FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. — Developing skills such as strategic thinking, problem solving, emotional intelligence and communication, is crucial to advancement in any career path. Finding opportunities and avenues to help with development can be costly and difficult to find, but the U.S. Army Fort Leonard Wood Garrison has a few spots open for their highly sought-after Junior Executive Development Initiative program, according to Farrah Overman, program facilitator.
While it’s original focus was primarily garrison, the mission of this yearlong program changed and is now open to all civil service and non-appropriated fund employees across the installation.
“Due to the length of the program, the team is able to learn a myriad of topics in leadership, self-awareness, team building, and project management,” Overman said. “The knowledge received from this program can help with career progression as the gamut of information that comes from the program is vast.”
Selected applicants are required to commit to four hours weekly for the duration of the program — two hours meeting in person or virtually and the other two on projects. Overman said the schedule is adapted to take advantage of real-world learning opportunities and training.
For the first six months, JEDI members will receive briefings from each of the garrison directorates as well as develop self-awareness and leadership skills. The remainder of the months will be spent on project management training and the completion of a project of choice.
JEDI member Lauren Hill said she signed up for the program because she enjoys networking.
“I really wanted to have a better understanding of what leadership is and what it means to me professionally,” she said. “You will learn about different kinds of leadership and building relationships, most importantly you will meet a fantastic group of people who are learning alongside you. They are there to learn about themselves and evaluate their leadership styles as well as focusing on career development. There is so much to learn about Fort Leonard Wood and how it operates.”
The deadline to apply for this program has been extended to Oct. 7. Those interested in applying or wanting more information should contact Overman by email at farrah.l.overman.civ@army.mil.
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