Category Archives: Guest Post

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Creating Stability in Your Organization

by Pete Fovargue

Change Management is a role we often place on leaders. We know that too much change impacts performance and saps motivation, so “managing transitions” and “mitigating turbulence” are common phrases relating to this managing change. More often, however, what the organization actually needs is Stability Management.

Leaders must make the work environment predictable and routine, with clear expectations for performance. People perform their best when they have a clear and stable environment in which to function. Here are five things that you can do to create stability in your organization.

stability

Inside the National Building Museum, Washington, D.C. Photo by Pete Fovargue.
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A New Foundation for the Profession of Arms

by Nathan Finney & Ty Mayfield

Try to visualize the nature of today’s profession of arms and it’s not a stretch to envision a ship tossed around violently in storm waves. Social media. Political turbulence. The Millennial Generation. Fewer combat deployments. Civil-military fissures. These facets of our socio-political life shape and often erode the essence of what it means to be a military professional. The profession of arms needs a little clarity.

That’s why I am excited to share a timely new book by two of my friends and colleagues, Nate Finney and Ty Mayfield. In Redefining the Modern Military: The Intersection of Profession and Ethics, they do a wonderful job of bringing context to the clouded notion of today’s professional military service. Nate and Ty wrote this post for The Military Leader audience and I invite you to pick up a copy of their book.

Thanks for reading and lead well!

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Avoid the Meeting Meltdown

By Christopher Manganaro

We have all heard the saying, “I went to a meeting to discuss a meeting.”  Meetings can be very useful and a huge waste of time if managed improperly.  They are either too long, too short, or do not solve the problem or issue that the meeting was trying to solve in the first place.  Leaders at all levels will have the opportunity to conduct meetings of their own and, if they’re not careful, could repeat the cycle of doom for the next generation.

meeting

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Three Leader Sins to Avoid

by Lance Oskey

Despite the breadth of the Army’s leader development journey, leaders often serve for years without learning those intangible skills we all recognize in great leaders. What classroom can teach a leader to “understand context” or “communicate appropriately” or “inspire the best in people?” The leader talents I describe here are among those qualities. They’re nuanced and underrepresented during formal and informal leader development training.

Sins

Marine Corps School of Infantry East students detonate an explosive charge during a breaching exercise at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C., April 18, 2018. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Ginnie Lee.
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At the Intersection of Values and Hardship

by Austen Boroff

Under certain circumstances, profanity provides relief denied even to prayer.” Mark Twain summarizes the crux of the leader dilemma I found myself in while deployed to Iraq: when is it acceptable to compromise important organizational values to lessen the hardship of an extreme operating environment? The issue arose at the crossroads of a continuous workday in a harsh environment, a new leader assuming responsibility, and the escaping element that music provides.

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Army Pfc. Matthew Wilson arrives at a tactical assembly area to relieve personnel and resupply ammunition during a mission supporting the Iraqi army’s 9th Division near Al Tarab, Iraq, March 18, 2017. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Jason Hull
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Build Your Team with a Little Gift Giving

by Jeff Barta

The holidays are always associated with presents and the positive feelings associated with both giving and receiving a gift. Recently as I was unpacking holiday boxes and trimming the tree, I grew nostalgic reflecting on the ornaments given to me by my Leaders across various assignments. As a new leader of an organization, this year I was responsible for creating and sharing this year’s ornament.

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I ,Too, Was Afraid to Do Counseling

by Colonel (Retired) Rob Campbell

Wait, did I just accuse you of being afraid? After all, we are leaders who face grave danger in training and combat aren’t we? If it is not fear, then how do we explain why our people are not being counseled? Some might see it differently, but I argue that too many of us have either never experienced counseling or been counseled only a few times in our careers. In a career spanning 27 years, I could count on one hand the number of times I was counseled effectively, meaning my boss invested time working with me to identify the obstacles standing in the way of my growth and advancement.

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Colonel (Retired) Rob Campbell speaks to troops while in command of 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division. Rob recently published the leadership book, It’s Personal, Not Personnel: Leadership Lessons for the Battlefield and the Boardroom.

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“Rank Ordering Your Future” – A Look at CSL Preferences

by Pete Norris

Every few years throughout your Army career, your HRC Assignment Officer will contact you to gather input about your next assignment. “Rank the following duty stations from 1 to 35.” Although you get a vote, sometimes it feels like that vote doesn’t count for much. That’s because the routine assignment process can be very subjective, based on the needs of the branch, timing, and many other factors. (read more about HRC here)

The process for selecting Lieutenant Colonels and Colonels for Centralized Selection List (CSL) command and key billets is not one of those routine times. Prior to the CSL board, each eligible officer has the opportunity to submit billet preferences and those preferences directly affect assignment outcomes more than any other time in your career. As such, it is important for officers to thoughtfully consider their preferences.

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Col. Wayne Tasler passes the 7th PSYOP Group’s guidon to Maj. Gen. David N. Blackledge, symbolizing the relinquishing of command during the change-of-command ceremony at Moffett Field in San Jose, California on June 25, 2011. Photo Credit: Staff Sgt. Felix R. Fimbres.