Military Review English Edition July-August 2015 | Page 39

DEVELOPING LEADERS

closely managed (often at the expense of the individuals
or units) to ensure one gets through all of the wickets to
facilitate progression to the next rank. The Army can
also consider making promotion after a certain grade
dependent on experience and certification rather than
time and cohort year groups. Expanding opportunities
for breaks in service for family or educational needs,
or increasing lateral entry to allow personnel with
specific talents and skill sets to enter service would
have major positive impacts on retention and expertise available in the ranks.
Unlike large organizations in the private sector, the
uniformed Army does not routinely recruit,
select, and assign midgrade and senior-level
leaders from outside its ranks. The uniformed cohorts are largely dependent upon
the Army itself to develop leaders. The
process of developing a senior uniformed
leader begins twenty-plus years prior to the
organization’s need for the individual.

civil schooling, professional military education, and
demonstrated interests.
Leader development and talent management
together are built on fundamentals. Army leaders must exemplify the “Be, Know, Do” concept
as described in ALDS 2013.13 They must possess
and demonstrate traits such as adaptability, agility,
flexibility, responsiveness, and resilience. Mastering
these fundamentals is a professional obligation and
provides the basis by which Army leaders operate
effectively with joint, interagency, intergovernmental, and multinational partners.

Talent Management
Complements Leader
Development
Talent management is the combination of processes the Army uses to ensure
the right leader is assigned to the right
job at the right time. The leader development philosophy must align with practice
because the right leader might not always
be the most qualified individual for a position. Often, the best leader for a position
is one who the Army needs to help learn
and develop within that assignment, to
satisfy immediate organizational needs
as well as future Army requirements.
Talent management takes into account
the individual preferences and talents of
an officer, warrant officer, NCO, or Army
civilian—the unique distribution of his
or her skills, knowledge, and behaviors,
and that individual’s potential. The Army
looks to develop and put to best u