Stop Guessing: Use Doctrine to Develop Leaders

While many believe that physical training is the most important event the Army does every day, I actually believe that developing future leaders is the most important event we do every day. Similar to learning a new workout routine, developing leaders takes a commitment to learning and practice. More importantly, it requires an understanding of the tools at your disposal and a commitment to making it a priority despite conflicting demands. This guide will give you the tools you need to keep leadership development a priority by summarizing key aspects of ADP 6-22: Army Leadership and the Profession and FM 6-22: Developing Leaders. It will focus on understanding the ALRM and how to use the Situation, Observation, Associate and Assess, and Reinforce and Recommend, or “SOAR” process from FM 6-22 to observe and develop subordinate leaders.

A Systemic Gap in Understanding

When I was a young Lieutenant, I felt deeply unprepared to develop other leaders because I did not know what tools were available to me. I was unsure of what observations to make, how to provide constructive feedback, and how to assess them for evaluation reports. As I matured in the Army, I learned various techniques from other leaders and grew from my own experiences of trial and error. However, everything I learned was through on-the-job training, rather than any deliberately structured educational experiences. It was not until I joined the United States Army Cadet Command (USACC) as an ROTC instructor that I was formally educated in the Army’s doctrinal leadership development tools.

While attending and later teaching at the USACC OC/T Academy, I saw how unfamiliar most of the other Army officers and NCOs were with our leadership doctrine. The majority, like me, learned for the first time that the Army Leadership Requirements Model (ALRM) from ADP 6-22 was more than just Character, Presence, Intellect, Leads, Develops, and Achieves (Figure 1).

Those six words were actually the categories that framed the full 24 attributes and competencies of the whole ALRM. To make the most of the Army’s complex training, leaders at every level owe objective, structured feedback to drive development. Doctrine is that structure.

Evaluating Leadership Through Doctrine

The first step on this journey is to become familiar with the doctrinal definitions of all 24 attributes and competencies. This process starts with opening ADP 6-22, reviewing the definitions, and realizing the doctrinal definitions may not align with how one personally defines the attributes and competencies. When asked, different groups may define the attribute “Communicates” in their own words. Frequently, these groups generate similar definitions, such as “sharing information verbally and nonverbally” or “creating shared understanding”. But there is no need to guess or reconcile different definitions; ADP 6-22 provides a single definition, along with supplemental categories and charts to aid comprehension! When leaders use common language from doctrine, they mitigate confusion and bias when assessing their subordinates.

The second step is to use doctrine to provide specific, objective feedback on individual performance, regardless of MOS or rank. For every attribute or competency, FM 6-22 provides a thorough explanation of the behaviors and actions that align with one of three proficiency levels: Strength, Standard, or Developmental Need (Figure 3). These explanations are called performance indicators. Essentially, they serve as a grading scale or rubric. By reviewing performance indicators and comparing them with a subordinate’s actions and behaviors, a leader can understand a subordinate’s proficiency level. During counseling, leaders should reference the doctrine specifically rather than vague concepts like “you need to improve on communicating” or “keep up your communication skills”. This improves the quality of feedback to subordinate leaders. In summary, FM 6-22 provides Army leaders with a common rubric to assess subordinates’ actions and decisions against a common standards.

While understanding the definitions and performance indicators for attributes and competencies is essential to leadership development, Army leaders must also become more proficient at quickly observing their subordinates, accurately recording their actions and behaviors, and providing doctrinally rooted developmental feedback. FM 6-22 provides the SOAR framework (Situation, Observation, Associate and Assess, and Reinforce and Recommend) to help organize these steps and give leaders a pathway to providing constructive development feedback.

How to Use SOAR

Situation

To introduce this process, we will follow along as if you are 1LT Smith, observing and developing your NCOs during training. First, leaders should record the general situation they are observing- “describe the general assessment situation and conditions” to include the time, location, event, or other situational context that may be relevant. This way, leaders can accurately record where and when the observations took place and easily reference them when conducting future counseling sessions. For example, “25 May 2026 – SSG Jones conducts gunnery at TA Panther; rainy and first day back from long weekend.”

Observation

The second stage of the SOAR process is “observation”. Leaders record observations of their subordinates by describing “the leadership behaviors that the leader [subordinate] exhibits” during the training event or observation period. Here are two key points to assist with this process: One, “observations should be accurate, descriptive, tied to a key event, and accurately depict a behavior pattern without observer bias”. Focus on who, what, where, and when. Use action words to describe what you saw or can confirm is true, and refrain from inserting your impressions. Two, the best observations occur when subordinates engage in critical performance, interact with others, or address a challenging problem. Training can be hectic, and evaluators should focus their observations on periods of friction, such as changes to a plan or when subordinate leaders are conducting the troop leading procedures.

Putting it all together, here are some example observations from 1LT Smith’s green notebook:

• Observation 1: SSG Jones provided SGT Rodriguez with the day’s gunnery training plan prior to the squad leaving the motorpool. This observation accurately describes what SSG Jones did and when/where he did it.
• Observation 2: SSG Jones gave SGT Rodriguez a modified gunnery training plan after the squad occupied TA Panther at 1235. Again, this observation uses action words to describe SSG Jones’s actions and where/when it took place.
• Observation 3: SSG Jones brought all his TLs to his vehicle at 1340 and stated: “I need to change the training plan again because we don’t have time to train all these tasks today”. This third observation uses action words and quotes to describe what SSG Jones did.
• Observation 4: SSG Jones seemed really off today. This final observation is not descriptive and introduces 1LT Smith’s impression. It does not accurately describe what actions or behaviors led to this impression. Also, the observation is not tied to a key event or a specific moment.

While this may seem time-consuming, it is not very different from the actions leaders already perform. Leaders are expected to be at the points of friction with their Soldiers and assessing training. Furthermore, notice that 1LT Smith did not write down everything he saw during the training event. He focused on key friction points he saw throughout the day. By focusing on these points, 1LT Smith captured development observations of SSG Jones while also performing his other squad leader responsibilities.

Later that day, 1LT Smith asked SSG Jones clarifying questions about some of his decisions. During the conversation, 1LT Smith learned that the squad left the motor pool late and that the original training plan included too many tasks for the day. This additional information provides more context for SSG Jones’s actions and the effects these decisions had on the unit/mission. In summary, the Observation portion of the SOAR framework helps leaders record their subordinates’ actions objectively and without bias. These observations will then serve as the foundation for future counselings and evaluations.

Associate and Assess

Once the observation period is over, 1LT Smith moves into the third step of the SOAR process- Associate and Assess. Leaders directly link the ALRM (Figure 1), performance indicators (example Figure 2), and proficiency levels (example Figure 3) to each recorded observation. In other words, this is where a leader directly assesses the subordinate against the Army’s standard. This can be accomplished any time after the training is over, so 1LT Smith can fit this step into his daily or weekly battle rhythm.

Start by reviewing the ALRM definitions above and associating the observation with the attribute or competency that best describes it. 1LT Smith associated the first observation with “Communicates” because of its definition and the supplemental description of creates shared understanding: “clearly expressing ideas” and “creates shared understanding-shares necessary information with others and subordinates”. Next, read the corresponding performance indicators to assess the proficiency level of the observation. Review the language of the performance indicator and determine if it describes the observation. In our example, 1LT Smith read over “Standard” for “Communicates” and determined that “Conveys ideas and thoughts appropriately” best fit the observation.

Finally, record the specific attribute or competency and its proficiency level next to each observation. 1LT Smith wrote down CO (abbreviation for Communicates) and “Standard” next to the observation he was working with and repeated these steps for his remaining observations. It is important to complete these steps for each observation to gain a holistic, well-supported understanding of how the leader performed in the given situation.

Reinforce and Recommend

The final step of the SOAR process is Reinforce and Recommend- “record how to reinforce the leader’s behavior through praise or correction”. After recording observations of subordinate leaders and associating/assessing these observations with attributes and competencies, leaders can now conduct a formal or informal developmental counseling session. Leaders first identify specific attributes or competencies to highlight, then they discuss actions for their subordinates to sustain (reinforce) performance and actions to improve (recommend) performance. Ideally, this counseling occurs as close as possible to the observed event. However, 1LT Smith can and should take time to gather his thoughts so he can provide SSG Jones with quality feedback.

A suggested way to discuss attributes and competencies during counseling is to follow the Doctrine Link + Observation + Effect on Unit/Mission (L+O+E for short). Here is an example from 1LT Smith’s informal counseling with SSG Jones:

[LINK] “SSG Jones, you need to improve on the competency “Gets Results” because you demonstrated limited understanding of supervising, managing, and controlling priorities of work
[OBSERVATION] when you changed the gunnery training plan due to not having enough time to conduct all the planned tasks.
[EFFECT] This led to you only completing one of the five planned tasks and your squad did not go home until 1900 on a Friday”.

Having all three of these elements clearly provides the subordinate with why attention is being called to a decision, what effect that decision had on the unit/mission, and what specific leadership attribute/competency is being discussed.

The conversation continues with 1LT Smith providing his “reinforce and recommend” to help SSG Jones: “SSG Jones, great job involving SGT Rodriguez in the gunnery planning process (reinforce), but you need to do a better job with your time management as we discussed (recommend). Let’s sit down on Monday, go over the next training plan to make sure it is realistic (recommend), and conduct an AAR to improve the squad”.

By identifying all three L+O+E elements and providing specific, actionable reinforcements and recommendations, 1LT Smith gives SSG Jones an objective, doctrine-based assessment of his leadership performance. The reinforce and recommend points are SSG Jones’s key takeaways. The “reinforce and recommend” process can then repeat throughout the rating period, providing sustained, objective data for quarterly counselings and evaluation reports.

Putting it All Together

In conclusion, Army leaders should increase their leadership development skills by becoming more familiar with ADP 6-22 and FM 6-22. Army leaders must start with learning the definitions of all 24 attributes and competencies from the ALRM and understanding that each one is assessed at one of three proficiency levels. This is the Army’s published standards for assessing leadership. Finally, the SOAR process from FM 6-22 provides Army leaders with a structured tool for observing subordinates, comparing those observations against performance indicators, and counseling them on their actions. By using this process and recording the steps in a notebook, leaders can easily refer to it during counseling or when preparing evaluations, keeping leadership development a priority. This is not an optional task. After all, it is not the Army Leadership Suggestions Model, it’s the Army Leadership Requirements Model.

Author Bio: Captain Oren Rosen, U.S. Army, is an Air Defense Artillery Officer currently serving as the Assistant Professor of Military Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. As an ROTC instructor, he spent the last two summers serving with the United States Army Cadet Command Observer Coach/Trainer Academy, instructing 900 ROTC instructors per summer on the SOAR process from FM 6-22. He has served in various leadership and staff positions within the 32d Army Air and Missile Defense Command, including three operational deployments in support of Operation Spartan Shield. He holds a B.A. in History from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Photo: Courtesy of DVIDS, SSG Avery Cunningham, 07 August 2025, Ft. McCoy, WI