October 2021

Leaders!

The Center for Junior Officers has closed out the Fiscal Year – and what a busy year it was.  In an effort to help us “see ourselves”, determine our direction for the next year, and share some highlights with our various stakeholders, we put together an annual report.  I encourage you to take a look here.

Now on to our regular update-

Highlights from the past month

• The First 90 days as an XO (part 3 of 3)
• The Power of Cognitive Diversity for our Military
• Detailed Career Planning for the Junior Officer
• Making the Switch: What I Wish I Knew Before Becoming a Field Grade Officer
• People First, Winning Matters: The Tightrope of Leadership
• CPT Amy Saxton also created a new Read2Lead on the Speed of Trust
• Finally, we’re piloting a new “Lessons on Leadership” series of YouTube featuring videos focused on the human dimension designed to help those interested in individual leader development. You can view the Authentic Leadership lesson here.

Coming up

Some things we have in the works that you’ll see in the weeks ahead on the CJO website:

• WIN as a Platoon Leader in the Arctic
• Innovative Leadership in the Army: Four Lessons from a Start-Up Incubator
• Three Things to Make You Good at Any Job
• What do the US Army and Google have in Common?

Other posts of interest

While we run/focus on the Center for Junior Officers site, we know there is a lot of other great content out there that can help junior officers in their pursuits.  Below are a few articles/podcasts/products from other sources that you might find interesting – we did!

• Critical thinking for Officers-Cadets
• The Four C’s of Decision-Making
• Build Your Team’s Critical Thinking Skills

Leader Development Opportunities

• 30 Under 30 Leader Developer Award.   This award is designed to recognize top cadets and junior officers who have demonstrated excellence in the “Develops Others” realm of leadership. Army units, and the junior officers in them, represent hundreds of small laboratories for leader development, with people testing new ideas, activities, tools, and approaches. Identifying those officers that are developing and employing effective leader development practices or approaches, recognizing them, and sharing their insights is something that can help inspire others and help improve leader development across the Army. The deadline for submissions is 1 January 2022. Please share!  You can read more in the attached document or at The Center for Junior Officers30 Under 30 Leader Developers – The Center for Junior Officers (army.mil)
• Become a Leadership Fellow. The Center for Junior Officers Leadership Fellows Program is an unpaid, non-resident fellowship sponsored by the Center for Junior Officers.  The purpose of the Leadership Fellows Program is to create and support a cadre of junior officers who voluntarily produce developmental content for the broader junior officer corps within the Army. Supported by the Center for Junior Officers, Fellows will be thought leaders who can help the Center for Junior Officers construct developmental opportunities, shape conversations related to issues impacting junior officers, and share their insights to build the leaders of our future force.  Fellows will take one of two forms: Leadership Fellows or Senior Fellows. Applications are due NLT 5 p.m. EST on 9 January 2022. You can read more about the Fellowship here: CJO Leadership Fellows Program – The Center for Junior Officers (army.mil)

Join the team

If you’re an active-duty junior officer who is interested in obtaining a fully-funded advanced degree  (or if you already have an advanced degree from a top-tier institution in a topic related to organizational behavior, I/O psychology, MBA, or related area), will have completed your key development position requirements as a Captain by May 2023, and want to PCS to West Point to join the Center for Junior Officers team, please reach out and let us know

Additional information is also located here.

In closing

Reminder- we’re on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.  Please follow us if you’re on those platforms.  We’re posting new content almost daily. 

Until next month – lead well my friends!