The purpose of this paper is to convey how the recent coursework impacts my leadership style and decision making at my home unit. Over the period of seven weeks I underwent training provided by the Non-Commission Officer Academy and fellow students attending the course. The blocks of instruction were designed to facilitate discussion amongst the students present. Personnel from varying intelligence military occupational specialties composed the class; this created an environment with a multitude of experiences and skill levels. The overall experience was pleasant but did have its challenging moments.
Coursework
The blocks of instruction focusing on the roles of senior leaders will have definitely impact how I handle situations when I return to my unit. I have operated in a Joint environment for that last five years with units that have a heavy civilian presence. Civilians, in my organization, have diluted the role of senior military leaders. The course have reaffirmed my beliefs of things missing from my current assignment. I plan to advocate for senior enlisted involvement in the management of the enlisted personnel. Upon returning I intend to meet with the Command Master Chief to implement a proper mentorship program. The First Sergeant Quick Reference Guide is an available tool that I plan to care forward to my unit.
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I was reminded of Army tools and methods that I do not get to utilize in my joint assignment. My service members will receive some of the tools in their upcoming training. Looking back at the implementation of the various projects, I see how they can be beneficial for initiating small projects to help develop junior leaders in my organization. My soldiers will be doing personal road maps as a result of this
CF02,Full Range Leadership Development. (2012). Maxwell Gunter AFB. Thomas N. Barnes Center for Enlisted Education (AETC)
Encarta Dictionary within Microsoft Word defines leadership as,” the ability to guide, direct, or influence people.” Expanding upon that definition, my personal definition is influencing people to follow to achieve a goal, regardless of how unpleasant. Leadership is not something that happens overnight, it needs to be cultivated over time. During that process, it is necessary to identify delinquencies and make adjustments. Reviewing the feedback provided by my LPI/360 assessment, the three areas identified I need to improve on are, praising people for a job well done, actively listening to diverse points of view, and becoming more visible within the workplace.
We can identify three major cultural dimensions that help us to understand what leaders must focus on as they guide the transition of the Army. First, professional Identity, which is guided by Soldiers at all levels who are striving for excellence in their functional specialty, i.e., HR Sergeants. Soldiers who have goals and ideals of the Army to ethically put service and duty first. HR Sergeants are trained and well educated in their field. They are taught to put Soldiers first and have great customer support skills. Second, community, the sense in which Soldiers stop thinking about “I” and start thinking “we”. The bond among units who not only believe in cohesion with Soldiers, but their families too. The HR Sergeants are there to take care of Soldiers when financial issues arise with them or their families and don’t back down until the situation is solved. Last, hierarchy, which leads to order and control and provides Soldiers with moral reference and a sense of direction. The HR Sergeant has the mentality of mission first, knowing who to contact at the next level for assistance helps get the mission
As our forefathers before us stated, ‘‘No one is more professional than I. I am a Noncommissioned Officer, a leader of soldiers. As a Noncommissioned Officer, I realize that I am a member of a time honored corps, which is known as “The Backbone of the Army (“The NCO Creed writing by SFC Earle Brigham and Jimmie Jakes Sr”). These words to Noncommissioned Officer should inspire us to the fullest with pride, honor, and integrity. The NCO creed should mean much more than just words whenever we attend a NCO’s school. For most of us this is what our creed has become because we learn to narrate or recite. The military from the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard has an overabundance of NCOs who fall under their pay grade of E-5, E-6 and etc. Yet somehow there still not enough leaders. I believe that the largest problem afflicting the military today is our lack of competent leaders, ineffective leader development, and how we influence our subordinates under us who are becoming leaders.
As a Non-commissioned Officer you can expect me to be a professional leader dedicated to taking care of soldiers, the mission, and the army way of life. You can expect me to use Army Regulations, Technical Manuals, and direct orders from my superiors as my guidance on what actions to take in each situation faced whether tactical or technical. I will not be afraid to make sound and timely decisions in the absence of my leadership’s orders. When left in charge I will take charge.
Thomas N. Barnes Center for Enlisted Education (U.S.) United States. Department of the Air Force. (2012a). Full Range Leadership Development (CF02). Maxwell-Gunter Annex, AL: Department of the Air Force
As an officer in the United States Army, it has been imperative for me to understand every facet of leadership and why it remains important to be an effective leader. During this course, I have learned some valuable lessons about myself as a leader and how I can improve on my leadership ability in the future. The journal entries along with the understanding of available leadership theories have been an integral part of my learning during this course. For all of the journals and assessments that I completed, I feel it has given me a good understanding of my current leadership status and my future potential as a leader. All of the specific assessments looked at several areas in regards to leadership; these assessments covered several separate focus areas and identified my overall strengths and weaknesses as a leader. Over the course of this paper I will briefly discuss each one of these assessments and journal entries as they pertained to me and my leadership.
Leaders can have a powerful impact on the futures of many, and the way in which one approaches leadership is paramount to the type of impact one will have. Continual growth in the areas of knowledge I have and seek to acquire, as well as recognizing my leadership style and utilizing my personal strengths to the fullest, is vital to the successful implementation of my personal philosophy of leadership.
This proposal will discuss the importance of having a workshop for new incoming Soldiers as a Forward Observer. Valuable training and instructions must be implemented to ensure that a soldier has the right skill set to conduct operations successfully and be proficient in his job. In order for a soldier to be successful at the Soldiers new unit, one must be considered a professional at their abilities and proficient in all key tasks such as Map Reading, Land Navigation, Digital Call for Fire, Radio operation procedures, and be physically fit. This course will instill confidents in the soldier and be more acceptant to the unit. Majority of all training will be conducted face to face to allow hands on training; while digital training will be
Over the course of my professional career in different organizations in the past three years, I have worked under many managers. This has been a learning curve for me to understand the different managing styles and leadership characteristics of people. One of the managers whom I worked under, was the lead in a government project which also happened to be my last project before I took a break for continuing my studies, is a person I admire till date. I learned several life lessons in addition to the technical subject associated with the industry. This paper demonstrates the leadership styles exhibited by my manager with suitable examples.
Some believe that good leadership is a trait that people have from birth and that it cannot be learned. It can be argued that for a majority of Soldiers who are considered good leaders, they were actually forged through a wide variety of study, experiences, good self assessment skills, mentorship over a period of time and who also have strong resiliency tools. In this essay you will be presented with why the most important and most helpful block of instruction within phase one of the Distant Learning-Intermediate Level Education (DL-ILE) is the C131 Leadership Development and Assessment module. Leadership Development is essential for one’s success as an officer in the United States Army. Leadership development comes from a variety of ways that will be discussed in detail within this essay. Also, you will see the need of having good assessment skills to be a successful leader. The last trait needed to be a good leader that is discussed within the C131 module is the need to possess resiliency tools. The C131 Leadership Development and Assessment module is the most important module within the C100 series and arguably will provide the greatest assistance to the student in their duties as a field grade officer over the next ten years of their career.
Experience and time are amazing teachers. When I wrote on my leadership style trying to answer the question of whether I am a manager or a leader at the start of the semester, I wrote that I am mostly a manager. I also wrote that by recognizing where I was at that time would guide me to develop myself, to advance from being a manager to a leader.
There are a few different types of well known leadership styles, authoritarian, delegative, and democratic. To assess my leadership style I used two online tests to help me determine my style. I felt the results were accurate and I fall into a democratic style/participative style. If I am leading I prefer to include the group and get their feedback on solving issues. However, I still make the final decision after listening to the thoughts of the group on a particular topic. This is considered to be a positive style of leadership that is inspiring to the group involved. The leaders decision making tends to be more accurate due to the input of other experts. (Cite)
For many years, people have wondered what makes a good leader. Is it the environment that they are born into or are they made into good leader, who knows. I believe that we cannot give a clear definition of what makes a leader. According to (Kinicki & Kreitner, 2009, p. 346) leadership is defined as “a social influence process in which the leader seeks the voluntary participation of subordinates in an effort to reach organizational goals. So what is my leadership style?
After four years passed at the Royal Military Academy, the so expected day came. Finally, I received the letter for my first assignment; it was the 4th Transportation Group in Dakhla, a city in the extreme South of Morocco. I still remember the feeling of disappointment that has invaded me at that moment. I was 23 years old, and I do not want to waste my youth in a desert city, far from home by more than 2400 km. However, after twelve years spent in, I realize that that was the premise for a rich experience. This assignment allowed me to build my leadership on very solid bases. At 4th Transportation Group, I learned that the mission is a collective task, that trust is at the heart of the Army Profession, and the ability to take