U.S. Army Self-Development: Enhancer or Barrier to Leader Development?

by Milford H Beagle

On 25 May 2001, the U.S. Army Training and Leader Development Panel (ATLDP) released a report on the results of extensive research concerning the future direction of training and leader development. As part of the findings, conclusions and recommendations, the ATLDP recommended a new leader development model and three additional leadership competencies; self-awareness, adaptability and life-long learning. As an overarching theme of their recommendations, developing the new meta-competencies in leaders serves a partial contributor to the transformation endstate of a trained and ready force for the nation and self-aware and adaptive leaders. This monograph answers the research Is the Army's self-development model capable of contributing to the endstate of providing self-aware, adaptive and life-long learning leaders for the future force?. This monograph focuses on leader self-development due to the ATLDP's assertion that self-development will serve as the link between the institutional and operational pillars of leader development. Additionally, future self-development programs and processes will contribute to developing self-aware, adaptive and life-long learning leaders. This monograph addresses this issue through the construct of history, theory and doctrine and concludes with a survey element designed to assess the effects of training and education on leader development.

68 pages, Paperback

First published November 21, 2012