depending on our level of discipline, some of us may stick with those resolutions for days or even weeks. Few of us, though, manage to adhere to them for an entire journey around the sun. Maybe, just maybe, you’re reading this laughing because you’ve already broken one of your 2020 resolutions. If so, no worries. It’s time to start over again and ensure you meet one goal by resolving to finish reading this short article. 

Four Keys to Ensuring Your Subordinates’ Success

A Guest Post by Nathan K. Player

U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. William Chockey. Oct 21, 2019

In the eyes of many young Soldiers, “their LT” represents the Army. If you care, the Army cares. If you don’t, the Army doesn’t.  When an organization cares about your well-being, the natural reaction is to return the sentiment. Leaders who take a genuine interest in their subordinates will see their teams achieve amazing feats. To help new leaders get started in this important facet of their stewardship this article will discuss four topics: get to know your Soldiers; assist in their personal and professional needs; find out their goals and help develop a plan to achieve them; take care of your soldiers, they will always take care of the mission.

The System is Down – An Approach to Systems Leadership as a Major

A Guest Post by Kevin Ryan

U.S. Army photo by Spc. Ryan Lucas. Sept. 22, 2019

I often tell people that being the Intelligence Officer for a Brigade Combat Team was the only job in 13 years of service that I felt as uncomfortable on Day 1 as I did on my last day.  It was the first position I held after graduating from Command and Staff College; a training center rotation 3 months into the job; and deploying to Iraq 3 months later to advise and assist the Iraqi security forces in the liberation of Mosul from the Islamic State made for a tumultuous tenure. But probably the toughest part was that it was my first “key developmental” job as a field grade leader – finding my leadership style as a Major was my biggest challenge.