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Military Leadership: Self-Development

A Guest Post by Christopher Little

Pitt Air Force ROTC students talk with their commander, Lt. Col. Diana Bishop, on the 29th floor of the Cathedral. (Courtesy of Jayson Baloy)

Do I know enough about this situation to effectively lead my team? Am I able to accomplish the mission without burning out the people executing it? If leadership was straightforward, then these questions wouldn’t need to be asked. People gravitate toward leaders, and some have aspirations to be one.  Some may even find themselves in a leadership role regardless of their own desire. It is critical for those aspiring to be leaders to practice the art of self-development. Leaders can pursue self-development in different ways. Retired General James Mattis has always been a prolific reader and views reading as a seminal part of self-development. He has a library of more than seven thousand books, enough to fill a small library! In a 2003 correspondence he stated, “Thanks to my reading, I have never been caught flat-footed by any situation, never at a loss for how any problem has been addressed before. It doesn’t give me all the answers, but it lights what is often a dark path ahead.” Reading can tell someone a lot of what they need to know without ever having lived or experienced a situation. Reading from other’s experiences or studies should be at the top of a person’s self-development to-do list. 

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BUILDING THE BENCH: A TEMPLATE FOR DEVELOPING THE NEXT GENERATION

A Guest Post by Steven Leonard

Several years ago, I sat through a professional development session that was one of the most painful of my career. We gathered around a large table as a young lieutenant disassembled and reassembled an M-4 rifle, while providing stilted commentary in a sort of step-by-step, “how to” manner. When he was finished, we retired to the all ranks club for a round of beers and some obligatory, Friday afternoon team building. The following month, we repeated the same process, but with a different lieutenant and an M-9 Beretta. A month later, we were back to the M-4 and another lieutenant. Rinse and repeat. This was our leader development program.

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“Leader development, show me that in your METL…

A Post by Billy Folinusz

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…

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The Leadership Mindset

Part Two: Don't Give 'em any Bull

At the end of a steamy day of training, seventy-five tired, sweat-soaked new Marines sat in the dirt, looking up at the lanky lieutenant standing before them, lecturing on the topic of the day. It was September 1942.

Nine months had passed since the attack on Pearl Harbor, bringing America into World War II. The Marine Corps had tripled in size since numbering 55,000 in June 1941, and it was still growing. Parris Island and San Diego were cranking out new Marines in droves. Meanwhile Quantico was producing brand new Second Lieutenants like the one in front of these Marines: Henry Van Joslin.  He had still been in school at William and Mary in April. But on the first day of September, the 21-year-old had arrived at Camp New River and taken command of this newly formed rifle company: Company “F”, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Marines.  

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Be Kind

A Guest Post by Dave Wright

For those who have met me in real life or follow me on Twitter, you have probably noticed I have a minor obsession with the fictional BBC character Dr. Who. Gifs, memes, and quotes from various regenerations of The Doctor litter my timeline. I’ve even suggested more than once that he can serve as a model of military leadership ideals; an idea beyond the scope of this piece.

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Imagining Marcus Aurelius’ Change of Command Speech

A Guest Post by Heather Venable

The old man slowly walks out to speak for the first time to a crowd of battle-weary and disillusioned soldiers. There is little adornment on his ill-fitting uniform, and he clearly does not have the upright walk of a younger man. None the less, there is something about his bearing that catches the crowd’s eye. He appears confident and sure of himself, even if he clearly fails to meet the physical standards expected of a man leading warriors. 

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On Empathetic Leadership – A Case against “Zero-Failure”

A Guest Post by B.M. Realph

A leader who demands perfection is bound to end up disappointed. This is not to say that leaders should accept sub-par performance, but they should see this as a chance to develop an imperfect subordinate, not to dismiss them altogether. A zero-failure leader is one who will not tolerate a lapse in performance or ability, and who treats all transgressions, regardless of severity or impact, as being equally intolerable. This in itself may seem like a sound approach, but it is in reality idealistic. A leader may aim for a zero-failure organisation, but if that is their expectation and if it forms a part of their leadership philosophy, they are setting themselves up for failure. 

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The Best Quote You Won’t Find in How to Think Like a Roman Emperor

A Guest Post by Franklin C. Annis, EdD

How could I turn down an opportunity to publish in The Field Grade Leader’s most recent challenge to find the best quote in Donald Robertson’s How to think like a Roman Emperor? It is a simple challenge to find the most memorable quote and how it could help us be better leaders in the profession of arms. The quote I offer cannot be found in this book nor any of Robertson’s other works. Don’t get me wrong; Donald Robertson is an exceptional author and an amazing communicator of Stoic philosophy. In the book, “How to Think Like a Roman Emperor,” he brought to life the story and history of Marcus Aurelius in a way that inspires both the general public and military leaders. It is the desire for greater understanding of philosophy that I hope Robertson has imparted in his works. The best quotes to make us better military leaders will likely be found in the additional books on philosophy we read.

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The Future of War: The New Rules of War & Limiting Risk in America’s Wars

A (Double) Book Review by Dr. Heather Pace Venable

What does the future of war look like? Why is the world’s most formidable military no longer winning? Is the US military pursuing the wisest course of action in preparing for great power conflict? Two recent books with much in common ask similar questions about what warfare will look like and provide divergent answers regarding where the US needs to go. Written by two professors of PME, both argue that the future of war looks anything but conventional. Indeed, they caution readers to expect more of the same regarding what we have become accustomed to in Iraq and Afghanistan over the last two decades. 

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Counseling Subordinates Sets Expectations and Standards 

A Continuation of the Series by Nate Player

U.S. Army photo by Elizabeth Fraser

“Counseling is the most important tool that leaders have at their disposal. Clearly communicating expectations and standards provides a baseline for measuring performance and ensures that both the rater and rated officer understand expectations. This is especially important when managing your rater profile and justifying the contents of evaluation reports for both officers and NCOs.”