Wednesday March 12, 2014
What is it?
U.S. Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) Leader Development Toolbox is a valuable online resource for Soldier-leaders across all Army components and cohorts (Officer, NCO, Warrant Officer and Army Civilian). The online site, unveiled Mar. 12, 2014, links the institutional Army to the operational Army – providing, leadership news, practical tools, and best practices across the total Army force. The online site connects leader-development expertise across the Army while benefiting from the participation of and contributions by leaders Army-wide.
What has the Army done?
The Secretary of the Army, Chief of Staff of the Army and Sergeant Major of the Army approved the Army Leader Development Strategy (ALDS) last June 2013. It codifies the Army senior leaders’ vision and strategy for leader development of all Army professionals through lifelong training, education and experiences acquired through opportunities in the operational, institutional and self-development areas.
The FORSCOM Leader Development Toolbox is a collaborative effort with other Army commands featuring links to Army doctrine, the Center for Army Leadership, the Combined Arms Center, Center for Army Profession and Ethics, the Army Training Network and other resources. This is part of the Army Chief of Staff’s ongoing strategic priority, Adaptive Army Leaders for a Complex World.
What continued efforts does the Army have planned for the future?
Through the ALDS, Army units are sharing a renewed commitment and emphasis on the Army Profession and lifelong learning. The strategy balances the three components of leader development: training, education and experience. While redirecting Forces Command’s mission focus to regionally aligned forces (RAF) prepared to conduct Unified Land Operations, the Army must help close capability gaps by building resilient and adaptive leaders.
Why is this important to the Army?
Leader development is a critical component of all Army operations, particularly training It is critical to the development of agile and adaptive leaders across the total Army force. An increasingly complex security environment - coupled with a period of organizational transformation and fiscal austerity - places a premium on the Army’s capacity to build and empower effective leaders. Resources like the Forces Command Leader Development Toolbox and the Army Leader Development Strategy lay out guiding principles for the Army and will develop leaders of character, presence and intellect across the force. The mission of leader development is to train, educate and provide experiences to progressively develop leaders to prevail in unified land operations and to lead the Army using mission command in a 21st century.
Resources:
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