Articles

The Leadership Question You Aren’t Answering

Cale Queen

Army leadership at the company level is usually about the how, as in "How I accomplish the mission." We tear through Paragraph Three and focus on Tasks to Subordinate Units …

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Copilot Leadership: What We Can Learn from the Airline Industry

Chad Plenge

What if I told you that context and culture can kill people? For both Korean Air flight 801 and Air Florida flight 90, differing perceptions of the environment and a …

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Drive by Leadership

Chad Plenge

It was about 4:30 am and my Soldiers were showing up for their law enforcement shift. I was going to work in place of one of them, giving a lucky …

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Property 101

Tyler McKinney

"Sign for this." A common phrase throughout one's Army career, usually associated with a gut drenching feeling of hesitance. So, what does this phrase actually …

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Should I Change My Name?

Mandi Rollinson

Dual military couples face many decisions. Changing names in the military has many considerations, whether in the military or not.

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10 Hard Lessons Learned during Command of a Field Artillery Forward Support Company

Wade Cady

When faced with an extremely challenging adverse situation (civilian or military, personal or professional), how do you handle it? Do you knuckle down, and face it head on? Do you …

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A Case Against Luck

Mandi Rollinson

It didn't take more than a few months of being in the Army before I stocked ready-made leader professional development questions in my uniform pocket. Whether impromptu or planned, visits …

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Of Course I’m Right, I am Your Boss: Legitimate Power and its Barring of Junior Development

Jon DeGreeff

The level by which a leader is given influence or power over a subordinate comes from one of five places according to J.P.R. French in his 1959 article; those bases …

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Four Rules of Tactical Leadership

Jon DeGreeff

As a leader, the style you utilize in the interaction with your subordinates determines the culture of your organization as a whole. Largely, a transactional leader will build a culture …

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Excuses: Kryptonite to Any Well-Laid Plan

Jon DeGreeff

In 2004, I enlisted into the Minnesota Army National Guard. My first duty assignment was to HHC, 2--135 Infantry, part of the 34th Infantry Division. The company motto at the …

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Early to Rise and Late to Bed; the Formula for a Poor Time Manager

Jon Degreef

I can remember clearly the moment when I really, fully began to contemplate time management in the military work place. I was sitting, listening to a hail and farewell speech …

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You Can’t Surge Leader Development

David Weart

Former Vice Chief of Staff General Allyn during his March of 2016, address to a group of cadets at the Annual West Point Leadership & Ethics Conference, told his impressionable …

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Digital Leadership: Operating (Managing) in Virtual Space

Ab Clark

There is little discussion during Professional Military Education (PME) on how to navigate the various social virtual spaces (Facebook, Twitter etc.) as a leader. However, …

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Applying M.B.A Management Styles to Company Command Part 2

Dan Wagner

This is the second part in a two-part article. In it, Captain Dan Wagner, who is currently completing his Masters of Business Administration at the University of Colorado Boulder applies …

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Applying M.B.A Management Styles to Company Command Part 1

Dan Wagner

I took command of Attack Troop, 6th Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment in Fort Bliss, Texas in April 2014. I served as their commander for 16 months until I left for …

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An Organizational Psychology Approach to Improving Unit Effectiveness

Micah Klein

A topic that I've wrestled with a lot lately is the Army's push to get "back to the basics." When I say "back to the basics", I don't mean an …

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How to Speak Doctrinally Without Putting Soldiers to Sleep

Chad Plenge

When Platoon Leaders brief Operations Orders (OPORD), their briefing styles typically fall into one of three categories: a doctrinal style, a layman's style or a teaching style...

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Strategic Broadening Seminar- Defense Academy of the United Kingdom

Curtis L. Radoff

I was part of a group of US Army Officers, 24 Captains & 5 Majors who were selected to attend the FY2016- HQDA Strategic Broadening Seminar Program; a 6 week …

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There’s No “I” In Command Part II: Fostering a Culture of Trust

Scott Nusom

If understanding your role in the larger organization sets the foundation for a successful command (Part I: Connecting to the Larger Organization), then building a …

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There’s No “I” in Command Part 1: Connecting With the Larger Organization

Scott Nusom

For new company commanders it is a normal urge to jump right in, eager to pull the unit in the direction we think it should go. We spend a lot …

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Serving and Leading…Servant Leadership

Robert Williams

How to be a good leader? It's a recurring question with no clear answer. Leadership is an incredibly difficult topic to address in a book, let alone a Medium post. …

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Functional Designation Part 1: Choosing a New Career Path

CoCMD & PLT LDR

The purpose of this article is to provide insight into three U.S. Army Functional Areas from three separate officers who recently assessed into them. The respondents answer some very basic …

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Giving Control

The Stable of Leadership

What are those things that cause you to maintain control within your own organization? How do you let the horses out of the stall without a lead rope? This week …

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“Get off your phone, sir” – Leadership in the Digital Age

Angry Staff Officer

By: Angry Staff Officer It goes without saying that the digital age has brought both pros and cons to being an Army leader. It has streamlined reporting requirements and given …

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Adaptive and Agile

Robert Williams

I write for the past. Every year I write a reflection on the past year to learn from my successes and failures. The past provides the foundation for officers to …

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My Inspirational Leaders

Gary Klein

A recent CCLKOW piece encouraged us all to share a "story about the leader who influenced or inspired you the most in your career decisions." Like most, I have been …

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Reflecting and What it Means to Learn in the Army

Micah Klein

From June 2012 through April of 2014 I was privileged to have commanded a Transportation Company in the Army. Some days were harder than others and some days left me …

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That Buzzing Sound is the Coming Swarm

Christopher G. Ingram

"Hey Sir, you hear that?" "Yeah, can you tell where it's coming from?"

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Cheers to the Stable Call

Christopher Telle

The "Stable Call" is a traditional gathering of cavalrymen to drink, to discuss, and possibly to brag of their exploits and professionalism. Today it serves as an informal forum for …

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Memorial Day: what it means to me

The Stable of Leadership

Memorial Day weekend has significantly changed in meaning throughout my life...

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My Year as a Cavalry Troop Commander

Paul Guzman

Troop-level command, for me as a prior service NCO, has been the professional highlight of my 14 year Army career. I just want to share a few simple lessons after …

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The “US” Button: What we wear says a lot about who we are

The Stable of Leadership

In Hogan's Heroes Season 4, Episode 5, Carter loses a button off his uniform while sabotaging the Dorfmann Bridge. The button, discovered by German patrols, makes its way to the …

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Tackling Cultural, Regional Expertise, and Language Education Effectively

CoCMD & PLT LDR

Since the Chief of Staff of the Army's prioritized the Regionally Aligned Forces policy, company commanders have been addressing the best way to tackle Cultural, …

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Of Leadership, Sailboats, and Mission Command: An Unconventional Metaphor

The Stable of Leadership

I have a confession. I enjoy using doctrine in ways it isn't intended. Doctrine Man is one of my personal heroes. I like metaphorical story telling. Don't understand? Let me …

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Company Command Changes Who You Are

Tiara Walz

I relinquished command on March 27th, 2015. What a momentous, exciting, bittersweet day. That's actually a good description of a lot of days in command, though. Below are some of …

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Brigade Support Battalion Leadership Lessons: Observations

Ryan Cornell-d'Echert

I would like to share some leadership lessons, based on the challenges faced by some of the organizations that my OC/T team and I are currently observing and coaching. These …

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Building Leadership

The Stable of Leadership

I was fortunate tonight to address the Wake Forest/Winston-Salem State ROTC Battalion at their Spring Ball. While I still don't believe I'm old enough to address a group formally (my …

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What’s in a Leadership Philosophy?

The Stable of Leadership

Nearly every leader has written a leadership philosophy and distributed it to their organization to provide insight to their thoughts on leadership. Some are pithy …

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Emotional Intelligence & Mission Command

Jonathan Silk

This past week I was at the 2015 Leader Development Rendezvous hosted by the Center for the Advancement of Leader Development and Organizational Learning (CALDOL) where MAJ Ryan Kranc gave a …

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Why “The Stable of Leadership?”

The Stable of Leadership

A stable is a dwelling and storage place for livestock, particularly horses. In the Cavalry, a stable is a nickname for the headquarters organization. In sports a stable refers to …

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