I agree with the notion it is up to the individual to development themselves by absorbing influence and actively seeking improvement.  For example, I am in Command during a deployment and see the opportunities for development for my officers and NCOs while observing brain numbing ideas of how to make time go by faster.  I decided to leave the gaming system at home(mainly because it was old and it’s now my son’s) and focus on getting ahead on evaluations, try to become a SME like I should be, and get a better understanding of what my unit needs to be prepared for.

The officers in my unit are hungry to stay active and seem engaged to better themselves as through an officer call night to discuss issues, team building events, reading and discussing way to improve.

That hasn’t always been the case, and it takes pure motivation on their part to absorb the development.

There is still a responsibility as a leader to enable and encourage development with some top down program, but it is the receiver’s responsibility to make it useful and spread it further.