Title: Leader Development
Headings: Leader Development
Leader Development
Command Sergeant Major Joe B. Parson
Combined Arms Center, Leader Development & Education

Content: Each and every member of our profession has a shared responsibility to not only develop him or herself but also to develop others. It is also clear from this statement that leader development does not occur periodically or sporadically throughout one’s career. It does not solely take place at a particular school, in a particular assignment, or through one’s individual efforts. Leader development occurs throughout all of those examples and many, many more. Unfortunately our current operational environment has created a culture and climate that does not completely embrace this view. A fundamental flaw in many organizations is the premise that leader development is merely made up of a counseling program and a handful of leader professional development sessions. For some organizations this mindset has become further clouded either because of a deliberate view or an inattentive focus on leader development where it has become something that resides solely in the realm of professional military education. Either through deliberate planning or lack of attention, those organizations have in effect abdicated responsibility to develop their subordinates and have become overly reliant on an educational system designed to provide the fundamentals of leadership. In some cases our expectations of each domain (operational, institutional and self-development) have become somewhat skewed. A great organization places the appropriate amount of focus on training, education and experience in all three of the domains by deliberately planning, preparing, executing and assessing their organization’s leader development program.