In more than 20 years of service there have been several opportunities to offer guidance, mentorship and opinions to other Soldiers on career moves and life decisions. Every situation is slightly different as most individuals have slightly different career, life or family goals. While it may make sense for that aspiring general to move their family five times in six years, it may not be the right move for someone who believes in the Chief of Staff of the Army’s guidance that taking care of our people is the key to success.

Regardless of the circumstances, there are some of the same truths for all situations. For the Army, success is spelled with a, “P.” Not in the pterodactyl kind of way, but in the way that the pillars for success start with a, “P.” That is not to ignore that with everything a little (p)luck helps, but understanding how performance, profiles, positions and personalities will help you and your team succeed or recognize when it might be time to punch out.

Performance

If you have been to a promotion ceremony, you have heard the presiding official remind the attendees that the Army promotes people on their perceived potential to achieve success at the next rank. This characterization is true, and you may expect me to say that potential is one of the p-words for success in the Army. But I submit that performance is preferred over potential. Your potential is gauged and graded by your performance. You must perform at every job, regardless of the position. If it is a staff job or a command, perform. Lead your team to perform. If you want to succeed in the Army, your team must perform. Selection and promotion boards spend the majority of time on reports that reflect your performance.

Positions

Assuming you will always put the effort into performance, you must understand how the positions you are in, and the ones you have held affect your future success. In some instances, this is best represented by completing key developmental positions. Those must be completed before you have the possibility to succeed and move to the next level. But, this is also about some of those broadening assignments. Performance in a key developmental position is certainly a key indicator to gauge potential, but what broadening assignments you might do or consider factors into your career success as well.

Leaders and board members will carry their bias and prejudice with them when reviewing your records and seeing the positions you have held. Some will want to see an individual that has broadened and understands many different facets of the Army. Others may look for those that have, “always stayed in the fight.” And, still others may look for certain skill sets you may now possess based upon what units or positions to which you have been assigned. Your positions will matter, and you should understand the risk and weigh that against your career goals.

Profile

You are directly responsible for your performance, and you usually get some input into what positions you hold. Now let’s talk about some things you don’t control. Perhaps the most important factor of your career success behind performance is your rater and senior rater’s profile. You may be a stud who has performed at levels exceeding your current pay grade, but if your senior rater doesn’t have a profile to support that, your report will unfortunately not accurately reflect your efforts. Not all is lost as the narrative portion of the reports does get looked at, and is also important. But, in the interest of honesty and transparency, the appropriate box check on the report makes a significant difference. It can be the difference in your file being put in the, “must promote,” pile or the, “take a second look and if there is enough room to promote then, ‘maybe’ ” pile. It can be the deciding factor to see your name on the primary or alternate list.

It may not seem unfair to some that your performance may not be appropriately represented in a report because your senior rater’s profile cannot support it. We all recognize that this should not surprise anyone. Good leaders will mentor you on these possibilities and with the right leadership, this should never be a surprise when you receive that final report. This is also a call for you to be that good leader and mentor\counsel those you rate and senior rate.

Personalities

One cannot always control personalities. For some, personalities could also be interchanged with, “personal preferences,” but in order to assume professionalism at all ranks, we prefer to say, “personalities.” Personalities affect your success at all levels, but have a greater effect at higher levels. As the pyramid of available jobs and positions gets more narrow at the top in comparison to the larger talent pool, there will be critical decisions made by the most senior in your field. And, that senior person will have preferences for certain personalities – people they already know and want to mentor to be successful at the highest levels. It is human nature and is something to understand. Personality can literally be a decision of a known quantity to that senior decision-maker in an individual if you have worked together before. And, the known personality can factor more for that senior leader decision maker more than the performance of people that the senior mentor does not know. Seek mentors early in your career, and in your career field that may help you avoid traps when it comes to the effects of personalities on your career success.

Success in the Army is achievable to all that follow the leadership principles, create success for their teams, and put in the efforts to be a top performer. However, differing amounts of success depends on the other, “p’s.” Profile, positions and personalities will all make a difference to you as you look to achieve your goals and what you consider success. Understanding this from the start will help you get closer to your goals. Now, go out there and perform!

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LTC Joshua Trimble is an active duty U.S. Army Signal Officer and has served in a variety of leadership and staff positions in the Signal Corps to include over nine years as a S6\G6\J6. A graduate of the National War College, LTC Trimble has an MS in National Security Strategy and an MA in Management and Leadership.