JO Newsletter — August 2017

The “dog days” of summer are upon us. It may be hot out there, but keep the fire in your bellies and your passion for leader development. Your contributions to the forum are making a difference! As one member moving from being a PL to an XO put it, “My responses don’t even begin to describe just how much I value other members’ contributions, and I can only hope that when I contribute to their post that I am able to add something of value.”

As always, if you see something that you want to contribute to, just hit the link and go right to the item. If you want to submit a document or respond to a thread but can’t get to the forum, just reply to this email and we’ll get it posted.

Discussions

• Great Stories of Leadership, Character, and Ethical Development: Our Aussie colleagues are revamping their leadership, character, and ethics instruction, and they want your help! What is your go-to material for good and bad examples in this area?
• Recommendation for Award Examples: Writing Army awards is an art form, one that takes time and effort to get right. One member is asking for examples of DA 638s that he can draw ideas from — can you assist?
• Showing Appreciation to Soldiers: Beyond awards, there are lots of different ways to show appreciation to your soldiers. Food, Gatorade, and morale patches have already been talked about; contribute your own ideas!
• Ready for the Next War?: Warfighting is what we do, and readiness to fight is the Chief’s top priority. No matter what job you’re in or where you serve, YOU can do something to enhance readiness. Join the conversation and share your ideas!
• HHC Pre-Deployment: A member has just moved from a line company to an HHC in preparation for a deployment in the fall. HHC is its own unique animal; how have you managed the challenge? And if you’re a staff officer, what have you done that can help ease the transition?

Got a question of your own to ask? Hit this link!

Content

• Leaders Huddle Podcasts: We have two different but equally motivating podcasts for you this month. Episode 29 features The Angry Staff Officer talking about what inspires him to see the Army through a lens of humor. Episode 30 showcases forum leader Tiara Walz’s work on using emotional intelligence to lead Army formations.
• 8 Step Training Model Checklist: Great training makes great units. The 8 step training model is the “don’t forget nuthin'” of the training domain and a powerful tool for leaders.
• MDMP Reference Guide: We love to hate the MDMP, but it’s a staff officer’s bread and butter. This helpful product summarizes the current ADRP 5-0 process while incorporating some still relevant material from earlier doctrine.
• Feedback: Are You Doing it Wrong?: This piece from the Mentor Minute blog challenges us all to think about how we give feedback. The categories of Appreciation, Coaching, and Evaluation should help you think critically about when and how to do it.

Got a tool/SOP/document/article that can help others? Share it here!

Community News

• Tuesday Tools:  Tuesday Tools is off and running! We got three great contributions last month and are looking forward to more. Every Tuesday, please consider contributing one of the most helpful tools you use in your current role, be it a spreadsheet, database, document, checklist, or whatever it is you use to help you stay on top of your game. You can share your tools by visiting this link; please add the tag “Tuesday-Tools” so it’s more easily searchable. You can find all the Tuesday Tools on the main menu at Resources –> Tools –> Tuesday Tools. Join us for “Tuesday Tools” and contribute to the profession!
• You can now “like” and “PIE” individual posts and replies, along with content items. When you click “Send PIE”, the contributor gets a note that you found their contribution to be Positive, Inspiring, and Energizing. How cool is that?!

• Something about the JO forum not quite right? Let us know using the BugHunter thread!