LETTER TO THE EDITOR information , they can continue to grow and develop as an Army leader .” 6 He sees that improving readiness depends on improving leadership .
The Center for Army Leadership ( CAL ) agrees with McAninch that the MSAF program is worth investing the effort to increase its impact . The CAL Annual Survey of Army Leadership ( CASAL ) studies show that a majority of officers rate MSAF effective for making them more aware of their strengths and developmental needs . 7 An even higher percentage of junior and senior NCOs and Army civilian leaders rate it effective . 8 While ratings of value are mostly favorable , attitudes on some criteria are declining or are level , especially among officers who are required to record compliance on their officer evaluation report ( OER ).
One reason for the ratings trends is that many officers are not using the program as designed :
• Army leaders are required to complete an assessment on themselves and to contribute to the assessments of other leaders . Many leaders are not getting other leaders to participate in their assessments . 9 Without 360-degree feedback from multiple personnel , no 360-degree program will have a strong impact .
• Many leaders are not viewing their feedback report , so they are not receiving any value from their assessment other than the possible intrinsic value of reflecting on their leadership while they complete the self-assessment . 10
• Many leaders are not discussing their feedback with anyone . 11 They are not making use of MSAF coaches , not seeking coaching from professional military education faculty , and not discussing it with their superior , mentors , or peers . Without coaching , they are not being challenged to treat the feedback as a real indication of their ability nor how to learn to use their strengths to improve themselves . Implementation cannot be entirely faulted if the program is not used as intended .
McAninch omitted a comparison of MSAF to other Army leader development practices , which would shed additional light on its value . The impact of MSAF on leader development is similar to the impact of other programs like Army-provided distance learning , formal leader development programs within units , and performance counseling . 12 MSAF requires a small amount of time and a fraction of investment compared to these other practices . For every two Army leaders , only one completed an assessment on another leader in the last year , and on average each assessment took twenty minutes or less to complete . 13 Costs are low , and many leaders assessed by MSAF rate it favorably for improving their leadership capabilities and improving their unit or organization . Education , seminars , performance counseling , and assessments and feedback are all desired practices for developing leaders in any organization .
Low to moderate impact ratings of leader development practices may be symptoms of a culture that is not fully vested in improving leadership . A defining aspect of a skill is that it can be improved through development or practice . The Army ’ s 2009 CASAL results revealed that one-fifth of Army leaders believed that leadership ability is what a person is born with and training would not change it , although a considerable majority did believe that leadership is a skill and can be improved . 14 Multiple studies demonstrate that leadership can be treated as a skill and that its development can result in improved leadership performance . 15 For any Army leader development to work , Army leaders must believe it is important and possible to improve .
McAninch recommended four ways to improve the MSAF program . Two of the ways involved compulsory actions , which are contradictory to his point about changing the program to be purely voluntary . A successful 360-degree program requires doing it , understanding the feedback , and taking action on the feedback . Forcing someone to self-develop is not a certain path to improvement . If tracking mandatory compliance through the OER had a negative impact on the perceived value of the program , forcing follow-up would have a similar negative impact .
Another recommendation by McAninch actually has been an original and enduring aspect of the MSAF program . Training coaches , especially faculty as coaches , has always been a part of the MSAF program . The original directive required professional military education faculty , cadre , and staff to provide coaching to assist students in interpreting 360-degree results and planning development action plans for improvement . 16 Counseling students on leadership has been a requirement of faculty since at least 2002 . 17 MSAF provides a source of feedback that can help
Dr . Jon Fallesen is chief of the Leadership Research , Assessment , and Doctrine Division , Center for Army Leadership at Fort Leavenworth , Kansas .
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