Leader Development in Army Units: Views from the Field

176 Pages·2008·5.594 MB·English

by  Peter Schirmer

Leader Development
in Army Units
Views from the Field
Peter Schirmer, James C. Crowley, Nancy E. Blacker,
Richard R. Brennan, Jr., Henry A. Leonard, J. Michael Polich,
Jerry M. Sollinger, Danielle M. Varda
Prepared for the United States Army
Approved for public release; distribution unlimited
ARROYO CENTER
The research described in this report was sponsored by the United States
Army under Contract No. W74V8H-06-C-0001.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Leader development in Army units : views from the field / Peter Schirmer ...
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-0-8330-4200-2 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. United States. Army—Officers—Training of. 2. Command of troops.
3. Leadership—United States. I. Schirmer, Peter, 1970–
UB413.L43 2008
355.3'3041—dc22
2008006838
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Preface
As an institution that promotes lifelong learning, the Army strives to
ensure that its leaders are immersed in a learning environment through-
out their careers. Officers, for example, move back and forth between
the Army’s school system, which teaches job-related skills and knowl-
edge, and operational assignments, which teach personal aspects of
leadership, provide experiences and immediate feedback that drive self-
development, and expose leaders to role models and mentors. While
it is widely believed that experience in a variety of assignments makes
a large contribution—possibly the most significant contribution—to
the development of Army leaders, little in the way of organized Army-
wide unit-level leader development programs exists. Furthermore, the
operational commitments in Afghanistan and Iraq have increased the
demands on units, making leader development programs more diffi-
cult to design and carry out. The Center for Army Leadership asked
RAND Arroyo Center to help the Army in identifying effective and
feasible unit leader development programs. This document reports on
the results of those efforts. It should interest those involved in Army
leader development and personnel management.
This research has been conducted in RAND Arroyo Center’s
Manpower and Training Program. RAND Arroyo Center, part of the
RAND Corporation, is a federally funded research and development
center sponsored by the United States Army. Questions and comments
regarding this research are welcome and should be directed to the leader
of the research team, Pete Schirmer, at [email protected].
iii
iv Leader Development in Army Units: Views from the Field
The Project Unique Identification Code (PUIC) for the project
that produced this document is ATFCR06020.
For more information on RAND Arroyo Center, contact the
Director of Operations (telephone [phone], extension 6419; FAX
310-451-6952; email [email protected]), or visit Arroyo’s Web
site at http://www.rand.org/ard/.
Contents
Preface............................................................................. iii
Figures............................................................................. ix
Tables .............................................................................. xi
Summary.........................................................................xiii
Acknowledgments............................................................ xxiii
Abbreviations................................................................... xxv
CHAPTER ONE
Introduction....................................................................... 1
Background......................................................................... 1
What We Set Out to Do.......................................................... 3
How the Report Is Organized.................................................... 4
CHAPTER TWO:
Study Participants and Methods............................................... 7
Sources and Numbers of Participating Officers................................ 7
Most Recent Operational Experience of Participating Officers.............. 9
Level of Participation.............................................................14
The Questionnaire................................................................16
The Discussions ...................................................................18
CHAPTER THREE
Overview of Unit-Level Leader Development..............................19
There Is No Standard Leader Development Program ........................19
Besides Actual Experience, Role Models and Personal Interaction
Are Most Valued by Junior Officers ...................................... 23
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vi Leader Development in Army Units: Views from the Field
CHAPTER FOUR
Commander’s Influence on Unit-Level
Leader Development Activities...........................................31
Unit Commanders Affect the Leader Development Activities
Within a Unit.................................................................32
Unit Commanders Are Role Models for Subordinates.......................33
Commanders Adapt Leader Development Activities to Changing
Circumstances of the Unit..................................................35
How Command Influence Affected Responses in the Questionnaire......39
CHAPTER FIVE
Counseling, Coaching, and Mentoring .....................................41
Mentoring ........................................................................ 43
Junior Officers’ Discussions with Raters and Senior Raters................. 44
Use of Formal Counseling Process............................................. 48
Supporting Self-Development...................................................51
CHAPTER SIX
Specific Elements of Leader Development Programs.....................53
Training Exercises.................................................................53
Officer Professional Development Classes .................................... 54
Staff Rides......................................................................... 56
Reading Programs.................................................................57
Progressive Assignments..........................................................58
CHAPTER SEVEN
Conclusions and Recommendations.........................................61
Conclusions........................................................................61
Recommendations................................................................63
Use TRADOC Institutions to Raise Expectations for Leader
Development in Units ................................................... 64
Promote a Collaborative Environment for Sharing Ideas and Tools
That Support Leader Development..................................... 66
The Future of Army Leader Development.................................... 68
Contents vii
Appendixes
A. Junior Officer Questionnaire.................................................73
B. Leadership Qualities That Junior Officers Most Admire
and Wish to Emulate....................................................... 87
C. Lessons Learned by Junior Officers from Good
and Bad Examples of Army Leadership...................................91
D. Sample Battalion Commander Development Form .................... 135
E. Brief Review of Other Studies of Leader Development................. 141
References....................................................................... 147

Figures
S.1. Junior Captains’ Ranking of Effectiveness of Leader
Development Activities .......................................... xviii
3.1. Majors’ and Senior Captains’ Ranking of Effectiveness of
Leader Development Activities.....................................25
3.2. Junior Captains’ Ranking of Effectiveness of Leader
Development Activities ............................................ 26
4.1. Change in Leadership Development Activities Immediately
Before Deployment................................................. 36
4.2. Change in Leadership Development Activities During
Deployment ..........................................................37
5.1. Extent to Which Officers Discuss Upcoming Duty
Requirements with Someone in Their Chain of Command....45
5.2. Frequency with Which Officers Discuss Leadership Skills
with Their Rater......................................................45
5.3. Frequency with Which Officers Discuss Leadership Skills
with Their Senior Rater............................................ 46
5.4. Frequency of Leadership Skills Discussion with Rater and
Senior Rater, for Junior Officers...................................47
6.1. Frequency with Which Leadership Lessons Are
Embedded in Training Exercises.................................. 54
6.2. Frequency of Off-Post Staff Rides.................................57
ix