Service members and civilian workers placed sticky notes on posters to characterize themselves as part of a self-exploration exercise May 16 on the Fort Myer portion of Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall during an Army Community Service class about ident...

Good character and recognizing one's own strengths and weaknesses--as well as those of others--are qualities of a great leader, a theme shared by Army Community Service's Carla Moss during a class about character strength at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall May 16.

The class she taught to service members and civilian workers, Identify Character Strengths in Self and Others, is intended to build character and, as the title indicates, encourage leaders to know themselves and others.

Moss said the course provides tools to help build critical thinking skills, camaraderie, self-awareness and social awareness.

"Sometimes [service members and civilians] don't understand who they are personally until they get into a situation and then they're like, 'Gosh, I could have handled that better,' or 'I could have done this with a little bit more support,'" explained Moss, JBM-HH ACS' information and referral program manager.

Participant Audrey Yap, who works at Client Services at the Military District of Washington, said through this class she learned to be more generous in terms of identifying the struggles that other people have.

"For example, I can do things to help a person to become more effective at their job," she said. "Sometimes [a person's weakness] isn't their personal failing. Sometimes it's just not a strength for them...and it's something that I can work on."

Self-reflection is something that may not come easy for all, so in order to create a self-awareness kind of atmosphere that would generate a conversation, Moss had service members and civilian workers participate in a number of events to get them to think inwardly.

Service members and civilians were instructed to place sticky notes on posters with characteristic traits like: curiosity and interest in the world, hope, authenticity, genuineness, appreciation of excellence and beauty. They held group discussions about their specific placement of the sticky notes. Moss even showed images of Michael Jordan, Abraham Lincoln, civil rights icon Rosa Parks and pop culture icons like Bart Simpson and Rocky Balboa so that they could discuss their strengths and their dark side, according to Moss.

"We kind of like really admire them and don't realize they have a bad side, that they are struggling," said Moss. "We don't realize they went through this struggle because they only showed us what they want us to see."

Moss said she wants participants who take this class to go deeper and to become more self-aware.

"In this environment, it is all about team building; it is all cohesion; it is all about camaraderie, so having said that, this is why we have these classes," said Moss. "Service members can dig a little bit deeper versus just the regular automaton of how the organization works. It has to go deeper."

Those interested in attending future sessions of the "Identify Character Strengths in Self and Others" class should contact Moss at 703-696-2178.

Additionally, ACS offers a complete listing of all its programs and services, including forthcoming parenting, readiness and resiliency courses, in its online newsletter, "Life YOUniversity," which can be accessed online at www.jbmhhmwr.com/army-community-service-acs.