FM 6-22 Leader Development (june 2015) - page 2

 

  Главная      Manuals     FM 6-22 Leader Development (june 2015)

 

Search            copyright infringement  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Content      ..      1      2      3      ..

 

 

 

FM 6-22 Leader Development (june 2015) - page 2

 

 

Fundamentals of Development
z
Realistic expectations and self-perception. A mentor may refine the mentee’s self-perception by
discussing social traits, intellectual abilities, talents, and roles. It is important for the mentor to
provide honest feedback. A mentor should encourage the mentee to have realistic expectations of
their own capabilities, present and potential position opportunities, and the mentor’s offerings.
z
Time. Set aside specific time to meet; do not change times unless necessary. Meet periodically to
control interruptions. Frequently check in with each other via calls or e-mail.
MENTORING BENEFITS
3-69. Soldiers and Army Civilians who seek feedback to focus their development, coupled with dedicated,
well-informed mentors, will embed the concepts of life-long learning, self-development, and adaptability
into the Army’s culture. The benefits are threefold: for the mentor, the mentee, and the organization.
Mentor Benefits
3-70. Serving as a mentor can provide many benefits, such as—
z
Professional development. Becoming identified as someone who develops or mentors well-known
performers can attract qualified, high-potential individuals who will look for opportunities to work
for the mentor. Developing others to follow in a mentor’s footsteps can facilitate the mentor’s own
personal and professional development and career progression.
z
Knowledge. Mentees can be a source of general organizational data, feedback, and fresh ideas.
Because higher-level positions isolate some executives and managers, mentees can serve as an
important link in keeping communication lines open. While the mentor might possess facts about
issues, mentees often provide important feedback about views at different levels of the Army.
z
Personal satisfaction. Mentors generally report a sense of pride in watching mentees develop and
a sense of contribution to the Army. It is an opportunity to pass on a legacy to the next generation.
z
Sharpened skills. Mentors sharpen management, leadership, and interpersonal skills as they
challenge and coach the mentee.
z
Source of recognition. Good mentors are well respected.
z
Expanded professional contacts. Mentors develop rewarding professional contacts by interacting
with other mentors, supervisors, and contacts made through the mentorship relationship.
Mentee Benefits
3-71. Mentees gain tremendously from a mentoring relationship. Such benefits include—
z
Increasing self-awareness through candid feedback.
z
Building confidence and encouragement to grow beyond usual expectations.
z
Having a role model and a trusted advisor.
z
Gaining better understanding of the Army and what is required to succeed and advance.
z
Gaining visibility through opportunities to try advanced tasks and demonstrate expanded
capabilities.
z
Reporting greater career satisfaction with higher performance and productivity ratings.
Organizational Benefits
3-72. The organization and the Army as a whole benefit in the following ways—
z
Increased commitment and retention. Mentoring increases the understanding of how to reach the
next level of responsibility--enhancing job satisfaction and reducing reasons to leave the
organization.
z
Improved performance. Both mentors and mentees have an opportunity to expand their technical,
interpersonal, and leadership skills through the mentorship relationship. Mentoring helps mentees
identify and prepare for positions which best fit their needs and interests. This benefits the Army
by enabling it to fill positions with the most capable, motivated personnel. Mentoring is
-XQH
FM 6-22
3-19
Chapter 3
functionally efficient, because instead of floundering on their own, mentors help mentees to
develop career road maps.
z
Leader development. Mentoring increases the effectiveness of leader developmental activities that
occur within the chain of command and generally produces leaders comfortable with the
responsibilities of senior level positions.
z
Leadership succession. Mentoring facilitates the smooth transfer of Army Values, culture,
traditions, Warrior Ethos, and other key components to the next generation of Army leadership.
z
Recruitment. An Army-wide mentoring program makes the Army attractive to potential recruits
because it shows the Army cares about its people and their development.
The Mentorship of George C. Marshall
General of the Army George C. Marshall served as the U.S. Army Chief of Staff during
World War II. As such, he played a leading role in the expansion of the Army during
the war and the selection and advancement of key leaders. Long before assuming his
duties as Chief of Staff, Marshall served in important positions during World War I at
the division, corps, and American Expeditionary Force staff levels. From these vantage
points, he witnessed the difficulties inherent in training large bodies of troops and
selecting and developing leaders on a shortened timeline.
In the interwar period, Marshall was determined to avoid the shortcomings that marked
the American experience in World War I. He became the Assistant Commandant of
the U.S. Army Infantry School at Fort Benning in 1927, a position from which he could
instill lessons from World War I. During the next five years, he revamped the school
curriculum, changing its focus from following rote formulas to stressing tactical
improvisation and creativity based on experience. He chose officers like J. Lawton
Collins, Joseph Stillwell, and Omar Bradley to be instructors at Fort Benning, mentoring
these men to ensure his approach to training and tactics was passed to younger
officers and thus across the Army.
Marshall’s approach was important because during his tenure at Fort Benning, over
200 future generals passed through the school either as students, instructors, or both.
His approach to training and leadership influenced them all. Marshall later reflected
that the officers with whom he served at Fort Benning were the best he worked with
during his career.
In addition to his Fort Benning posting, his other interwar assignments, particularly
several tours at the War Department and a posting to the Army War College, gave him
a broad knowledge of the interwar Army officer corps. This was a key factor in his
appointment of senior officers during World War II. Marshall either picked or
recommended many of the American generals given top commands during the war,
including European theater commander Dwight Eisenhower, China theater
commander Joseph Stilwell, Army Ground Forces chief Leslie McNair, army group
commanders Mark Clark, Omar Bradley, and Jacob Devers and army commander
George Patton. Marshall’s mentorship of subordinates at Fort Benning allowed him to
select or recommend officers for key positions that he had trained and prepared in
practical tactics. This mentoring helped ensure that the Army fighting World War II was
able to adjust rapidly to battlefield realities.
MENTORING RESPONSIBILITIES
3-73. Mentoring is a professional relationship. As such, mentors and mentees each have responsibilities to
ensure the relationship is positive and productive. Both must consider their own, and the other person’s,
interests and expectations. Mentors should follow standards for appropriateness expected of all Army leaders.
While personal rapport and candid feedback are both characteristics of good mentoring relationships, mentors
should try to focus on professional development advice. A mentee should never use a mentor to bypass
normal and appropriate procedures or chains of command or to exert pressure or influence on an individual,
such as the mentee’s supervisor, who is the appropriate decision authority for the mentee.
3-20
FM 6-22
-XQH
Fundamentals of Development
3-74. Mentoring is crucial to development and retention. Once the relationship is initiated, the mentor has
responsibility to—
z
Share organizational insight gained through knowledge and experience. Showing mentees how
you have managed a certain situation is far more effective than just talking them through it.
z
Expand the mentee’s network. Mentors give advice on a spectrum of topics, ranging from specific
skills to broader issues of career goals. Mentees gain sound guidance, access to established
networks, and enhanced personal and professional perspectives.
z
Help with setting development goals. Mentees often seek mentors to enable professional growth,
perhaps advancement in the organization or in changing career fields.
z
Provide developmental feedback. Giving feedback increases the mentee’s self-awareness,
particularly concerning strengths and developmental needs. If properly given, feedback results in
greater rapport. Positive feedback comes as, “I think you did a good job with the meeting.” It tends
to be from the perspective of the giver. Turn negative or constructive feedback into “you”
statements: “You need to create an agenda for each meeting.”
Candor in Mentorship
From a warrant officer:
The best thing my mentor ever did for me was be brutally honest with me. I was a
senior chief warrant officer 2 and thought I knew everything. Then there was a situation
where my battalion commander and I did not see eye-to-eye. I explained the situation
to my mentor, a senior warrant officer. I believed he would side with me and make me
feel good. Instead, I got a reality check. He told me that I was the one screwing up.
After the shock and being offended that he did not side with me, it jolted me to think. A
good mentor has the candor to tell you the bad things you are doing as well as the
good, and set you on the right path again. I appreciated this lesson that I still remember,
and I use the same approach today with the Soldiers I mentor.
3-75. The mentee must be an active participant in the relationship. In particular, mentees must—
z
Prepare. Complete appropriate preparations for meetings with the mentor.
z
Develop. Work to achieve the best attributes, skills, and competencies.
z
Be flexible. Listen to the mentor and consider all new options proposed.
z
Take initiative. Seek the mentor’s advice when needed.
z
Focus on the goal, not the process. If unclear, ask the mentor how the process leads to the goal.
MENTORING SKILLS
3-76. It is important to possess key mentoring skills to be effective as a mentor. These skills include—
z
Listening actively. Focusing on the mentee’s main points and whole meaning. Watch body
language, maintain eye contact, and understand which topics are difficult for the mentee to discuss.
Showing someone that you are listening is a valuable skill. It shows you value what the person is
saying and that you will not interrupt them. This requires patience and a willingness to delay
judgment.
z
Holding back judgments. Reduce emotional reactions (such as anger or excitement) to the
mentee’s comments. Do not immediately draw conclusions about whether the meaning is good or
bad until you are sure you understand the comments.
z
Asking the right questions. The best mentors ask questions that make the mentee do the thinking.
However, this is not as easy as it sounds. Simply, think of what you want to tell the mentee and
frame a question that will help the mentee come to the same conclusion on their own. To do this,
try asking open questions that a simple yes or no cannot answer. Alternatively, ask direct questions
that offer several answer options. Then ask the mentee why they chose that particular answer.
z
Providing feedback. Do this in a way that accurately and objectively summarizes what you have
heard, but interprets things in a way that adds value for the mentee. In particular, use feedback to
-XQH
FM 6-22
3-21
Chapter 3
show that you understand what the mentee's thinking approach has been. This is key to helping
the mentee see a situation from another perspective.
z
Resisting distractions. Control the location and minimize outside noises or people as much as
possible. Focus on the mentee.
GUIDED DISCOVERY LEARNING
3-77. Underpinning all developmental activity is the accurate observation of performance. Armed with
accurate observations, the senior leader engages the subordinate in effective two-way communication to
deliver observations on actions and behaviors. Effective delivery techniques foster leader acceptance,
ownership, and action.
3-78. Besides directly delivering an observation, leaders can use indirect methods. Indirect methods place
increased responsibility on the subordinate to identify personal strengths and developmental needs. Indirect
methods employ the techniques of guided discovery learning. The techniques are designed to engage
subordinates to discover their learning needs, supported by the senior leader.
3-79. Guided discovery learning is an advanced technique that experienced leaders employ to help the
subordinate learn. The technique can be used in coaching, counseling, and mentoring situations. Guided
discovery learning is effective because--
z
It is the subordinate’s responsibility to make sense of incoming information and integrate it with
their personal base of experience and knowledge of relevant doctrine. It is a process of discovery
for the leader.
z
Subordinate learning and transfer of knowledge are maximized because the supervisor generally
keeps the subordinate on track through hints, direction, coaching, feedback, or modeling.
z
Guided learning enables deep understanding of targeted concepts, principles, and techniques.
3-80. Pure discovery learning is less effective than guided discovery learning. With discovery learning
alone—
z
The subordinate merely executes based on personal experience or knowledge.
z
The subordinate makes sense of incoming information using whatever criteria they feel is relevant.
z
The supervisory leader is passive, providing no guidance or feedback concerning the rules or
criteria that the subordinate is using for problem solving.
3-81. Guided discovery learning is more effective than prescriptive methods where the leader gives the
subordinate the correct answer to a problem. Prescriptive methods require neither thinking nor deep learning
by the subordinate. They merely execute the prescribed solution given by the supervisory leader.
GUIDED DISCOVERY LEARNING TECHNIQUES
3-82. Guided discovery learning techniques are an effective way to deliver leadership observations. These
methods are commonly employed when developing the leadership skills of subordinates:
z
Positive reinforcement.
z
Open-ended questioning.
z
Multiple perspectives.
z
Scaling questions.
z
Cause and effect analysis.
z
Recovery from setbacks.
z
Use experience.
Positive Reinforcement
3-83. The first observations of a subordinate ought to focus on what they are doing right. Commenting on
positive actions up front shows a commitment to balanced and fair observation. It also builds confidence and
confirms performance that is productive and accomplishing an objective.
3-22
FM 6-22
-XQH
Fundamentals of Development
Open-ended Questioning
3-84. Asking open-ended questions gets subordinates thinking about the situation and their leadership
pertaining to unit performance. Broad questions maximize the potential for discovery. Leaders may need to
ask additional specific questions if the subordinate is not identifying issues that need attention.
3-85. An advantage of this approach gives subordinates hints about what they may need to do differently,
yet allow them to discover the actual issue on their own. In this way, responsibility for evaluation is with the
subordinate, as is ownership for fixing the situation.
3-86. Open-ended questioning is useful when the leader has time to listen, reflect, and do something about
the situation. Thus, the busiest part of mission planning or execution may not be the most appropriate time
to ask an open-ended question—unless it has a critical connection to reflective thought.
Coaching through Open-ended Questions
From an Army Civilian division chief:
My boss had me write information papers and give presentations on various topics that
expanded my knowledge of our organization and the role of my fellow division chiefs.
He asked questions that led to shared expectations. He asked who I thought I could
seek assistance from to help accomplish those goals. In general, his hands-off
approach allowed me to make key decisions for my section and to learn from my
mistakes. His approach was always more as a coach than a dictator.
3-87. Open-ended questioning is employed by—
z
Identifying the outcome for the leader to realize.
z
Asking general questions about factors related to that outcome.
z
Asking specific questions and providing hints until the leader connects the outcome with actions.
z
Listening closely to the leader’s response.
z
Confirming and reinforcing what is heard as an accurate assessment.
z
Probing further or offer outcome-based evidence if they are not accurately assessing the situation.
Multiple Perspectives
3-88. Employing multiple perspectives helps a leader see the situation they are in from another person’s
perspective (or a different frame of reference). A complementary step to the decisionmaking process is to
understand a problem and appreciate its complexities before seeking to solve it. Supervisors help subordinates
reframe the current situation through open-ended questions or soliciting third party feedback from other
stakeholders.
3-89. The purpose of multiple perspectives is to prompt subordinates to think creatively and innovatively in
their approach. Leaders should use this technique when a subordinate appears to be stuck in a limited way of
thinking or is unable to break away from a mental block.
Scaling Questions
3-90. The scaling questions technique is useful in facilitating a leader’s self-understanding of how difficult
or challenging a problem is in relative terms. It also facilitates incremental improvement and helps an
individual recognize that progress has occurred. Supervisors ask subordinates to use a 10-point scale (where
10 is highest or best and 1 is lowest or worst) to assess personal performance on an action or behavior
(competencies). The subordinate could share what they could do differently to improve performance one or
two points on the scale.
Cause and Effect Analysis
3-91. Leader actions are often several layers or processes removed from their consequences. The cause and
effect analysis is a method to identify the root (or original) cause of consequences and outcomes.
-XQH
FM 6-22
3-23
Chapter 3
3-92. It is not always obvious to leaders how certain behaviors affect outcomes further down the line. Cause
and effect analysis is important because a leader and unit will continue to experience a negative outcome
until identifying and resolving the actual root cause. Many times only subsequent effects (or symptoms) of a
problem are addressed, leaving the root cause intact.
3-93. Leaders use cause and effect analysis when there is limited time and capability to address
shortcomings. Identification of a root cause focuses on remedial actions that will fix the problem and change
the consequence.
3-94. Cause and effect analysis is facilitated through—
z
Asking “What (rather than why) causes it to happen? Show consequences or outcome data.
z
Continuing to ask “What?” and “What else?” until identifying all causes. It helps to capture work
on paper or a whiteboard.
z
Depicting the relationships between causes and effect.
z
Identifying which causes, if changed or isolated, would prevent reoccurrence of the outcome or
consequence.
z
Identifying solutions or changes to implement without causing other negative outcomes or
consequences to occur.
z
Coaching the leader on being proactive to avoid negative outcomes before they occur.
Recovery from Setbacks
3-95. When a subordinate experiences a difficult situation, setback, or seemingly insurmountable challenge,
a supervisory leader can help restore confidence and prevent conditions from going from bad to worse.
Employing the following enables recovery from setbacks—
z
Reinforcing a strength—a leadership behavior the individual is performing well.
z
Helping the leader recognize that they are already successfully handling some part of the task.
z
Asking open-ended questions to increase situational awareness and probe for solutions.
z
Providing recommendations if or when the leader is unable to arrive at a suitable course of action.
z
Increasing the percentage of positive reinforcement and support relative to negative reinforcement.
Use Experience
3-96. By virtue of position and experience, a leader often knows something is going wrong or right before
the subordinate knows it. There is an art to knowing when to impart aspects of that experience to a
subordinate. A great deal of learning can occur by providing leaders with hints and bits of information, well
short of full understanding.
3-97. Leaders should carefully weigh the pros and cons of providing a subordinate with hints during training
exercises. It is important to allow situations and events to unfold without premature intervention. If the leader
provides information or solutions to the subordinate too soon, the situation’s development value diminishes,
as situations of ambiguity and adversity compel leaders to adapt and problem-solve on their own.
3-98. Yet, leaders do not want to hold on to information that may inhibit learning during the exercise.
Without hints, a subordinate may experience a situation and its consequences, but not effectively learn from
it. With hints and additional information, the subordinate launches on a learning expedition while the situation
is still evolving. The inquisitive subordinate will follow up on the leader’s hints and find out why systems or
people did not perform to expectations, a valuable learning expedition.
Special Situation: Working with Non-responsive Indivdiuals
3-99. There will be times when a subordinate does not respond to any of the feedback or discovery learning
methods. When this occurs, the leader might reflect on why this is occurring and if there is anything to do
differently to trigger desired responses. Ultimately, the responsibility for learning lies with the subordinate.
Even in difficult situations, there are techniques to use that may gain the subordinate’s attention and create
learning opportunities.
3-24
FM 6-22
-XQH
Fundamentals of Development
3-100. These are some ways to redirect a non-responsive subordinate—
z
Redirect efforts to work with the subordinate leader’s subordinates and peers—they are likely
feeling the consequences of the subordinate leader’s behavior. Support the subordinate leader’s
adaptation to the identified developmental needs by providing solutions and taking action to
mitigate effects on the unit’s mission. The subordinate leader should notice the change in mission
performance and want to know why it is occurring.
z
Resources permitting, have the non-responsive subordinate swap places with a peer or have
another leader observe the non-responsive subordinate. Compare notes and see if your
observations are consistent with that of the other leader.
z
Use experience. Talk the situation over with other leaders skilled at observing leadership. Obtain
their perspectives and ideas on how to work with non-responsive subordinates.
OBSERVATION, DELIVERY, AND DISCOVERY LEARNING INTEGRATION
3-101. Before observing a subordinate, leaders should review the performance indicators (see chapter 6) to
associate observations with the various levels of proficiency under each competency and attribute. Before
the observed event, leaders should record the situation and include information such as the date, time, place,
and mission or task the subordinate is involved in. They should also note any other key players in the situation
and the climate of their relationship (if known).
3-102. During and immediately following an event, leaders should record their observations. Referring to
the behavioral indicators to associate observed behaviors with the competencies and attributes, leaders should
indicate proficiency as either a developmental need, meeting the standard, or a strength.
3-103. Following the observation event, supervisors should record how to reinforce the observed behaviors
and note recommendations. When delivering these observations to the subordinate, the leader should refer to
the recorded notes. During delivery, the leader should be prepared to highlight the subordinate’s strengths,
how they meet the standard, and developmental needs. The discussion should lead to reinforcement and
recommendations for sustainment and improvement.
3-104. Leaders should engage in a guided discovery learning conversation with subordinates by asking
open-ended questions to help them understand the effect their actions had on the mission and Soldier
outcomes. Leaders should guide the subordinate toward the realization of strengths and improvement of
developmental needs.
OBSERVATION STEPS REVIEW
As a review of the process for delivering an observation, these steps help leaders
deliver observations to subordinates—
Confirm the situation.
Ask for a self-assessment.
Clarify and come to an agreement.
Add observations.
Raise future-oriented questions; ask for recommendations.
Strengthen the leader—validate and reinforce positives.
COACHING
3-105. Coaching helps another individual or team through a set of tasks or with improving personal
qualities. A coach gets the person or team to understand their current level of performance and guides their
performance to the next level. A central task of coaching is to link feedback interpretation with developmental
-XQH
FM 6-22
3-25
Chapter 3
actions. The role of the coach is to advise the individual or team on what levels can be reached and what to
do to reach them.
3-106. Similar to other development processes, there are a number of components in coaching:
z
Building rapport. The coach builds a strong rapport to facilitate trust and open communications.
z
Gathering and analyzing information. Performance indicators or the leader or team’s perceptions
are reviewed to determine an accurate picture of capabilities.
z
Addressing the gaps. Specific issues are discussed in light of similarities and differences with what
are normal expectations.
z
Narrowing focus. The coach helps guide the leader to identify the directions to strengthen and
develop.
z
Setting goals. The coach assists the leader in establishing development goals.
z
Planning development. Together the coach and leader determine paths of development, desired
outcomes, and specific developmental actions.
z
Promoting action. The coach sets conditions that help to sustain developmental action and
establish accountability for development.
3-107. Coaches can draw on the guided discovery learning techniques to establish and maintain rapport and
to build commitment. The coach tailors how directive feedback and guidance are depending on the situation
of those being coached and the performance level. If coaches are involved in developmental actions, they
look for a good balance between challenge and the learner’s perception of ability to achieve incremental
improvement.
3-108. To prepare for coaching, leaders will study and apply the fundamental guidelines for leader
development. They will be passionate learners in the area being coached. They will arm themselves with tips,
techniques, and practice routines to advise subordinates. Developmental actions for leadership include
observing other leaders, modeling what good leaders do, and practicing new techniques or approaches.
Leaders can apply techniques in the conduct of their duties, look for different on-the-job opportunities, or
identify outside opportunities. Other actions include reading, research, consulting, and formal coursework.
Sometimes applying different mindsets and ways of thinking provide enough development to meet
established goals. ADRP 6-22 provides guidelines for coaching (focus goals, clarify self-awareness, uncover
potential, eliminate obstacles, develop action plans and commitment, and conducts follow-up).
STUDY
3-109. Leader development processes in the organization should establish an expectation for each leader to
spend personal time seeking sources of knowledge and opportunities to grow and learn. If a supervisor’s
personal involvement and unit resources were always prerequisites for leader development, it would be a
limited effort indeed. Organization leaders should develop distinct ways of studying their chosen profession
and identifying ways to improve the unit.
Encourage subordinates of the same position or similar grade to form a community-of-practice
group that fosters excellence. Provide the groups reachback capability to Web-based forums.
Provide each group with an opportunity to present recommendations or new methods to the
leadership team.
PROFESSIONAL READING PROGRAMS
3-110. Professional reading programs broaden leader knowledge, understanding, and confidence. Leaders
gain a refined understanding of the material and develop critical thinking skills through pertinent discussion
with others. Discussing ideas and topics with peers, subordinates, and leaders who may offer significantly
different perspectives exposes all participants to new ideas and potentially broadens their outlook.
3-26
FM 6-22
-XQH
Fundamentals of Development
Successful reading programs depend on how they are structured—what readings are chosen and
what purpose is integrated into the program. If you want to encourage tactics, then select readings
on operational tactics. If you want to develop skills for which interesting readings do not exist,
then design questions that trigger reflection about engaging material. For example, to stimulate
critical thinking assign questions about the materials that require consideration of underlying
assumptions, alternative courses of action, and application of lessons to other situations.
3-111. Organizations and individuals can implement professional reading programs; a wealth of materials
are available to support topic determination, such as the U.S. Army Chief of Staff’s Professional Reading list
or the U.S. Center of Military History Professional Reading List. Determining the frequency, such as monthly
or quarterly, will be dependent on organizational missions, but the unit must allocate and protect time for
effective implementation.
3-112. For personal professional reading, topics may come from established reading lists, stem from
personal interests, or follow from determining strengths and developmental needs. As part of a personal
reading program, leaders should maintain a reading journal to take notes and record key passages, insights,
and reflections. Leaders who record thoughts on paper can gain clarity and develop new ideas. The journal
could record titles of related books and articles for further investigation.
PROFESSIONAL WRITING PROGRAMS
3-113. Army leaders consider how they can contribute to the body of thought in their fields of expertise by
researching and writing about topics that interest them. By writing and publishing papers, they can advance
their profession, their mastery of their discipline, and their writing skills. Writers of scholarly papers study
their topics in depth and in breadth. They take formal classes in research and in writing so they can master
appropriate standards. They use appropriate writing processes. Before submitting papers to professional or
academic journals, they ensure their submissions meet the publications’ requirements. In addition, the unit
security office should screen items for publication to prevent the spillage of classified information. Writers
scrupulously adhere to intellectual property rights rules and shun plagiarism.
3-114. For developing leaders, a developmental writing program serves as a significant complementary
companion to a professional reading program. Length and time given for completion should vary based on
the requirement. Some ideas and suggested lengths for professional writing include:
z
Leadership philosophy—an opportunity to codify what you believe as a leader such as
expectations, what is important, and what is non-negotiable (2-3 pages).
z
Personal experiences:
z
Significant experience, whether good or bad, and how it affected you including lessons
learned (5-7 pages).
z
Routine experiences, describing how you handle them and possible improvements for
consideration (2-3 pages).
z
Historical person or event related to your branch, regimental affiliation, or organization (5-7
pages).
z
Opinion piece explaining changes affecting your branch through a particular person, policy, or
equipment (5-7 pages).
3-115. Individuals should consider writing for publication as a complementary element to the professional
reading program. Writing increases self-development as well as develops others who gain from the lessons
learned and stimulated thought. Papers created through the writing program could be considered for
publication in branch journals or as blog entries. This shares ideas and gathers feedback for the author, which
could be beneficial in further developing the original ideas.
-XQH
FM 6-22
3-27
Chapter 3
CONSIDERATIONS FOR PROFESSIONAL READING
A reading program is one way to foster self-study by making the reading
relevant, provide a purpose, and follow up. Leaders can use this format to
present a short lesson on leadership and leader development to others.
Book/Article/Reference
Name of leader and position
Describe the leader’s environment and situation.
Who was the leader leading?
How did the leader attempt to influence the situation or people?
What were the positive and negative outcomes?
What were the leader’s strengths and development needs?
What lessons from this leader’s experience can we apply immediately or
later?
Additional questions may be used to focus readers on specific aspects:
What is the significance of the title? Would you have given the work a
different title? If yes, what is your title?
What were the central themes? Do you feel they were adequately explored?
Were they presented in a cliché or in a unique manner?
What did you think of the structure and style of the writing?
What part was the most central to the work?
What resonated positively or negatively with you personally? Why?
Has anything ever happened to you like the examples cited? How did you
react?
What surprised you the most?
What were notable historical, economic, racial, cultural, traditional, gender,
sexual or socioeconomic factors brought up in the book? How did they
affect the presentation of the central idea? Was it realistic?
Were there any particular quotes that stood out? Why?
Did any of the situations remind you of yourself or someone you know?
Did you disagree with the author’s views? If so, what specifically and why?
Have any of your views or thoughts changed after reading this?
Are there any works that you would compare with this one? How does this
compare?
Have you read any other works by this author? Were they comparable to
this one?
What did you learn from, take away from, or get out of this work?
Did your opinion change as you read it? How?
Would you recommend a peer, subordinate, or supervisor read it?
Was anything confusing or contradictory about what the author presented?
Why do you think the author included some of the stories?
What is your rating for the work? How do you feel about reading it?
SECTION IV - CREATING OPPORTUNITIES
3-116. Creating opportunities for development or using existing experience opportunities is a fourth way
of creating a culture of development. An organizational culture develops based on shared values, beliefs, and
learning. These cultural values, when consistent with the mission, affect an organization’s performance.
Leaders foster a positive culture by providing a supportive command climate that values member
involvement and learning. Likewise, the selections for and responsibilities of key positions of leadership will
3-28
FM 6-22
-XQH
Fundamentals of Development
have implications for developing leaders far into the future. Integrating these efforts into a holistic program
will establish lasting operating norms. Developing leaders to this level requires an investment of time and
effort, but leaves a lasting legacy of trained and ready leaders for the Army of tomorrow.
3-117. Selection and screening of leaders can be useful in leader development efforts. Forming leadership
teams where strengths in one complement developmental needs in another is a common selection goal.
Developing leaders is often about preparing them for responsibilities in the next position. Creating
opportunities for leader development involves—
z
Creating challenging experiences.
z
Sharpening leader selection.
z
Planning leader succession.
z
Tracking career development and management.
CHALLENGING EXPERIENCES
3-118. Experience is a developmental tool. leaders can create learning opportunities by placing subordinates
into challenging assignments to stretch their thinking and behavior. Challenging experiences are
characterized by pressure, complexity, novelty, and uncertainty. Challenge creates learning situations that
are interesting and motivating. Leaders can also create these experiences or ensure opportunities are used as
learning experiences.
3-119. All Army assignments inherently provide a degree of developmental challenge. Leader development
will happen even if supervisors do nothing at all. Creating the right challenges in a position for a particular
leader can dramatically increase development.
3-120. Some missions or circumstances may not offer key developmental opportunities. Supervisors may
need to shape position responsibilities to allow a subordinate to enhance personal leadership skills. Before
adjusting a position’s requirements, leaders should consider unit and mission demands.
3-121. Leaders should be deliberate placing subordinates in special missions and organizational
assignments. Experienced leaders implicitly know the defining tasks early in an assignment and should be
deliberate about identifying these tasks and ensuring each leader gains experience from them. Sometimes,
supervisors must assign subordinates to positions for which they do not have the requisite skills or experience.
Supervisors should consider modification of position requirements and providing additional support or
resources.
3-122. Not all leaders develop on the same timelines. Supervising leaders should be willing to adjust how
much time each subordinate stays in a position. Supervisors should involve human resources staff early in
these discussions as decisions may have implications beyond the organization. When making such
determinations, supervisors should weigh the effects on—
z
Unit performance.
z
Stability of the leadership team.
z
Leadership needs of adjacent units, higher units, and the Army.
z
The leader’s well-being and personal growth.
In determining what subordinates need to learn, ask them about the top three skills they need to
become proficient to improve unit performance. Doing so will motivate them and increase their
reception to the leader skills they need to learn.
-XQH
FM 6-22
3-29
Chapter 3
Designing Assignments for Development
From a battalion commander:
I led a group of company commanders with very different communication styles,
interpersonal skill levels, and backgrounds. I perceived each needed some individual
and special experiences to better round out their skill sets. Therefore, I purposefully
assigned projects that put them each in challenging situations requiring them to
prepare for and execute with skills that were not their natural strengths, but
nonetheless important. For example, I would take someone I considered to be
introverted and have them meet with the family readiness group, which I know was
likely be comprised of a lot of diverse folks and require effective communications and
relationship building. That task provides a junior leader with a different environment
than their direct chain-of-command and consequently expands their communication
and interpersonal skills. I think they learn more from some of these types of tasks than
just daily Soldier interaction tasks.
The goal in all of these day-to-day task assignments was to get leaders out of their
comfort zone, and away from isolating themselves and stovepiping their actions within
a narrowly defined, known environment. I also wanted to broaden and build their skills
sets and adaptability. I did not necessarily expect everyone to become fully “rounded,”
but I did think it encouraged and resulted in individual growth. It definitely improved my
company commanders’ ability to deal with change and novel situations.
LEADER SELECTION
3-123. Supervising leaders should foster an attitude that leadership positions are not necessarily automatic
appointments. It is a privilege, not an entitlement, to serve in a leadership position. Selections for key
leadership positions require thorough consideration. Each step in the screening and selection process should
narrow the field of acceptable candidates. For key leadership positions, a deliberate selection process should
be followed:
z
Forecast potential position openings.
z
Identify key leader characteristics.
z
Build a pool of candidates by working with higher, adjacent, and subordinate units, as applicable.
z
Use selection tools to screen out applicants such as—
„ Conducting a career file review to identify prerequisite experiences and training; review files
and rate candidates against career indicators.
„ Reviewing disciplinary or derogatory information in personnel and intelligence files.
„ Obtaining references or recommendations on the leader from trusted sources.
„ Conducting structured interviews with candidates for the position—structure the interviews
to assess values, attributes, and responses to various situations.
„ Organizations may develop minimum prerequisite knowledge or skills requirements for
particular positions. Final candidates may demonstrate capabilities by conducting a task that
proves their qualifications for the position (such as leading a patrol or leading a convoy).
z
Select and appoint approved candidates.
3-124. If creating a pool of qualified candidates is not possible, supervising leaders should consider
modifying the position or providing additional support or resources to available candidates.
3-125. These processes fall within the realm of talent management, which complements leader
development. Talent management takes into account the individual talents of an officer, NCO, or Army
Civilian—the unique distribution of personal skills, knowledge, abilities, and behaviors and the potential they
represent. The Army looks to develop and put to best use well-rounded leaders based on the talents they
possess—talents that derive not only from operational experience but also from broadening assignments,
advanced civil schooling and professional military education, and demonstrated interests.
3-30
FM 6-22
-XQH
Fundamentals of Development
Consider the leadership team when selecting leaders. For example, pair a technically strong
warrant officer with a tactically strong officer. Pair a strong operations officer with an intelligence
officer willing to challenge the operational plan by forcefully presenting the enemy point of view.
Pair an experienced NCO with an inexperienced lieutenant.
LEADER SUCCESSION
3-126. Succession planning is a developmental activity for the individual leaders that focus on deliberate
planning to provide opportunities for experience in key developmental assignments and to prepare for future
assignments beyond the unit. Unit leaders do not have total input into succession planning but with
forethought can have plans developed to rotate leaders within the unit. Succession planning is a localized
version of talent management. Senior leaders plan the systematic rotation of subordinates within the
organization so that trained and qualified leaders are ready to assume vacancies, proven leaders move on to
positions of greater responsibility, and marginal leaders receive opportunities to improve. Succession
planning serves individual leaders by looking beyond the replacement interests of the organization. It helps
develop leaders with the potential to succeed in future positions beyond their current unit and returns a benefit
to the Army by optimizing development opportunities and duration across the unit’s leaders.
Grant and McPherson
During the American Civil War, Ulysses S. Grant rose to become the Commander in
Chief of the Union Army. Along the way, he groomed a select number of officers to
succeed him. Those he supported for further advancement showed three attributes:
personal loyalty, a willingness to do any duty necessary to prosecute the war, and a
desire to prove oneself in battle. One of Grant’s inner circle who gained his full trust
and confidence was James B. McPherson.
McPherson was a Regular Army officer who graduated from West Point in 1853 and
commissioned as an Engineer. Eager to find a combat assignment, he joined Grant’s
staff in January
1862 after promotion to lieutenant colonel. McPherson served
admirably as Grant’s chief engineer during the Fort Donelson campaign and at Shiloh.
A rising star, Grant promoted McPherson to major general in 1862 and appointed him
to command an infantry corps. His successes during the Vicksburg campaign
cemented his reputation. When Grant was promoted and sent east, he designated
McPherson as commander of the Army of the Tennessee—a wise choice.
Grant knew the old army adage that “best friends may not always make the best
generals.” McPherson had indeed become Grant’s friend over the years. However,
McPherson’s ability to see Grant’s goals and work tirelessly to meet them won the full
confidence and support of his commander. McPherson did not disappoint. While other
generals sought to seize ground and take cities, he endeavored to engage and destroy
enemy armies. McPherson’s army was successful in driving the Confederates back
through northwest Georgia as a part of Sherman’s Atlanta campaign. Leading from the
front, McPherson was killed in action on 22 July 1864. Grant memorialized McPherson
as one of the "ablest, purest, and best generals." Sherman called him "a man who
was...qualified to heal national strife." Even his adversary, John Bell Hood, marked his
passing with friendship and admiration. Yet while he lived, McPherson proved a sterling
example of how to establish a succession of command.
3-127. Understanding the projected career paths and timing for leader branches and specialties is an
important factor in succession planning. Moving leaders into and out of positions should be a factor of—
z
Unit performance. Keeping leaders in positions long enough so that their stability promotes high
unit performance.
z
Army need. Providing experienced leadership back to the Army to fulfill its requirements.
z
Individual leader developmental goals and readiness. Determining when the leader has achieved
development goals and is ready to take on new responsibilities and challenges.
-XQH
FM 6-22
3-31
Chapter 3
3-128. Supervising leaders should work with human resources staff to predict accurate leader gains and
losses to the unit. Be sure to—
z
Account for leader needs for career and position-specific training before position assumption.
z
Assess leaders during their initial assignments to drive subsequent position assignments.
z
Use leader vacancies due to schooling, special assignment, or leave as leader development
opportunities; assign less experienced leaders temporarily to the vacancies.
Identify the key leadership positions that trigger succession planning and management. Chart the
timing and sequencing of leaders into and out of unit leadership positions. Account for prerequisite
schooling and plan primary and alternate candidates for each position.
Be an Advocate for Yourself—Take a Career-view
From a battalion commander:
One of my prior battalion commanders once told me, “When you’re working one
position, know the next three you want down the road, and focus on how to get there
to ensure you attain that goal. Always keep thinking about the next three jobs you want
to do. When you’re in one job, always do that job, but also be training yourself to do
that next.” I had never thought about that before. My commander shared that with me
while we were in Korea. He was great about day-to-day interaction and passing on
professional advice and lessons learned from his experience. His technique was to
visit with us often and unit performance was always his first priority and order of
business. Once he got a sense of what was going on with the unit, he would motion for
me to follow him back to his vehicle, and it was then that the one-on-one sharing would
start. It could be a lesson learned or a story about how he handled a situation, or
sometimes just asking me about how I was doing. I did not fully appreciate what he
was doing then, but I do now. He helped me not only with the work I was doing, but
also thinking ahead both professionally and personally.
Eight years later, I still use much of what he shared with me. Whenever I talk to my
leaders and they ask me about my goals, I am prepared. Recently, the commanding
general asked me, “Hey, what do you want to do?” Because of what I learned from my
commander in Korea, I responded, “Hey sir, here’s who I am. This is what I need to do
to get the jobs I want. Here are my goals for those jobs. Here are three jobs I want and
three different timelines for how I can achieve them.” Then your leader can take that
all in and help you make some decisions. For instance, the general told me, “Your
course of action #2 is the most realistic. It’s probably best suited for you and will help
you in your career progression.”
CAREER DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT
3-129. Individuals should understand and actively manage their own career paths while supervisors should
consider the career paths and influence their subordinates to gain breadth in development. Commanders and
other senior leaders should encourage their developing subordinates to take challenging assignments. Reserve
Component leaders should be aware of subordinates’ civilian development plan as this may affect their ability
to take on new and challenging assignments.
3-130. The Army provides ACT and other online tools to help leaders in collaborating with their
subordinates in professional development planning discussions. Supervisors must provide opportunities for
subordinate's personal and required individual learning. ACT enhances personnel counseling by providing a
framework to create IDPs and the ability to monitor career development while allowing leaders to track and
advise subordinates on personalized leadership development.
3-32
FM 6-22
-XQH
Fundamentals of Development
BALANCE OF ARMY NEEDS WITH PERSONAL CHOICES
3-131. The gravity of the Army mission and the dynamic nature of the world make continuous learning and
self-development crucial to personal success and national security. Rapid changes in geopolitical affairs,
technology, and general knowledge require individuals to repetitively seek current information. Army and
civilian schools provide basic knowledge, frameworks, and techniques that individuals need to continue to
review and update after they leave those schools. To thrive professionally and personally, individuals must
engage in life-long learning and self-development.
3-132. Finding the proper balance between professional work and personal life while planning career
development challenges professionals at all stages of their careers. Most career planning models have the
following common steps—
z
Perform a self-assessment to determine strengths and developmental needs (based on abilities,
characteristics, needs, responsibilities, or interest or goals).
z
Weigh the possibilities to choose goals and milestones for self-development efforts.
z
Make a self-development plan that uses effective methods of learning.
z
Implement the plan, overcoming obstacles, and measuring progress.
Ask the organizational leaders to describe their most valuable leader development experience.
Give them a few days to think about it before they respond. Have them briefly write the experience
down or tell it to a group of their peers. Use their experiences to help prioritize implementation.
Providing a first, second, third, and fourth priority reflects the understanding that leaders may not
be able to implement every idea or method. Some methods of leader development provide a leader
with a higher return in performance for less investment of resources.
CIVILIAN TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS
3-133. The Civilian Education System is a structured program with central funding for all Army Civilian
personnel and serves as the foundation for civilian leader development. Army Civilians have developmental
opportunities afforded by their duty series, grouped into career programs. Each career program makes
available career planning tools to enable the development of core competencies. ACTEDS provides a planned
course of professional development, using a combination of formal training and education and progressively
challenging work experiences. ACTEDS is a resource for both individuals and for their supervisors. Through
ACTEDS, Army Civilians have the opportunity to plan and conduct their own development.
3-134. Information is available for each Army Civilian career program at Civilian Personnel Online and
ACT. For example, Career Program 34 is a 14,000-member group of Information Technology Management
personnel. Development programs and opportunities for Career Program 34 include academic degree training
in such areas as technology management, information technology management, information security, and
computer science. Short-term training is available in areas such as project management, cloud computing,
system administration, and software development. Some opportunities are competitive and slots are filled
through application, nomination and screening of candidates. Management programs are available from
Office of Personnel Management development centers, executive leadership development, and executive
potential programs.
3-135. Developmental assignments are encouraged to broaden knowledge of how different organizations
conduct information technology and cyber missions. Training with industry is available to higher-ranking
personnel where they learn about information technology practices outside the Army. Distributed learning
resources are extensive for the Career Program 34 population, predominantly through Army e-Learning
courses and certifications. Each career program has similar opportunities to guide the professional
development of Army Civilians.
-XQH
FM 6-22
3-33
Chapter 3
Team building as Development
From an Army Civilian supervisor:
Team building projects are a huge success. Together we have a brain storming activity
or a process review. We discuss where the team feels shortcomings. We have
improved directorate communications, eased document processing, made procedures
more efficient, and clarified desired outcomes from a team perspective. We also do
monthly training and pass the helm to someone different every month to run it. This
gives them a sense of responsibility, helps them feel engaged, and affirms their
expertise. It develops their self-confidence as well.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS
3-136. Leader professional development programs bring an organization’s leaders together for a specific
developmental purpose. Leader development programs are an effective vehicle for leader development when
consistently applied. Common elements of successful programs include—
z
Mission-essential leader task training when a common need exists across the organization.
z
Required orientation or education sessions (such as equal opportunity and safety).
z
Cohesion-building activities that foster esprit de corps (such as a dining-in, sports, or adventure
training).
z
Opportunities for the commander, command sergeant major, or first sergeant to emphasize key
guidance to all leaders.
z
Education sessions on leader career path topics (assignments, schooling, or promotions).
z
Education sessions on the mission command philosophy, culture, and geopolitical issues.
3-137. Professional development sessions, conducted to facilitate discussion and collaboration, are
extremely valuable in gaining a greater understanding and application of specific information or skills in a
unit. The sources of information and means of conducting these sessions are endless and allow for creativity.
Instructors should not rely solely on dry briefings. Scenarios and materials should be tailored to the grades
and ranks present. These sessions can be great team building opportunities to bring together groups of
different ranks and responsibilities.
3-138. All of these applications fulfill the training and development needs of the leaders in the organization.
To implement leader development programs effectively, leaders should invoke the following guidelines—
z
Link training and professional development.
z
Clearly communicate purpose and relevance.
z
Gather all leaders together only when doing so is the most effective learning method.
z
Consider prior listed applications as integral to leader development programs.
To provide leaders with an in-depth perspective on a mission-essential task for the organization
(such as security patrols or convoy operations), supervisory leaders should lead the task while
subordinate leaders perform the roles of Soldiers. By practicing the execution of the task to
standard, the organization’s leadership will be more effective at supervising future execution.
3-34
FM 6-22
-XQH
Fundamentals of Development
DEVELOPING MISSION COMMAND
This exercise offers a technique to understand and create a culture of
mission command through subordinate participation.
Step 1: Educate the unit on the philosophy of mission command. Everyone
down to the lowest-ranking member needs to understand the mission
command philosophy, why it is needed, and what it is not.
Step 2: Every member of the organization has an assignment to imagine
that overnight the unit wholeheartedly embraced the philosophy of mission
command with everyone coming to work the next day acting and behaving
differently. Based on that premise, they answer the following:
What would counseling look like for the organization?
What would my responsibility be?
What would morning physical training look like for the organization?
What would my responsibility be?
What would training events look like for the organization?
What would my responsibility be?
What would our organizational leader development program look like?
What would my self-development program look like?
Step 3: Use the responses to develop clearly articulated goals and
behaviors to provide guidelines and visible markers that the exercise of
mission command actually happens. For example, several comments
recommend quarterly developmental counseling for everyone with no
counseling completed with a generic fill-in-the-blank counseling form.
Follow the survey with professional development classes by leaders (grade
immaterial) known for excellent developmental counseling sessions. Make
this an organizational goal to accomplish for the next quarter.
OPPORTUNITIES DURING TRAINING EVENTS
3-139. Training is an organized, structured, continuous, and progressive process based on sound principles
of learning designed to increase the capability of individuals, units, and organizations to perform specified
tasks or skills. The objective of training is to increase the ability of competent leaders to perform in a variety
of training and operational situations. Individual task training builds individual competence and confidence
to perform these tasks to support collective training and operations.
3-140. Leaders contribute substantially to the unit’s mission success or lack of success. Therefore, the Army
devotes considerable resources to foster leader development during exercises. Leader development is an
important duty of supervisory leaders and the leader’s chain-of-command. Their responsibility is to provide
leaders with accurate observations of their abilities and the effects on unit performance. Providing leadership
feedback is a difficult, yet essential, part of training exercises. Without it, the assessment of an important
contributor to a unit’s mission accomplishment, namely its leadership, is left undone.
3-141. Leaders have a specific task to observe subordinates during planning and executing missions. Some
may feel unqualified to observe and provide feedback on leadership actions. However, understanding how to
treat leadership as a set of skills that can be developed and improved is essential.
-XQH
FM 6-22
3-35
Chapter 3
3-142. Guided discovery learning is an important underpinning of developing leaders. To the extent
possible, leaders ought to use guided discovery learning. Doing so places the observed leader in charge of
their learning, with the chain of command in a supporting role. Using guided discovery learning during
training exercises makes the leader better prepared to be a self-guided learner in any contemporary
operational environment. Providing feedback falls in the larger context of guided discovery learning methods.
Chapter 6 provides leader performance descriptions at various levels of proficiency to support leader
observation and feedback.
Integrating Development into Daily Events
From a battalion commander:
You deal with all types of Soldiers’ issues as a commander and command is
fundamentally about motivating and influencing Soldiers. Therefore, I mentor my junior
officers by preparing them to look at Soldier issues from a command perspective. I
integrate this daily activity into my interactions with subordinates and field visits. For
example, whatever position a junior leader happens to be in at the time, I mentor them
by asking them how they might deal with the issue if they were the commander. I will
let them offer an idea and then pose a few questions to help them gain from my
experience. I find this informal but deliberate mentoring has the benefit of reinforcing
my commander’s intent through the ranks. Everyone starts thinking like a commander
and taking ownership of issues at their level. That leaves me time to step back and
command. Experience with Soldiers and understanding the human dynamic is what
makes a successful commander. Sure, you have to have general knowledge of what
the equipment is and how to employ it. However, it is how you as the leader make
Soldiers proud to go to war and take care of their families and develop themselves into
better leaders and people.
3-36
FM 6-22
-XQH
Chapter 4
Self-development
4-1. Self-development bridges the gaps between the operational and institutional domains and sets the
conditions for continuous learning and growth. Military and Army Civilian personnel engage in self-
development to improve their capabilities for current and future positions. Self-knowledge is an important
part of a leader’s development. Several tools, such as the Army MSAF program, are available to leaders to
understand strengths and obtain insights into developmental needs.
4-2. Self-development is an individual’s responsibility but it is important for leaders to set conditions and
support self-development. Leaders need to be actively involved in developing themselves and each other.
Development happens through study and practice. Leaders can support others’ self-development through the
exchange of professional development information, discoveries, and opinions.
4-3. Self-development supports planned, goal-oriented learning to reinforce and expand the depth and
breadth of what a person knows to include themselves and situations they experience and how they perform
their duties. The Army acknowledges three types of self-development:
z
Structured self-development includes mandatory learning modules required to meet specific
learning objectives and requirements.
z
Guided self-development is recommended, optional learning intended to enhance professional
competence.
z
Personal self-development is self-initiated learning to meet personal objectives such as pursuing
a college education or an advanced degree.
4-4. To help subordinates learn from their experiences, leaders should provide opportunities for them to
pause, reflect, and process the experience for what was learned. Reflecting on an experience—
z
Keeps leaders from repeating the same mistakes.
z
Helps leaders consider effects in future decisionmaking.
z
Helps leaders to link their actions with the resulting effects on unit performance.
Working environments can be chaotic, noisy, and filled with activity. However, prioritizing time
for reflection and consolidation of thoughts enhances self-development.
4-5. The self-development process consists of four major phases. They are—
z
Strengths and developmental needs determination.
z
Goal setting.
z
Self-enhanced learning.
z
Learning in action.
STRENGTHS AND DEVELOPMENTAL NEEDS DETERMINATION
4-6. The first step in determining strengths and developmental needs is to think about what you do and how
well you do it. At a minimum, this information comes from self-examination. Outside opinions and
information on strengths and developmental needs are useful. Feedback can come from formal or informal
assessments and from other leaders, peers, or subordinates. Keep this in mind during a self-examination.
4-7. Understanding current strengths and developmental needs is necessary before setting self-development
goals. This is part of being self-aware. These methods help identify strengths and developmental needs:
z
Information collection.
z
Feedback gathering.
-XQH
FM 6-22
4-1
Chapter 4
z
Self-analysis.
z
Strengths and developmental needs identification.
INFORMATION COLLECTION
4-8. Formal assessments such as evaluations and tests are a good place to start gaining insight into strengths
and developmental needs, since they measure individual performance and compare it to a standard.
Individuals use the information and results from relevant assessments to inform understanding of personal
strengths and developmental needs. Formal assessments include—
z
Performance evaluations.
z
Counseling sessions (formal and informal).
z
Skills tests (such as the Expert Field Medical Badge and Expert Infantryman Badge tests).
z
Tests administered in resident and non-resident schools.
z
Field performance evaluations such as those at the combat training centers.
z
Intelligence and aptitude tests (such as Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery or Defense
Language Aptitude Battery).
z
MSAF program feedback (360-degree assessment) where superiors, peers, and subordinates
provide anonymous feedback.
z
Occupational interest inventories.
Unique Value of 360 Assessment
From a first sergeant:
Nobody ever tells you if you are screwed up. They just talk behind your back or assign
the mission to someone else. With the 360 assessment, you get the truth. This is not
just another survey; it is essential.
FEEDBACK GATHERING
4-9. Hearing what peers, subordinates, superiors, mentors, family, and friends think can help identify
strengths and developmental needs that went unnoticed or you have been reluctant to acknowledge. There
are two ways to get feedback: observe how others interact with you or ask them directly. Supervisors have
an explicit role in subordinate development. Subordinates should consult supervisors for guidance about
development goals or any other aspect of self-development.
OBSERVE OTHERS
Observing how others act toward you and the decisions they make
affecting you will give an idea of what they think about your skills and
expertise. When observing others:
Make observations on different occasions. Watching the same person
several times will help you see trends that may be a sign of a firmly held
opinion of you. One observation is not reliable, as that behavior may have
been a result of other issues.
Consider the circumstances. What outside factors influenced the person’s
decisions and actions? For example, if your supervisor selected someone
else to perform an important task, was it because you were too busy or
unavailable?
4-10. After considering these questions, analyze the answers to determine the opinions that each person
considered may have of your strengths and developmental needs:
4-2
FM 6-22
-XQH
Self-development
z
Supervisors, raters, and superiors.
„ Who gets the most challenging assignments?
„ The supervisor relies upon whom during emergencies or tough problems?
„ The supervisor praises whom the most?
„ What kinds of tasks does your supervisor give you versus others?
„ How does your supervisor react to your suggestions compared to others’ suggestions?
„ Does your supervisor listen to your opinions on certain subjects much more or much less than
the opinions of others? If so, what are those subjects?
z
Peers and Subordinates.
„ Do peers and subordinates come to you for help or advice? In what topics?
„ Do they understand you or seem confused or overwhelmed by what you say?
„ Do they repeatedly contact you for help or are they one-time interactions?
„ Does their interest and enthusiasm increase or diminish when they interact with you?
„ What does their body language communicate? Is it relaxed, apprehensive, or reserved?
Asking for Feedback
4-11. One can learn a lot about others’ perceptions by observing interactions, but conclusions will only be
educated guesses unless the observers are asked directly. To gain perspective, talk to others who know you
in different ways, such as one’s rater, enlisted or officer counter-part, mentor, instructor, or family member.
The goal is to find out—
z
What a person actually saw and their impressions of your action(s).
z
That person’s impression of how well you performed during the interaction(s).
z
How you react in certain situations. For example, “When a subordinate challenges your authority
in front of others, you seem to get flustered and be at a loss for words.”
Who to Ask
4-12. These are items to consider when determining who to ask for feedback—
z
Who has been able to observe you enough to offer useful information?
z
Who has observed you from different perspectives?
z
Who has experience in an area of interest (former or current supervisor, mentor, or teacher)?
Things to Remember When Asking for Feedback
4-13. When asking for feedback, keep the following in mind—
z
Be respectful of others’ time—prepare questions ahead of time.
z
Approach with an open mind to accept uncomfortable or critical feedback without offense.
z
Listen carefully and respectfully.
z
Ask for clarification and examples when points are unclear.
z
Summarize the points to make sure that you understand the person correctly.
z
Thank the feedback providers for their time and assistance.
4-14. These ideas may help you focus on what to ask:
z
Get descriptions of your behaviors and opinions of those behaviors.
z
For feedback about a recurring issue, ask about the situation, your actions, and the usual outcomes.
z
Ask for suggestions for other ways of handling situations.
4-15. Compare the feedback received from different sources to look for common themes. These themes will
help to identify strengths and developmental needs. Army leaders must try to avoid the natural inclination to
reject or minimize responses that do not confirm self-perceptions or attribute them to the situation instead.
-XQH
FM 6-22
4-3
Chapter 4
SELF-ANALYSIS
4-16. After gathering the information from outside sources through formal assessments, observing others,
and requesting feedback, it is time to reflect on personal behavior and performance. Examining personal
situations and experiences can reveal things to change or improve. The situation analysis exercise will help
analyze experiences to help identify personal strengths and developmental needs.
COMPLETE A SITUATION ANALYSIS FOR SELF-
DEVELOPMENT
Think of experiences over the past two years that give insight into personal
strengths and developmental needs—maybe a critical decision, an
important task you led or were a part of, or a significant personal
interaction. Use these questions to analyze each situation:
What was the situation? What was happening? Who was there?
What was the goal and did you reach it? What were you trying to
accomplish? What resources or skills did you have or not have that you
needed?
What did you say and think? Were you able to find the right words to make
your point? What were you thinking at the time? What made you feel good
(confident, excited) or bad (confused, worried)?
What did you do? How did you act (including your body language)? Why
did you choose to act the way you did? How did others react? Did you help
or hurt the situation? Did you adjust your actions based on how others
were reacting?
Why did you act the way you did? What knowledge and skills led you to act
the way you did?
What could have helped you handle the situation better? How could you
have used your strengths to reach a better outcome? Are there any
developmental needs that you should make a high priority for personal
self-development efforts?
4-17.
After recording the information, look for key factors that influenced the situation progression and the
overall outcome. Keep in mind that if the same factor occurs in multiple situations, it may suggest a
significant strength or developmental need that may be developed.
4-18. By knowing how personal actions affected the situation and the thoughts and feelings associated with
those actions, leaders can work to become more self-aware and choose the most productive actions. In
addition, a self-analysis may suggest broader interests to pursue or issues to avoid.
4-4
FM 6-22
-XQH
Self-development
COMPLETE A SELF-ANALYSIS
Consider the following items and be as specific as possible. Use the items
as necessary to identify unique aspects of personal strengths and
developmental needs.
Strengths
The skill or ability at which I am best is—
The personal quality that I rely on most for my success is—
I am most knowledgeable about—
The activities I look forward to include—
I would love to learn more about—
The accomplishment I am most proud of is—
Others usually come to me for help with—
Others think the best position for me would be—
Developmental needs
The skill or ability that is always difficult for me is—
I don’t know as much as I should about—
I usually go to others for help on—
The situation that causes me the most frustration is—
I am most hesitant when I try to—
I am most concerned about my—
Others think I am not skilled at—
I would become a more valued member of my organization if I—
STRENGTHS AND DEVELOPMENTAL NEEDS IDENTIFICATION
4-19. The final step is to take the information gathered from formal assessments, information gathered from
observing others and asking others, and results of the situation and self-analyses and analyze it to determine
strengths and developmental needs.
4-20. Instead of taking all of the feedback as fact, look for recurring themes or patterns of feedback heard
from more than one person. Look at what others identified as strengths and developmental needs and compare
that to personal knowledge (from the self-exam) and the results of formal assessments.
4-21. Usually, repeated success or expertise in a particular activity indicates a strength. These abilities may
come easily even though others find them difficult:
z
What are your favorite things to do or learn about?
z
What do others turn to you for help with?
z
What do recent assignments show as strengths?
4-22. Developmental needs are tasks that are a struggle to learn or difficult to perform:
z
What was noted as being hard or not fun to do?
z
What did others suggest as a limitation?
z
Did formal assessments point out any deficiencies?
4-23. Identify where these descriptions apply and make a list of strengths and developmental needs. This list
will enable setting clear goals for self-development efforts.
GOAL SETTING
4-24. To make the most of self-development efforts and avoid wasting time and energy, it is crucial to set
self-development goals—identify personal and professional goals and decide where to go. This section
outlines procedures to—
-XQH
FM 6-22
4-5
Chapter 4
z
Gather the information needed to decide how to structure self-development efforts.
z
Establish self-development goals.
z
Plan milestones to keep on track.
INFORMATION GATHERING
4-25. An understanding of strengths and developmental needs is an important place to start when determining
where to focus self-development efforts. Other areas to analyze for self-development opportunities include—
z
Roles and responsibilities (personal and work-related).
z
The needs of the Army.
Roles and Responsibilities
4-26. Roles and responsibilities at home and at work may offer opportunities for self-development, such as
being a spouse, parent, teacher, Soldier, or other roles. Each role has different responsibilities, skill and
knowledge requirements, and expectations. Reserve Component leaders have a unique opportunity to
improve both civilian and military profession skills by linking self-development goals to skills shared by
both professions. ADRP 6-22 describes expectations for key roles as Army military and civilian leaders.
4-27. Chosen roles usually reflect personal interests and values, but even assigned roles will affect the value
of different self-development paths. When roles and responsibilities align with talents and interests, leaders
are likely to succeed and be satisfied.
ANALYZE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
List three to four of important roles at home and at work. Next to each role, list the
two most important responsibilities in that role.
Now think about the listed roles and responsibilities and identify knowledge, skills,
or attitudes that enable better performance of these roles and responsibilities.
Needs of the Army
4-28. Another way to identify satisfying goals for personal self-development efforts is to align personal
interests with Army needs. This ensures that the acquired knowledge and skills are personally interesting but
benefit the Army.
4-29. Soldiers and Army units must be ready to deploy to any part of the world and accomplish diverse
missions. Some requirements may be unforeseen and untrained, requiring Soldiers to use their knowledge,
skills, and creativity to accomplish the mission. As members of a unit develop expertise in a variety of areas,
the unit and the Army as a whole become stronger. The range and depth of expertise gives the unit resiliency
and an increased ability to adapt to specific challenges.
4-6
FM 6-22
-XQH
Self-development
General Joe Stilwell’s Commitment to Self-Development
General Joseph Stilwell served as the commanding general of U.S. forces in the China-
Burma-India Theater during World War II. He rose to that position through a career
focused on developing his understanding of the Chinese language and the Chinese
people. Stilwell gained much of this knowledge through persistent pursuit of personal
study and development. As a junior officer, Stilwell found he had a gift for languages
and constantly sought opportunities to develop his ability to speak other languages and
understand foreign cultures. Before World War I, he used personal leave to journey
extensively through Latin America and parts of Asia, perfecting his Spanish and picking
up basic Japanese on these travels. Later he would learn Chinese.
His proficiency in language and culture was unique and in 1919 earned him an
assignment as the U.S. Army’s first language officer in China. In 1921, he volunteered
to oversee an International Red Cross rural road-building project so he could interact
directly with Chinese officials and laborers to hone his language skills and learn about
their way of life. After his first year in China, Stilwell had become conversant in a
notoriously difficult language and familiar with a culture that remained entirely alien to
most Westerners.
Stilwell spent most of the next
20 years in China, becoming one of the U.S.
Government’s most trusted China experts in the process. In 1926, he commanded a
U.S. Army battalion near Beijing; then in 1935, became the American military attaché
in China. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, U.S. Army Chief of Staff Marshall appointed
Stilwell commander of the China-Burma-India theater and chief of staff to Chiang Kai-
Shek, the leader of Chinese forces fighting the Japanese. Between 1942 and 1944,
General Stillwell deftly used his knowledge of Chinese language and culture to build
rapport with Chiang Kai-Shek, ensuring that the Chinese Nationalist forces remained
a partner in the war against the Japanese.
4-30. There are many things that Army leader must be able to do, including—
z
Operate in other countries and work within other cultures.
z
Train, lead, and care for Soldiers.
z
Exercise sound judgment and critical thinking to help accomplish missions.
z
Develop effective plans.
z
Manage and maintain equipment and other resources.
SELF-DEVELOPMENT GOALS
4-31. Self-development activities aim at learning new knowledge, gaining or enhancing skills, changing
attitudes or values, or a combination of these. It is often easier to improve upon strengths rather than
developmental needs. Learning is quicker and greater when strengths are used as a path to improvement
rather than developmental needs. However, if a particular developmental need is an obstacle to development,
consider improving it.
4-32. No set formula exists in choosing personal development goals. However, key considerations include—
z
Personal strengths.
z
Personal developmental needs.
z
Family roles and responsibilities.
z
Current or future roles.
z
Army needs.
z
Personal interests.
4-33. Personal experiences and goals, as well as personal interests, needs, and resources should influence the
determination of self-development goals. Ideally, self-development goals will provide a long-term
professional aim to work toward through a variety of activities. Figure 4-1 on page 4-8 provides an example
of how to work through developing self-development goals.
-XQH
FM 6-22
4-7
Chapter 4
Figure 4-1. Example of self-development goal development
MILESTONE PLANNING
4-34. After establishing self-development goals, create one or more milestones to get started and gauge
progress. Use an IDP to document goals and milestones. Use each milestone to stretch you. Milestones can
be a mix of short-term or long-term—whatever personally works and encourages progress. Milestones
should—
z
Be specific and measurable: They need to state what to accomplish so you can tell if you have met
the milestone or not.
z
Be meaningful: They should help achieve self-development goals.
z
Provide a challenge: Milestones should stretch personal abilities and be challenging to accomplish.
Challenging milestones increase motivation; being too easy or hard can hurt motivation.
z
Have a time limit: Time limits provide motivation and will help gauge success.
4-8
FM 6-22
-XQH
Self-development
z
Be flexible: Build in some flexibility to overcome obstacles or revise milestones if necessary.
z
Be realistic: Ensure milestones are reachable with available resources. For example, if a
deployment will occur in the next 12 months, do not set a milestone requiring college attendance
during that time. Keep in mind that unforeseen obstacles may occur along the way.
z
Be cost effective: The benefits gained must be worth the effort, resources, risk, and other costs of
reaching the milestone.
4-35. Every milestone requires at least a minimal amount of planning. After setting the first milestone, create
a plan to achieve it. A plan can increase chances of success by—
z
Identifying all required actions.
z
Identifying the resources needed to meet the milestones.
z
Establishing time estimates and deadlines that help track progress.
z
Dividing large tasks into smaller parts to reduce being overwhelmed.
z
Identifying possible obstacles and the actions and resources needed to overcome them.
z
Making the best use of personal time and other resources.
PLAN TO MEET MILESTONES
Develop a plan by listing the first milestone and identify the main steps needed to
reach it along with associated timelines to meet those milestones. Consider all of
the developmental resources the Army has to offer as well as other sources to
reach each milestone. Identify potential enablers and obstacles before beginning
to better prepare for difficulties along the way. Collaborating through online forums
and interest groups may help personal development and provide encouragement.
SELF-ENHANCED LEARNING
4-36. Self-development requires learning. Knowing how to learn is the most important skill required for self-
development. Self-understanding, setting self-development goals, and planning milestones all influence a
personal ability to learn. Beyond that, effective learning requires—
z
Motivation and persistence.
z
Learning opportunities.
z
Effective learning methods.
z
Deep processing.
z
Learning through focused reading and analysis.
MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE
4-37. Self-development may require hard work over a long period, especially if the goal is to become an
expert in an area or undergo significant personal growth. It takes motivation and effort to keep self-
development efforts alive. Genuine motivation provides lasting energy because it is the internalization of
goals and the desire to achieve them. Use these tips to stay motivated and to persist in the effort required to
make significant changes:
z
Recognize the benefits of self-development efforts. Think about—
„ Why the results are personally important.
„ How you will feel after reaching these self-development milestones.
„ The positive effect these efforts will have on others.
z
Plan learning activities so that they—
„ Connect to the real world.
„ Teach knowledge, skills, or abilities that will help personal understanding.
„ Satisfy curiosity.
-XQH
FM 6-22
4-9
Chapter 4
z
Set specific and challenging milestones to progress through a personal developmental path.
z
Milestones should—
„ Stretch enough to provide a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction after achieving them.
„ Not be so difficult to have a high chance of failing (know personal limits).
z
Reward yourself for accomplishing learning tasks and milestones; it may be as simple as self-
acknowledgement of completing a step.
„ Decide on the reward before beginning learning.
„ Keep the reward appropriate for the task.
„ Do not give the reward if planned tasks are not accomplished.
z
Treat self-development as a duty. Make it routine—select specific times to work on self-
development tasks.
z
Maintain momentum.
„ Do not start a learning task then put it down for too long.
„ Work on the task a little every day until it is accomplished.
„ Break a big task into smaller ones to accomplish in a reasonable amount of time.
z
Get support.
„ Find family members, friends, or supervisors for encouragement, accountability, recognizing
accomplishments, and as a source of feedback.
„ Observe others who have successfully achieved their goals. Learn and model what they do.
z
Review what has been learned so far.
„ Think about the progress made, personal growth, and resolved challenges.
„ Learn from mistakes and do not repeat them.
Setting Habits for Self-development
From a warrant officer:
Maintaining expertise and enhancing it are especially relevant to warrant officers who
bring specialized knowledge and experience to their units. A practice that has served
me well throughout my career has been to dedicate time each day for self-study. Goal
setting was also important; it kept me focused and excited to move forward to the next
challenge. On alternating days, I review relevant topics related to my area of expertise
or general Army knowledge. I selected topics based on an honest assessment of my
own strengths and needs, while mentors and raters recommended others. This
practice began when I was a junior warrant officer, during field training exercises,
deployments, and combat operations. As a senior warrant and senior leader within my
organization. I still make time each day to learn something new.
LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
4-38. Learning stems from deliberate planned activities or from the unplanned experiences of daily life.
Make the most of each learning opportunity, whether planned or not.
4-10
FM 6-22
-XQH
Self-development
Teachable Moments
During a training center rotation, unit staff and subordinates assembled to conduct a
rehearsal for an upcoming attack. By some accounts, the commander had been
struggling for several days to keep up with the pace of operations. He opened the
rehearsal by giving the briefest of intents then moved behind the sergeant major and
crossed his arms. The brigade commander took note and listened to the intelligence
brief. During a pause to reset the rehearsal, the brigade commander asked the
battalion commander to join him at his vehicle. He asked if the battalion commander
agreed with the assessment and then got to the teachable moment—‘how do you,
battalion commander, assess whether someone is on their game, whether they are
engaged in and supportive of the plan?’ The battalion commander paused and
answered that it depends on whether they are actively listening, affirming what they
agree with, and asking questions about the rest. The brigade commander replied that
even the act of listening by a leader is a powerful motivator; that it can make the
difference whether staff and subordinates stay focused and on task. He pointed out
that their roles as commanders must be to set the example, especially when they are
tired and in front of those who directly support them.
4-39. Leaders can embed planned learning into routine duties by using normal events as learning
opportunities or it can be a completely separate, scheduled activity for a specific item. Prepare for the
unexpected times by having appropriate learning materials available. It is a good idea to take advantage of
time that opens up such as from transportation delays, waiting for appointments, or cancellations.
4-40. Unplanned learning happens when something unexpectedly captures your attention. Interest in the
topic causes you to pay attention and learn. Attune your mind to draw attention to information related to self-
development aims by thinking about developmental aims in detail—what you are trying to accomplish and
why you want to accomplish these things. Review what you know and what you need to learn. Remind
yourself of key terms and ideas related to the subject as well as who the experts in the field are.
-XQH
FM 6-22
4-11
Chapter 4
PERSONAL AFTER ACTION REVIEW (AAR)
A personal AAR is an in-depth self-assessment of how leadership
contributes to task and unit performance. Leaders should conduct their
own personal AARs after a task is complete, or even while it is playing out,
by asking themselves:
What happened and what were the consequences?
How were my leader actions supposed to influence the situation?
What were the direct results or consequences of my leader actions?
How did my actions benefit or hinder mission accomplishment?
How should I change my leader actions for better results next time?
What did I learn?
A good time to encourage personal AARs is following the unit AAR
process. The unit AAR will clarify for the leader what happened and
accurately assess mission accomplishment. Commanders can reinforce
personal AARs by:
Walking less experienced leaders through the personal AAR.
Asking individuals what they learned from their personal AARs.
Telling subordinates the outcome of their personal AARs.
EFFECTIVE LEARNING METHODS
4-41. The purpose of each learning activity will help determine the learning principles to use to make the
most of learning. The purpose may be to learn new knowledge, a new skill, or a new attitude about something.
No matter the purpose, there are general principles of learning that apply:
z
Use multiple senses. Memory stores information according to the senses (how it looks, sounds,
feels, tastes, or smells). Moore senses used while learning enable better memory and information
recall. Involve multiple senses by taking notes, highlighting, reciting, and observing.
z
Space out learning sessions. Do not try to learn a large amount of information or a complex skill
in one long session—try to break the material into multiple, manageable sections.
z
Study the information or practice the skill on multiple occasions.
z
Know the time of day when you learn best and study the most difficult material during that time.
z
Design learning activities so that they mimic reality as much as possible. If the expected conditions
to use the information cannot be duplicated, try to imagine the conditions as vividly as possible.
z
Familiarize information through self-study prior to formal instruction. Reinforce learning by
reviewing the information after instruction. This is a good way to review and test memory skills.
z
When learning an entirely new field, go slow at first to ensure thorough understanding of the
basics—it is important to have a solid foundation to build on.
z
Learn in layers. Start with what you know to determine what is the first level of understanding,
information, or skill needed. Learn that level then determine what the information just learned
suggests to learn next. Each level builds on the previous and usually becomes increasingly detailed
and interconnected.
z
Learn like a scientist. Scientists adopt the attitude that the best knowledge is subject to change and
that new discoveries may prove old beliefs or assumptions wrong. Start the inquiry with a problem
4-12
FM 6-22
-XQH
Self-development
or question. Find evidence that answers the question and test possible explanations to gather
evidence. It is also important to discover information that questions or refutes the possible
explanations to avoid confirmation bias. Analyze the evidence and develop an explanation.
Principles for Specific Types of Learning
4-42. While the general learning principles apply to all types of learning, some learning principles apply
based on whether the learning activity focuses on learning a new skill, a new attitude, or new knowledge.
4-43. Learning or improving a skill requires repeated, deliberate practice. Deliberate practice is not just
repetition of a skill. Deliberate practice involves—
z
Making your best attempt at performing the skill.
z
Analyzing the results of the attempt (sometimes with the help of a coach or instructor) to identify
ways of improving personal performance.
z
Attempting the skill again using the identified improvements.
4-44. Learning a new attitude about something requires repeated exposure to and testing of the attitude.
Taking on a new attitude might involve realizing that a prior viewpoint is counterproductive to obtaining
goals. Changing attitude can be done in two ways:
z
Behave as if you have already adopted the new attitude. If done often with positive results, it is
likely that you will actually adopt the attitude.
z
Observe another person behaving in a way that reflects the attitude. If you respect this person as a
role model and you see the person gaining some benefit from the behavior, you may eventually
come to accept and adopt the attitude for yourself.
4-45. Learning new knowledge requires linking the new information to already known information. This
occurs by deeply processing the information that you want to learn. Deep processing and the related mental
skills of critical and reflective thinking are detailed in the following section.
DEEP PROCESSING
4-46. The ability to learn and recall information depends upon what someone does with the information
while trying to learn it. Deep processing requires analyzing the new information, picking it apart, using it,
and connecting it to already-known information. There are many ways to practice deep processing:
z
Relate the new information to known information. This is the most important factor in learning.
An increased number of connections create multiple ways to recall the new information.
z
Think about conflicts between the new information and any prior understanding of the topic.
Resolve the conflict in your mind and be able to explain the conclusion and resolution process.
z
Summarize the material you are learning in your own words.
z
Study the structure of the subject to see how facts, ideas, and principles relate to each other. Draw
pictures or diagrams that show the connections between components. Diagrams can also be useful
for learning the steps in a process.
z
Organize new information into categories. For example, group illnesses by their symptoms,
exercises by their physical benefits, or aircraft by their purpose.
z
Ask and answer questions to make new facts, ideas, and principles useful and important:
„ How does this relate to prior knowledge?
„ What does this imply?
„ What other examples of this can I remember?
„ Why is this important to me (or others)?
„ Where else could this apply?
„ Where or how could this be used?
z
Think of what the new information reminds you of. Develop metaphors and comparisons.
z
Explain or teach the material to another. Did you get it right? Was it all covered? Does your
explanation demonstrate personal understanding? Using the new information with others will test
your mastery of it, and their reaction may help you better understand the material.
-XQH
FM 6-22
4-13
Chapter 4
z
Argue one or both sides of an issue. Do this to help you think about the truthfulness of a position.
Get your ego involved by imagining you are in a hotly contested debate or trial.
z
Personalize the information by relating it to experiences or future expectations.
4-47. Using critical and reflective thinking skills is essential to being an effective learner and gaining subject
expertise. Critical thinking and reflective thinking do not apply solely to learning but are essential practices
and important ways of deeply processing information for duties across the range of military operations.
Critical Thinking
4-48. Critical thinking involves questioning what is seen, heard, read, or experienced. Critical thinking
ensures that the person is engaged in the learning process, critically considering the information or practice
of skills. Critical thinking requires analysis, comparisons, contrasting ideas, making inferences and
predictions, evaluating the strength of evidence, and drawing conclusions. It also requires the self-discipline
to use reason and avoid impulsive conclusions. These questions can guide critical thinking—
z
What is the evidence for and against this conclusion?
z
What are the alternative or competing theories, explanations, or perspectives?
z
Why is this important?
z
What are the implications of this?
z
Is the logic of the argument or reasoning sound?
z
Do the numbers, quantities, and calculations make sense?
z
Do the supporting facts agree with other sources?
z
Why or how does this work?
z
How likely is this?
Reflective Thinking
4-49. Closely related to critical thinking, reflective thinking seeks to build understanding, interpret
experiences, and resolve questions. Reflective thinking requires thinking through the gathered information
in detail to organize it, apply principles, make connections, and form conclusions. Use these questions to
organize personal thoughts—
z
What does this information mean?
z
What conclusions can be drawn from this?
z
How can this information be used?
z
How does this fit with my existing knowledge and experiences?
z
What are the implications of this for others or me?
z
What is the big picture and how does this fit into it?
z
What is the best way to learn about this subject?
z
Where should this take me in my studies and self-development?
LEARNING THROUGH FOCUSED READING AND ANALYSIS
4-50. Books and other written materials may be key learning resources for self-development. To maximize
learning, approach reading for learning differently than casual reading. Deep processing of written materials
is essential to the ability to understand, recall, and use the information contained in the books and other
documents. Even though books may present information in a logical way, you must take an active role in
teaching the information to yourself.
4-51. The Survey-Question-Read-Recite-Review method uses the deep processing principles. Developed
over 70 years ago, these activities comprise one of the most widely recommended and effective ways of
learning from written materials.
4-52. Survey. Before beginning to read, look over the chapter, article, or other material to build a mental
framework or outline of the material and establish a purpose for reading it. This mental framework will help
understanding the purpose of the material, set expectations so that attention will be drawn to important
4-14
FM 6-22
-XQH
Self-development
information, activate memory of what is already known, and give a skeleton of understanding to add to while
reading. Survey the material by leafing through it and doing the following—
z
Make predictions about what the sections of the document will discuss. Complete accuracy is not
necessary, but it helps active understanding of the material.
z
Note the title, headings, and subheadings to see the sequence of topics and their relationships.
z
Look at graphs, charts, diagrams, and pictures and read their captions.
z
Read quotations, vignettes, and other short statements that are set off from the main text.
z
Scan footnotes to get a sense of where ideas come from or what they mean.
z
Note emphasized words and phrases (such as bold, italic, underlined, or colored text).
z
Read the introduction, abstract, and summary if available; if not, read the first and last paragraphs.
z
Read the first and last sentences of each paragraph.
z
Review other learning aids that the material may have, such as study guides, advance organizers,
chapter outlines, learning objectives, or review questions.
z
Decide what you want to learn from the material.
4-53. Question. While surveying the material, write down questions that you want to answer while reading
the material. Developing questions to guide your study increases interest in the material, makes you alert to
important information, helps you stay involved with the material, and relates the new knowledge to what you
already know. To develop questions—
z
Turn the title, headings, or subheadings into questions. For example, if a subheading is “The Four-
Step Calibration Process,” a question may be, “What are the four steps of the calibration process?”
z
Ask questions about graphs, charts, diagrams, and pictures. For example, a graph showing an
increasing rate of traffic fatalities in the United States could lead to the question, “Why have traffic
fatalities increased in the United States?”
z
Consider questions that the author includes in the document, such as in call-out boxes or review
questions at the end of a chapter. It can help to rephrase these questions so that they are meaningful
and easier to remember.
4-54. Read. Read the material one section at a time. Use multiple senses by reading, taking notes,
highlighting, and maybe even reading aloud. These tips will aid understanding, retain interest, and retain the
information:
z
Look for the answers to your questions and write them in your own words.
z
Look for additional questions to answer and important information that you had not anticipated.
z
Use deep processing to relate the new information to things you already know.
z
Highlight important information, especially information that answers questions you wrote.
z
Write notes in the margins of the document or on separate paper. These can be key words or
phrases, definitions, reminders to guide studying, and other useful points to remember.
z
Make diagram that show how a process works, timeline, sequence of events or the relationships
that exist between different components.
z
Respond to points made in the document by noting ideas about them in the margins. This will help
personalize the information and relate it to information already known. For example, notes may
highlight disagreements with a point, how a stated idea relates to another idea learned elsewhere,
gaps or questions that remain in the information, or implications of the information.
z
Look for connections, discrepancies, comparisons, and relationships between information
presented in the document and other readings, lectures, or personal experiences.
4-55. Recite. Reciting tests knowledge and understanding of the information. Self-testing is a method of deep
processing that can enhance memory. Reciting helps ensure minimizing knowledge gaps.
z
Stop reading at the end of each section and summarize the material in the section from memory.
z
Ask yourself the questions you previously wrote for that section.
z
Explain charts, graphs, diagrams without referring to the text or personal notes.
z
If you have problems, go back and review the section until you can recite its important information
and concepts from memory.
-XQH
FM 6-22
4-15
Chapter 4
4-56. Review. Reviewing helps refresh and strengthen memory and mastery of the material.
z
Review immediately after reading the entire article or chapter. Review the document again in 24
hours and again several days later.
z
After reading the entire article or chapter, flip back through it, looking at headings, subheadings,
graphs, charts, diagrams, and so on. See if you can recall the important information for each item.
Study the material to fill in any gaps.
z
Go back through all of the written questions and see if you can answer them from memory. Study
the material to answer any missed questions.
z
Explain how all of the sections fit together. What are the overarching points and principles?
z
Explain how the information in this document relates to self-development goals.
z
Interaction with a friend who has studied the same information can help maintain focus, provide
different perspectives on the material, and clarify difficult or misunderstood points.
Personal Reading
4-57. Documents often suggest related information to expand knowledge of the subject. The end of a chapter
or book may list related documents. The bibliography or footnotes identify information sources the author
used. To help narrow the search, make notes of any reference that sounds interesting and relevant.
Reflective Journaling
4-58. A journal may track and record the occurrence, actions, and outcomes of various situations. Reflective
journaling goes beyond a personal AAR including periodic entries on self-awareness of personal strengths,
developmental needs, values, feelings and perceptions, and questions and ideas about leadership situations.
A leader may track personal successes and lessons learned by recording their experiences in leading others,
the chosen actions, the resulting outcomes, and any insights. The journal may serve as a reference to pass
along lessons learned to others. Key leader references also may be recorded.
4-59. Sample reflective journaling questions include—
z
What is the best thing that happened today or this week?
z
What is the most difficult or satisfying part of my work? Why?
z
What do I think is my most valuable or valued contribution?
z
What compliments and criticisms have I received lately? What did I learn from them?
z
What did I learn because of a recent disappointment or failure?
z
How do recent experiences connect to my long-term goals?
z
What risks have I taken (or avoided taking) lately?
4-60. Individual leaders should decide whether to share their journal content with their immediate leader or
others. Leaders can reinforce reflective journaling by—
z
Carrying a journal and being seen writing.
z
Citing lessons learned while referring to journal entries.
z
Providing time for a leader to reflect and write down personal lessons learned.
z
Providing leaders with a journal and a personal note encouraging them to use it.
z
Asking leaders to write or recount a story of a key leader challenge and use the stories to pass on
lessons learned to less experienced leaders.
LEARNING IN ACTION
4-61. Self-development efforts take time and effort. To stay on track—
z
Let milestones serve as a guide.
z
Overcome self-development obstacles.
z
Work efficiently.
z
Maintain forward momentum.
z
Assess progress.
4-16
FM 6-22
-XQH
Self-development
z
Make course corrections.
z
Set the next milestone.
LET MILESTONES GUIDE
4-62. Use the milestones as a guide to—
z
Avoid impulsive actions that may be ineffective and discouraging.
z
Keep the big picture in mind.
z
Work effectively toward self-development goals.
z
Take advantage of resources and overcome obstacles.
z
Measure success.
4-63. Adjust the plan as needed to reach milestones. Be willing to update the plan to improve it, change
goals, address obstacles, take advantage of resources, and reflect upon accomplishments.
SELF-DEVELOPMENT OBSTACLES
4-64. In developing a milestone plan, obstacles to reaching the first milestone were identified. There is
always the possibility of encountering internal and external obstacles, despite thorough preparation.
Internal Obstacles
4-65. Procrastination, apathy, and pride are major obstacles to self-development and occur for many reasons.
Some come to realize their milestones are too ambitious, complex, unclear, or difficult. Others hesitate
because of the effort or discomfort that the work requires or lack the motivation to start. These techniques
address procrastination:
z
Write it down:
„ Write down the goals and milestones and post them where they will be seen frequently.
„ List the benefits of doing the work.
„ Write down the next planned action and associated deadlines.
z
Involve others:
„ Tell others about personal intentions and deadlines.
„ Talk through the task with someone else.
„ Schedule time with someone else to study or work together.
z
Break it down:
„ Break big tasks into smaller, manageable tasks.
„ Make a list of the small steps required to accomplish each milestone.
„ Start with easy steps then gradually build to steps that are more difficult.
„ Mentally rehearse a difficult task or talk through the task with someone else.
z
Make a routine:
„ Pick a routine time to work on self-development activities.
„ Use good time management skills by following a dedicated schedule.
„ Plunge into the task immediately to gain momentum, keep it going.
z
Know yourself:
„ Know your habits. Recognize what you do to avoid things you do not want to do.
„ Confront yourself when you see yourself doing these things.
„ Identify self-defeating attitudes and replace them with positive ones.
„ If a task is repeatedly delayed, do you really intend to do it? If not, remove it from the plan.
z
Be open to deviations in plans and milestones. If an area is overly complex or not interesting, then
consider an adjustment for a higher potential path.
z
Get motivated.
-XQH
FM 6-22
4-17
Chapter 4
4-66. A poor attitude also can interfere with learning and make it difficult to understand and remember
information. For example, thinking that math is hard or disliking history can interfere with an ability to learn
anything related to math or history. Other attitudes, such as closed mindedness, inflexibility, or rigid
adherence to beliefs and assumptions, can interfere with learning. To combat poor attitudes, identify a
productive replacement. Practice thinking and behaving with a positive attitude until it feels natural and
becomes a habit.
External Obstacles
4-67. External factors such as workload or other personal or professional obligations may hinder self-
development efforts. Resistance may also come from others, such as a spouse who resents time spent away
from the family or friends who may pressure you to spend time with them.
4-68. A lack of resources is another common roadblock. Resources include anything needed for self-
development including people (such as teachers, coaches, and mentors), facilities (such as schools, libraries,
and museums), and things (such as training programs, books, and equipment). Learners best handle external
obstacles through careful planning and creativity.
WORK EFFICIENTLY
4-69. By efficiently managing workload and personal life, one can increase how much time is available to
spend on self-development. To increase efficiency—
z
Take care of yourself. Proper food, exercise, and rest enable functioning at your best.
z
Manage time and energy efficiently. Keep a running ‘to do’ list. Prioritize each task according to
its importance, required work, and completion date. Remove low-priority tasks from the list.
z
Look for ways to accomplish daily activities and routines in less time. For example, combine
several errands in a single trip instead of making individual trips.
z
Learn to quickly locate and obtain the information needed for self-development and other
requirements of daily life.
z
Organize work and living areas so that required information, tools, and workspace are available.
FORWARD MOMENTUM
4-70. It is important to keep the developmental momentum moving forward. There may be a tendency to
slow down after completing an important self-development step or be discouraged by setbacks. Resting after
a strong effort is natural, but too much rest may make it hard to restart. Maintain momentum by—
z
Keeping a positive attitude: Let go of setbacks and start each day with renewed enthusiasm. Each
morning offers an opportunity for a fresh start.
z
Making consistent progress: Try to accomplish something, however small, related to self-
development milestones and goals each day.
z
Recognizing benefits: Benefits can be tangible results such as increased pay, awards, and abilities
or intangible results such as pride, a sense of accomplishment, and satisfaction. Remember that
important benefits often require hard work.
PROGRESS ASSESSMENT
4-71. Assessing progress can provide encouragement to keep going if things are going well or to guide
changes if they are not. Individuals can assess progress at any time—while working toward a milestone or
after completing one. To assess progress—
z
Use objective and subjective measures.
„ Objective measures are things that can be seen or expressed in numbers, such as a test score,
time required to perform a task, number of books read, or number of college credits earned.
„ Subjective measures are things that cannot be easily observed or expressed in numbers,
including feelings of satisfaction, accomplishment, personal growth, or difficulty. Subjective
4-18
FM 6-22
-XQH
Self-development
assessments of progress can come from both personal judgment and from feedback. Subjective
indicators are often sufficient to track most self-development activities.
z
Compare the milestone plan with what actually happened and adjust the remainder of this
milestone plan or future milestones to account for lessons learned.
„ Timeline: Was the timeline met? If well under or over the timeline, determine why. Maybe
the timeline was not reasonable, more or less work was anticipated, received extra help,
encountered obstacles, or the material was more involved than initially thought.
„ Action Steps: How successful were you in accomplishing the steps identified for reaching the
milestone? What helped or hurt success? Were the identified steps the right ones?
„ Resources: Were the types of resources needed to achieve the milestone correctly identified?
Did the plan omit any resources? Were necessary resources available? Are there any other
resources that might have worked better?
„ Obstacles: Were identified obstacles encountered and was the plan for overcoming these
obstacles successful? Were unexpected obstacles encountered?
z
Decide if you are satisfied with your progress or if the milestones or general self-development
goals need changes. Indicators to consider in making a course correction include:
„ Unsatisfactory progress.
„ Too much stress or effort required to complete developmental activities.
„ Loss of interest in achieving self-development aims or change in the benefits expected from
achieving those aims.
„ Changes in professional or personal situations that conflict with self-development activities.
„ Being dissatisfied with personal development.
COURSE CORRECTIONS
4-72. Self-development occurs over time in a dynamic environment that includes professional and personal
responsibilities. At some point, obstacles or other challenges will force a change of plans. If the progress
assessment indicates course corrections are needed, determine what correction is warranted:
z
Goal: A self-development goal or milestone may have turned out to be too difficult, too easy, or
just not what was hoped. Examine other possible self-development goals or milestones. Identify
why the unsatisfactory goal or milestone was selected and avoid repeating any missteps.
z
Action Steps: If the actions taken to achieve milestones were not effective, figure out why they
did not work, and then develop actions that are more effective. To be effective, you must be
capable and willing to perform the actions with available resources. If a course correction is
required due to obstacles then create new action steps that avoid or solve these obstacles. Action
steps should form a logical path from where you currently are to achievement of the milestone.
z
Resources: The identified milestone resources may have been inappropriate, inadequate, or
unavailable. If so, analyze planned action steps to determine the resources (such as time, money,
equipment, facilities, or help) needed to perform these steps. Determine if they can be obtained.
THE NEXT MILESTONE
4-73. With the first self-development milestone achieved, a full cycle of self-development is completed. It
is now time to continue the self-development process by setting and pursuing the next milestone.
-XQH
FM 6-22
4-19
Chapter 5
Unique Aspects for Development
5-1. Character, judgment and problem solving, and adaptability are capabilities that are especially valuable
to leaders and team members in special situations. They allow leaders and teams to address the demands of
complex, ambiguous, and chaotic environments of military operations. Whether making the tough moral
decision, thinking critically to resolve uncertainty, thinking from a broad and strategic perspective, or
adapting to unexpected changes, expert leaders find the way to do what is right. This chapter describes these
capabilities and identifies unique aspects of developing, enhancing, or fostering them in leaders and teams.
CHARACTER
5-2. Character is a critical component of being a successful Army leader. Character is one’s true nature
including identity, sense of purpose, values, virtues, morals, and conscience. Character is reflected in an
Army professional’s dedication and adherence to the Army Ethic and the Army Values. Character is the
essence of who an individual is, what an individual values and believes, and how they behave. Doing the
right thing the right way for the right reasons demonstrates character. Demonstrating character often means
resisting the easier wrong in favor of the tougher right. Making the right choices involves discipline.
Discipline can be thought of as the foundation of character. Team character is the melding of individuals’
character in a team.
5-3. As the uncertainty of operating environments dictate, junior leaders need to be capable of independent
decisions using sound discretionary judgments founded in moral character. Character is also such an
important quality of a leader because decisions and actions of the leader are viewed by others. The
demonstrated character of the leader greatly influences how other people either emulate their conduct or
disapprove of it. These can, in turn, add to or detract from team trust and cohesion.
5-4. Character forms over time through education, training, and experience in a continuous, iterative
process. Leaders employ character when all decisions, big or small, are analyzed for ethical consequences.
One must have the knowledge of how to address the consequences. This knowledge comes from the Army
Ethic, personal experience, and others’ guidance. Internalizing the moral principles of the Army Ethic as
personal beliefs is essential for character development. An individual demonstrates character when they
correctly identify the ethical implications of a decision, possesses knowledge to act, and acts accordingly.
5-5. Leaders enable the development of character in others by conveying clear ethical expectations,
modeling right conduct, and establishing discipline to uphold the Army Ethic and embody the Army Values.
This comprises the essence of what it means to be an ethical leader and serve as a powerful influence on
character development. Guided by the Army Values, character development is founded on discipline. To
develop character in others, leaders must embody the Army Values every day. Leaders must communicate
expectations that others embody the Army Values as well. To reinforce desired behavior, leaders should
recognize Soldiers who demonstrate exemplary conduct. When a Soldier falls short of the Army Ethic or the
Army Values, leaders must counsel them and help them see the gaps between their personal values and those
the Army espouses. Leaders look for the character developmental opportunities that exist in day-to-day
operations. In this way, Soldiers learn what is expected of them. Reinforcing ethical standards increases the
likelihood of ethical decisions and actions, and promotes an ethical climate.
5-6. Leaders shape the ethical climate of their organization while developing the trust and relationships that
enable proper leadership. Over time, the fostered ethical climate contributes to enhanced organizational
ethical behavior. The internalization of ethical principles develops as the culture reinforces the acceptance
and demonstration of ethical behavior. All Soldiers contribute to their team’s character. Modeling positive
character fosters social norms and expectations to choose the tougher right over the easier wrong. Team
members hold each other accountable to embody the Army Values and demonstrate character at all times.
This approach to character at the team level strengthens team trust and cohesion.
-XQH
FM 6-22
5-1
Chapter 5
JUDGMENT AND PROBLEM SOLVING
5-7. Intellect enables a leader to understand, visualize, and decide and is essential in unfamiliar and chaotic
settings. Judgment, as a key component of intellect, is an ability to make considered decisions and come to
sensible conclusions. Leaders can reflect on how they think and better foster the development of judgment
in others. Problem solving, critical and creative thinking, and ethical reasoning are the thought processes
involved in understanding, visualizing, and directing. Problem solving involves situation assessment
(understanding), imagining (visualizing), and converging on a solution (directing). Thinking critically
involves analytical, cautious, and convergent judgment. It checks on the sensibility, relevance, and
relationship of meaning and possibility. Creative thinking is generative, daring, and divergent. Critical
thinking considers what might be wrong, while creative thinking considers what is possible. The two
complementary processes—evaluation and generation—occur in a free-flowing manner depending on what
ideas and conclusions stem from thinking in specific situations.
5-8. A goal of all leaders and teams is to think as well and as thoroughly as time permits. The brain encodes
experience as expertise that allows automatic and intuitive responses, which frees up time to apply to other
thinking or provides a reserve capacity for addressing the most complex problems. Intuition can operate
rapidly, but the downside is that it can be misapplied. Intuition operates based on the best or closest match,
having no built-in or automatic process that checks on mismatches in cues, and no repair of ill-fitting ideas.
Evaluation, repair, and design are roles of deliberate thinking processes.
5-9. Leaders draw on their knowledge and expertise in the context of each part of a problem. However,
most situations will always have incomplete knowledge. Thinking is a technique to identify gaps in
knowledge. Experience or a hunch can be used to facilitate a new way of framing (seeing or structuring) a
problem or a solution. Leaders test ideas through visualization or a war-gaming process. The thought process
judges how well ideas meet goals. (See emerging doctrine on the Army Design Methodology.)
5-10. Everyday thinking switches back and forth from a subconscious process of intuition to deliberate,
effortful thought. The active monitoring of one’s own thinking guides the process, keeping it on track.
Thinking about thinking is metacognition. Metacognition and deliberate thought are processes that people
can learn to improve. Intuition develops through the natural accumulation of experiences. Individuals develop
judgment intentionally through overt attention to the deliberate side of thinking. The following sections
describe these deliberate processes.
THINKING ABOUT THINKING
5-11. Thinking about thinking is one way to develop better judgment. Metacognition involves both self-
awareness and self-regulation of thought. Metacognition is important to military leaders dealing with
complex problems because it involves adapting to the situation. By increasing the awareness of one’s own
thinking, mental capabilities can be allocated to the pressing problems at hand. Being self-aware means
having insight into how one learns, and the thought patterns and strategies that are typically used when
thinking. Being better in touch with how one thinks can increase the chances for successful thinking. To
improve thinking capacity for good judgment and to self-regulate thinking in the moment, leaders should
practice thinking about how to solve problems and how to decide.
Memory and thought processes are complex, but consider if they were simply files. An increased
number of files become available as the individual studies and learns. The more often the
individual accesses the files, their contents become more familiar, and chances increase that a file
will be the best match to a future situation.
5-12. Improving judgment requires self-reflection and hard work to adopt new habits. Making thinking more
deliberate will prompt self-reflection. Through practice, new ways of thinking will become easier to use in
daily operations and especially in pressure situations where they are most beneficial. Improved thinking
strategies will create greater self-confidence, making it more likely to address rather than avoid complex
challenges. Table 5-1 provides questions to help leaders reflect on their thinking and develop better judgment.
5-2
FM 6-22
-XQH
Unique Aspects for Development
Table 5-1. Examples of reflective questions
What is this situation?
What other situation is like this one?
What is this situation not like?
For improved
What do I know about situations like this?
understanding
How could this situation happen?
ask:
How should I think about this situation to define the problem or opportunity?
What is the real problem?
What do I not know that I should?
What else could this situation or solution be?
Are there any assumptions unneeded, new ones needed?
For improved
What constraints are there?
visualization
What needs to be accomplished?
ask:
What is likely to happen?
How should I prepare for future situations?
What is the solution or plan?
For improved
Does a solution dominate others? Can the solution be redesigned so that it does?
decisionmaking
Is there a specific way to reason and decide about the solution?
ask:
What would my enemy not want me to do?
CRITICAL THINKING
5-13. Critical thinking is composed of various techniques to consider the soundness and relevance of ideas
as they apply to understanding a situation or determining a way ahead. Teams that engage in critical thinking
make assumptions explicit and identify differences and similarities in how facts apply to the situation. Critical
thinking is an active process in situation assessment that seeks to obtain the most thorough and accurate
understanding possible. Situation assessment is a dynamic process that requires time and effort. Practice
develops skill at critical thinking. Skill will facilitate the ease and smoothness of application to assessment
and problem solving. (See ATP 2-33.4 Intelligence Analysis for information on critical thinking processes.)
5-14. High performance teams demonstrate mental agility (see ADRP 6-22) in their willingness to approach
problems from different viewpoints and to hold and work on opposing ideas until identifying the best
solution. High performing teams adopt the practice of using different perspectives in their critical thinking.
Leaders can encourage critical thinking by how they challenge and pose questions to their teams. The leaders
best at developing others actively lead the team to consider alternative points of view, multiple contingencies
and first, second and third consequences of multiple courses of action. Teams that practice critical thinking
and reflect on it will broaden their capabilities for tackling complex problems—difficult to solve because of
incomplete, contradictory, or changing requirements.
CREATIVE THINKING
5-15. Creativity is largely an attitude. To become more creative, leaders must be willing to make unusual
connections that defy convention. They must be prepared to accept the risks of being different or wrong.
Unusual connections may arise out of either effortful thought or from a relaxed, open state. Creative thinking
involves examining problems from a fresh perspective to develop innovative solutions. Creative thinking
occurs by consciously generating new ideas, and re-evaluating or combining old ideas, to solve a problem.
Creativity is a willingness to accept change and apply a flexible outlook for new ideas and possibilities.
5-16. Looking at problems from different perspectives can improve one’s understanding of a situation. It can
lead one to see new goals and available options. Choosing to take multiple perspectives helps to understand
situations, find new or creative solutions, and evaluate solutions. Any shortcoming or restriction in one’s
perspective is a possible source of problems in reasoning. Problem solvers can adopt different perspectives
by taking on the role of another (such as the enemy, a neutral bystander, or adjacent unit commander), using
new or different frames of reference, shifting importance about various problem elements, or reversing the
-XQH
FM 6-22
5-3
Chapter 5
goal. These require an openness of mind willing to apply a different perspective and practice in shifting
perspectives. Adopting different perspectives is a way to enhance creativity and critical thinking.
5-17. Identifying hidden assumptions can be useful for developing greater creativity and insight. Coming up
with reasons against a preferred conclusion or option instead of in favor of that conclusion or option will
improve how thorough reasoning is done. This will also help identify contingencies that may occur. One can
force oneself to imagine what causes a speculative conclusion to be incorrect. Considering ways something
would not be true, allows determination of other possible aspects of a situation and ways to shape the outcome
to avoid those undesired states.
Finding hidden assumptions or imagining failure are similar techniques that protect against group
think and hasty agreement with conventional wisdom. To check for hidden assumptions, start with
an assessment or course of action, consider that it is not true or has failed. Force yourself to think
about what caused it to fail. Those causes are likely to be assumptions that were not evident.
Finding Hidden Assumptions
You are in the defense overlooking a river. The intelligence analysis has the staff
convinced that the enemy force now advancing toward the river will pause on the far
side while his forces close there massing combat power before launching the attack
across the river.
Caution! The more confident and unanimous you are in a prediction, the more
vulnerable you become to the consequences of error. Check for hidden assumptions
used in arriving at the conclusion that you were not aware you were making. To do
this, suppose for a moment that the conclusion is wrong, and ask, "under what
conditions might the enemy NOT pause, close, and launch the attack?" Maybe it is a
feint. Maybe we are responding to their approach exactly as they hoped we would. We
assumed they were not sophisticated enough for such a scheme of maneuver, but how
much do we really know? The assumptions that we did not realize we were making
could prove incorrect. Their commander could be an expert and audacious tactician.
Identifying hidden assumptions can mitigate the risk of an incorrect assessment.
CRITICAL AND CREATIVE THINKING DEVELOPMENT
5-18. Critical and creative thinking come together as practical thinking that captures the strengths of how
people approach everyday problems, calling on experience over formal models such as classical logic.
Creative thinking techniques help generate new insights. Critical thinking brings out differences that are not
normally obvious. Both types of thinking fill in gaps in knowledge and resolve uncertainty. Signs of a
practical thinker include a willingness to try alternate approaches to thinking, being open to others’ positions,
being prepared to think about issues instead of ignoring or dismissing them, and asking insightful questions.
5-19. Leaders should develop critical and creative thinking in team members. These abilities and capacities
for intellectual and critical thought are essential to effective problem solving. The actions of subordinates,
based on their own critical thinking skills, will often dictate the success of the team. One of the best ways to
develop critical thinking in an organization is through example, by being a critical thinker. Thinking critically
and setting conditions that encourage others to think critically are effective ways to enhance the process by
team members. Leaders should be willing to take risks and encourage prudent risk taking by others. Thinking
critically and creatively and thinking about thinking can cause people to question their own abilities. Leaders
can counteract the unsettled feeling by listening attentively, affirming their subordinates’ abilities, and
reflecting about the processes of thinking and successful outcomes achieved from thorough thinking.
5-20. How people think and feel about learning and knowing affects their critical and creative thinking and
development of judgment. For example, an attitude that thinking can resolve problems will lead to better
results in overcoming difficulties through thinking. Attitudes that conflict with sound thinking should be
diminished. These attitudes include feeling that changing one’s mind is a sign of weakness, that being open
and deliberating among options leads to confusion, that quick decisionmaking is how one demonstrates
expertise, and that truth comes from authority.
5-4
FM 6-22
-XQH
Unique Aspects for Development
5-21. Positive attitudes that contribute to developing critical and creative thinking include—
z
Persistence. If one line of thought or action is not working, then finding another line may work.
z
Willingness to expend effort. A willingness to engage in deeper, more thorough thinking is
important for critical thinking, even when the effort may not initially seem useful.
z
Active fair-mindedness. Taking special effort to find out whether one’s ideas will work by
imagining what is wrong with them is a good way to be fair-minded. Using the same standards,
regardless of the issue or who supports a position is another quality of fair-mindedness.
z
Detachment of ego. Keeping reasoning separate from self-esteem helps guard against being caught
up in being on the right side of an argument or rationalizing why failure was out of one’s control.
z
Tolerance of uncertainty. Believing it is fine not to know something is a positive characteristic.
Yet, being motivated to resolve uncertainty once it is recognized is even more important. There is
an advantage to having to think through problems to figure them out, instead of using minimal,
surface cues that could lead to interpreting a situation incorrectly.
z
Openness. Being open to different and multiple possibilities leads to better decisions.
z
Retraction of commitment. Willing to change beliefs about a preferred solution or a problem
viewpoint is an attitude that has positive effects.
z
Flexibility of process. Realize that standard processes will not work for novel, ill-defined, or
complex problems. Adapting or discovering a new way of thinking that will help reach a solution.
z
Willingness to learn. It is natural for leaders to feel an expectation to have the knowledge and
experience to perform well. Being willing to engage in learning is adaptive. One characteristic of
experts is that they understand what they know and what they need to learn.
5-22. Thinking ahead and predicting potential ways that a situation assessment may be wrong or that a course
of action could depart from the anticipated plan will make leaders better prepared to handle the unknown.
Having identified and thought about various contingencies better prepares the team for what could occur.
AMBIGUOUS OR UNFAMILIAR SITUATIONS
5-23. Deliberate effort applied to thinking is a way to provide best guesses about ambiguity—uncertain
situations, uncertain actions by an adversary, and uncertain outcomes. One way to be prepared is to have a
standard set of questions to ask oneself when faced with uncertainty. Developing a practice of asking
questions will prompt additional reasoning. Table 5-2 provides some example questions to focus thinking.
Table 5-2. Example questions to focus thinking
Question prompt
Example
What if…?
What if… this assessment were not the case?
What else…?
What else… could be happening?
So what?
So what if that happened… is there a meaningful difference?
What are the specifics?
Can claims be confirmed with specific information?
Is there a weak link?
Are there any inconsistencies or confusions?
What is unexpected?
Are there new conclusions or implications?
5-24. A natural tendency is to discount information when it does not fit into expectations. Some refer to this
as a confirmation bias, but that reference implies a conscious or active process when it usually is not. It is
difficult to undo individual’s assessment or conclusion once it forms. The first step to protect against the
discounting of unexpected signals is to pay attention to information that does not fit expectations. Assessment
of the information can indicate whether an understanding needs to change. If no definite determination can
be made, even heightened vigilance for changes should occur.
5-25. Dominance structuring is a useful way of thinking for designing a solution and helping ensure it is the
best available solution. The dominance structuring technique can be used as part of a formal military
decisionmaking process as the ‘nuts and bolts’ way of thinking and iterating through course of action
development, analysis, comparison, and wargaming. The technique can be used in an accelerated mode as a
mental thinking drill.
-XQH
FM 6-22
5-5
Chapter 5
DOMINANCE STRUCTURING
First, consider the relevant dimensions of the problem.
Identify the initial most promising alternative solution by eliminating
alternative solutions that are unattractive on important dimensions.
Choose an alternative if it is better than all others on at least one
dimension and equal to other options on other dimensions. This will be the
dominant solution.
If the most promising alternative does not initially dominate all others, then
reconsider advantages and disadvantages relative to other possible
solutions.
Modify the most promising alternative until it dominates other alternatives.
This will be the dominant solution. If no dominant solution appears,
reconsider what are the most important dimensions of the problem and
repeat the dominance comparisons among alternatives.
STRATEGIC THINKING
5-26. Strategic thinking is an imperative for military leaders to shape the future of operations and to steward
resources at their disposal. Strategic thinking is valuable in all levels of leadership. It is important to take
time to think of the overall view and to make decisions that set the stage for plans lasting years. Strategic
thinking generates a cohesive understanding of situational dynamics presenting options of advantage and
long-term organizational success. Thinking skills and activities directed at outcomes that produce an
overarching approach or plan to achieve a particular aim characterize strategic thinking. In this case strategic
describes the type of thinking rather than the usage in joint doctrine to describe a level of war, security
objectives, or ideas to employ the instruments of national power. In contrast to thinking following traditional
problem-solving steps, strategic thinking is not looking to solve a bounded problem but is creating a set or
pattern of decisions to achieve future success. While a tactic is a specific prescription of how something will
be done, a strategy is a philosophy of what is valued and consists of guidelines or boundaries that shape what
actions to take.
5-27. Clearly, strategic thinking is an important skill for senior leaders who must establish high-level goals
and broadly scoped policies. However, strategic thinking is also important for lower level leaders when they
address recurring problems and consider enduring, robust solutions. The earlier leaders are exposed to
strategic thinking, the more likely they will try it, apply it, and, over time, get better at it.
5-28. Strategic thinking can be broken down into several activities:
z
Situational understanding. Understanding is enabled by scanning the environment for recurring,
novel, and key cues that are integrated and used in sensemaking, predicting, and testing what
exists. Visualization is a related activity used to fill in gaps of knowledge about what exists or
used to consider what will exist in the future. Subskills include discriminating among relevant
cues, integrating diverse information, applying mental war-gaming, and modeling.
z
Questioning. Asking questions demonstrates an openness to different perspectives and a desire to
consider alternate or unconventional assessments. Questioning is also a key component of thinking
critically by improving the thoroughness of judgment. Consistently demonstrating a willingness
to shift perspective, to look for alternate explanations, and avoid mindsets and fixations
characterize cognitive flexibility.
z
Systems thinking. Systems thinking involves considering the factors of a situation or a solution as
a system of interrelated parts with inputs, processes, outputs and feedback. A systems orientation
operates from a view that an understanding or model can be created or used to explain—or improve
5-6
FM 6-22
-XQH
Unique Aspects for Development
upon—what occurs (as applies to situational understanding) or what could occur (as applies to
problem solving). See Army Design Methodology doctrine for more about systems thinking.
z
Analogical reasoning. Thinking that deals with complex problems with unfamiliar or unknown
conditions and outcomes occurs by drawing on current knowledge. Analogical reasoning is a
specific approach where known or similar concepts and relationships map to what is yet not
understood. Historical comparisons are useful in strategic thinking to consider what has occurred
under one known set of conditions.
z
Self-awareness. Since strategic thinking involves unknowns, multiple paths, trials of what might
exist in a situation, and possible results of a solution, an ability to manage personal thought
processes is important. Metacognition is being aware of what oneself is thinking, what one knows,
progress toward a conclusion, and in testing strategic approaches and conclusions about them.
5-29. The development of strategic thinking occurs largely by addressing complex, dynamic challenges and
practicing critical and creative thinking. One learns strategic thought by working in context and becoming
skilled at basic aspects of situational understanding and visualization. Leaders or instructors can accelerate
the development of subordinates’ thinking by assigning projects or duties with opportunities for strategic
thinking. For a master sergeant it may be developing training plans for a specific system or developing and
assessing the long-term goals of a remedial fitness program. For junior captains it may be assigning them to
analyze and develop a plan for managing range use. For Army Civilians in an initial administrative position
it may be assigning them to an installation task force on energy reduction. Professional military education
courses reinforce strategic thinking by assigning projects requiring the application of the skills and grading
how well a student employs them. For example, the Army War College started with students solving real-
world problems as an extension of the War Department and now employs similar methods.
ADAPTABILITY
5-30. A key outcome of development of an individual leader or unit is building increased capability to adapt
to meet mission challenges. Adaptability for the purpose of performance is an effective change in behavior
in response to an altered or unexpected situation. The Army stresses the importance of adaptability due to the
rapid pace of world events and the dynamic change that occurs across related military operations. Military
history is replete with accounts of adaptation, hinging on a leader’s ability to have uncanny insight into the
situation, to be keenly self-aware, and to have a mindset and knowledge that promotes adaptation.
5-31. Adaptability for an individual means having broad and deep knowledge and a good mix of skills and
characteristics (see table 5-3). Critical and creative thinking skills are needed when new situations are
encountered and the team does not have existing knowledge to use in adaptation.
Table 5-3. Skills and characteristics of adaptability
Skills
Characteristics
Quickly assess the situation.
Open-minded.
Recognize changes in the environment.
Flexible, Versatile, Innovative.
Identify critical elements of new situation.
Sees change as an opportunity.
Apply new skills in unanticipated contexts.
Passionate learner.
Change responses readily.
Comfortable in unfamiliar environments.
Use multiple perspectives through critical and
Comfortable with ambiguity.
creative thinking.
Maintain appropriate complexity in knowledge.
Avoid oversimplification.
5-32. Adaptability for a team means having a variety of skills within the team to enable adaptation.
Adaptability is enhanced when members of the team apply unique knowledge to a problem in new ways.
Developing expertise is important to enable adaptable performance later. Having multiple cues to knowledge
determines whether atypical, yet useful, knowledge is recalled when needed. Automatic recall can allow
greater spare capacity to deal with novel and complex aspects of a problem. Automatic recall, such as pattern
recognition, can develop through repeated training beyond performance standards. Being able to adapt
depends on the effort ahead of time that goes into developing the capability to adapt.
-XQH
FM 6-22
5-7

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Content      ..      1      2      3      ..