Military training principles are often used in both
the military and corporate world to varying degrees of success. They are intense
programs designed to test the very nature and central identity of individuals.
Lt. Colonel Beurskens discusses the nature and benefit of the 2013 Army Leader
Development Strategy (ALDS) that develops critical and creative thinking that
solves problems.
ALDS uses training, experience, and education to
create operational, institutional, and developmental spheres of leadership enhancement.
Programs offer opportunities to blur the lines between these three spheres to
develop something stronger.
In 2010 the U.S. Army Combined Armed Center tested
the success of the program to develop captains that have technical, tactical,
knowledge, and skills to lead company size units and work within battalions and
brigade staffs.
They found that there is no substitute for a high
quality leader in small group functions. Likewise, curriculum must be updated,
relevant, and rigorous for the program to work well. The updating and alignment
of technology to small group learning is important.
The programs are enhanced with knowledgeable
instructors from diverse backgrounds, opportunities to social network, and time
to recover, achieve, and rebalance after new milestones. The components work together in a messy pathway
of development to achieve their goals.
Whether one is working in the military or within the
corporate center it is important to ensure that continuous improvement in
training methods occur to foster the highest caliber of leaders. People are cut from many different cloths and
their development is often uniquely their own. Ensuring that the proper
resources and structure are present fosters higher success rates.
Beurkens, K.
(2014) The Criticality of Captain’s Education. Military Review, 94 (2).
