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Leadership TrackSection1USING THE LEADERSHIPDEVELOPMENT PROGRAMKey Points1 Your LDP Experience2 Revisions to Army Leader Doctrine3 LDP Classification and Rating ProcedureseSoldiers do what they are told to do. It’s leadershipthat’s the key. Young men and women join the Army;if they’re with competent, confident, capable leaders,they turn into good Soldiers.Sergeant Major of the Army Robert E. Hall

Using the Leadership Development Program ■ 3IntroductionBy now you should be completely versed in the ROTC Leadership DevelopmentProgram. Last year as an MS III, your cadre and perhaps your MS IVs evaluated yourleadership performance using blue cards. You conducted a self-evaluation using yellowcards. You probably know that the LDP’s focus shifts over time from basic life skills(interpersonal behavior, time management, physical fitness, etc.) in the early years to themore complex, professional-level skills the Army expects of a lieutenant. Figure 1.1 reflectsthe command model for administering the LDP. This chapter gives a year-by-year review ofthe program so you can better understand your role as an MS IV within the LDP model.Leader development is a continuous process of training, assessment, andfeedback, with the goal of instilling and enhancing desirable behavior in militaryleaders. Within Cadet Command, the process is modeled after principles spelled out inFM 6-22, and standardized on campus and for summer training. The LDP is designedfor personalized, individual development at all levels of proficiency throughout yourROTC experience, from program entry to commissioning. The LDP includes basicleadership training, periodic assessment, and counseling at both team and individuallevels by experienced mentors who observe, record, and provide feedback. Trends andcorrective actions are identified and followed with retraining and reassessment in acontinuous cycle. Effective leadership development is progressive, building on yourexperiences and lessons learned and making the most of your individual potential.LeadershipDevelopment ProgramCadet Command’sprocess of developingindividual Cadets’leadership abilities byproviding a continuouscycle of observedleadership opportunities,followed by assessment,feedback, counseling,and improvementTo be effective, leadersmust master manyinterpersonal,conceptual, technical,and tactical skills.In 2006 the Army commissioned a study to compare the ROTC LeadershipDevelopment Program with other junior leader development programs in “othersectors”: academia, business, government, and other military organizations. Thereport found that Army ROTC compared favorably against the following benchmarks:1. Action learning and hands-on experience. ROTC emphasizes and devotes more timeto action learning (versus lecture) than other organizations studied, except formaybe business and industry. Participants learn leadership best by being involved,taking ownership, and being accountable for their own leader development.2. Assessment and feedback. The ROTC Leadership Development Program providesthe structure for developing desired leader competencies, includingbehavioral descriptors of those target competencies. Assessment and feedbackby a variety of evaluators occurs more frequently in Army ROTC than in theleader development programs we examined in other sectors. The Army’s afteraction review (AAR) process is emulated and mirrored by some of theorganizations we examined.3. Leader developers all have had recent experience in the Army, the organization thatprogram graduates will enter. Primarily in the academic sectors, leader developersoften lack recent real-world operational experience. A positive aspect of the rateof turnover in the ROTC cadre is the continuous renewal of recent experience intothe program. The other military organizations share this strength with the Army.Business, industry, and government organizations have experienced supervisors inthe developmental assignment portion of their programs.

4 ■ SECTION 14. ROTC provides its students with leadership opportunities and experiences within thestructure of the ROTC curriculum, whereas most of the other sector leaderdevelopment programs reviewed cannot always provide experiences withintheir curriculum. A number of Cadets, but not all, do have the opportunity tolead in the actual Army environment through the Cadet Troop LeadershipTraining program. Unfortunately, these opportunities are diminishing due tothe current operational tempo of the Army.5. Leadership Development and Assessment Course provides a simulated environment toassess leader behaviors; it is unlike anything found in other sectors of our study.While business and industry and government organizations often assessparticipants in their developmental assignments, the degree of assessment,feedback, and reflection does not compare with the Advance Camp experience.The other military Services provide similar experiences for their participants.developmentalcounselinga shared effort (betweenleaders and subordinates)in which leaders assistsubordinates inidentifying strengths andweaknesses and creatingplans of action to correctdeficiencies and improveperformance6. The standardized ROTC curriculum provides a uniform educational strategy thatstill addresses individual learning styles. The standardized curriculum gives bothexperienced and inexperienced instructors the guidance to teach course contentand provide experiences—guidance that is consistent across 272 institutions.Your LDP ExperienceMSL I and MSL II YearsIn these first two years, the professor of military science (PMS) ensures that you receivedevelopmental counseling once a semester from either a member of the battalion staff (inmost cases your MSL instructor), or an upperclass Cadet assigned to mentor you (such asa Cadet platoon leader). The PMS may adjust this scheme to fit school circumstances, cadremanning, and the size of the Cadet battalion. If an upperclassman conducts developmentalcounseling, a member of the battalion cadre will review the counseling to ensure the methodand content is in accordance with FM 6-22, Appendix B, and recorded on DA Form 4856,Developmental Counseling Form.Figure 1.1LDP Model

Using the Leadership Development Program ■ 5Figure 1.2aGuidelines on Completing a Developmental Counseling Form

6 ■ SECTION 1Figure 1.2b Guidelines on Completing a Developmental Counseling Form (continued)

Using the Leadership Development Program ■ 7Critical ThinkingeReflect on your MSL I and II years. Based on your experiences with counseling(both good and perhaps bad), what knowledge have you gained that will helpyou mentor and provide counseling to MSL I and II Cadets?MSL III YearAs you think back over your MSL III year, you probably remember how much moreintensive it was than your first two years. In fact, from the standpoints of training,assessment, and leadership development, the MSL III year is designed to be the mostintensive of a Cadet’s ROTC experience. In the MSL III year, you served in a series ofleadership positions on campus and while attending the Leader Development andAssessment Course (LDAC). Data on your performance and potential is part of yourpermanent evaluation and accessions record.Cadets can learn howto lead only if theyget a chance to applytheir leadership skillsand knowledge ina practical way.Critical ThinkingeReflect on your MSL III year. Based on your experiences with both good and badcounseling, what knowledge have you gained that will help you mentor andprovide counseling to MSL III Cadets?MSL IV YearNow that you are in your final year of ROTC training and are preparing to enter theArmy, you and your PMS will complete an Officer Development Support Form. The PMSwill counsel you based on your performance and complete the Army’s Officer EvaluationReport (OER) for you during your last semester of the MSL IV year. During this yearyour battalion cadre will also assign you to assist in evaluating the MSL III Cadets usingBlue Cards and perhaps coach or mentor other Cadets using DA 4856. The followingsections discuss the LDP’s evaluation and assessment tools.Critical ThinkingeReflect on your MSL IV year. Again, based on your experiences with both goodand bad counseling, what knowledge have you gained that could help youmentor and provide counseling to MSL IV Cadets?

8 ■ SECTION 1Revisions to Army Leader DoctrineThe foundation for the ROTC Leader Development Program is the Leader AssessmentReport, otherwise known as the “Blue Card,” and the Cadet Self-Assessment Report,otherwise known as the “Yellow Card.” These cards, as well as the Leadership PerformanceIndicators (Salmon Card), the Peer Evaluation Report, and the Job Performance SummaryCard were developed based on leader doctrine from FM 22-100, Army Leadership: Be, Know,Do, 31 August 1991 (see Figure 1.2). FM 22-100 was revised and replaced by FM 6-22, ArmyLeadership: Competent, Confident, and Agile, in October 2006.With the exception of the LDP cards used to evaluate Cadets, the ROTC curriculum(lesson plans and textbooks) have been updated and revised to incorporate the leader doctrinein the new field manual, FM 6-22, effective with the fall semester of the 2008-2009 academicschool year. Since the Blue Card is based on the Officer Evaluation Report format, the BlueCards (and other LDP cards) will be revised and updated when Army G-1 approves andreleases the new OER, which will also be based on FM 6-22. Once the new OER is released,ROTC will update the LDP cards and this textbook to reflect the new OER.The major change between FM 22-100 and FM 6-22 is how the Army lays out theLeader Requirements Model; that is the BE, KNOW, DO model. FM 22-100 definedleadership as the combination of Army Values and a leader’s attributes (BE), skills (KNOW),and actions (DO). (See Figure 1.3.) The current LDP cards are organized in this fashion.FM 6-22 lays out the Leadership Requirements Model slightly differently. This will leadto a change in the OER format, thus requiring an update to the ROTC leader assessmentcards. FM 6-22 breaks down the Leadership Requirements Model into two majorcomponents centered on what an Army leader IS and what an Army leader DOES; that isAttributes and Core Leader Competencies. In this model, the leader’s Character and Presencerepresent BE, the leader’s Intellectual Capacity represents KNOW, and the Core LeaderCompetencies represent the DO (Figure 1.4).Figure 1.3Former Leader Framework Doctrine from FM 22-100, Army Leadership:Be, Know, Do, 31 August 1991

Using the Leadership Development Program ■ 9Figure 1.4The Army Leadership Requirements Model from FM 6-22, ArmyLeadership: Competent, Cofident, and Agile, October 2006.The remainder of this chapter will focus on the LDP based on the current evaluationcards used by ROTC, which is currently based on FM 22-100.LDP Classification and Rating ProceduresClassifying BehaviorClassifying behavior helps ROTC cadre to better develop Cadets by focusing on behaviorrather than results. The Army classifies leader behavior by breaking it down into its basicelements—first by area, and then by dimension. FM 6-22 classifies the critical elements ofleader behavior into six leadership areas: Values, Attributes, Skills, and the Influencing,Operating, and Improving actions.Each area highlights distinct aspects of behavior that affect a leader’s effectiveness.Within each area, behavior is further broken down into leadership dimensions. In theLDP model, leadership includes 23 dimensions (Figure 1.5). A Cadet will display any ofthese, but probably not all, at any moment. Over time, Cadets should improve in eachdimension. During assessment, assessors measure behavior in each dimension they observeusing a set of performance standards particular to the Army, known as leadershipperformance indicators (Salmon Card).leadershipperformanceindicatorsa set of performancestandards particular tothe Army that measurebehavior in the 23leadership dimensions

10 ■ SECTION 1Figure 1.5Leadership Areas and DimensionsJob PerformanceSummary CardLDP developmentalcounseling tools used totrack Cadet and assessorperformance bothon campus and duringtrainingJob Performance Summary CardROTC uses the Job Performance Summary Card (JPSC) to track the performance of Cadetsand assessors, both on campus and during training. Following each assessment, the assessorrecords all the rated dimensions and the Cadet’s overall rating on two JPSCs: a Cadet-Focused JPSC (CC Form 156-18A, Figure 1.6), and a cadre-Focused JPSC (CC Form156-18B, Figure 1.7).Effective leaders createand sustain teams withthe skill, trust, andconfidence to succeedin peace and war.Figure 1.6Job Performance Summary Card (Cadet-Focused)

Using the Leadership Development Program ■ 11JOB PERFORMANCE SUMMARY CARD Assessor ActivitySchoolVALUESATTRIBUTES SKILLS INFLUENCING OPERATING IMPROVINGDate Position Cadet Name As Obsvd ME PH EM CN IP TE TA CO DM MO PL EX AS DE BD LR NETROTC CDT CMD FORM 156-18B-RVALUESATTRIBUTES SKILLS INFLUENCING OPERATING IMPROVINGDate Position Cadet Name As Obsvd ME PH EM CN IP TE TA CO DM MO PL EX AS DE BD LR NETAs Obsvd ME PH EM CN IP TE TA CO DM MO PL EX AS DE BDLRNETVALUESATTRIBUTES SKILLS INFLUENCING OPERATING IMPROVINGROTC CDT CMD FORM 156-18B-RFigure 1.7Job Performance Summary Card (Cadre-Focused)A Cadet-Focused JPSC is maintained for each Cadet during the school year immediatelybefore the Cadet attends LDAC. This JPSC records the various assessors’ ratings of theCadet during that year. The JPSC has space to record many assessments. This allows theuser to identify trends from the LDAC and Cadet Evaluation Reports that might indicateproblem areas in the Cadet’s leadership skills. It also summarizes the Cadet’s performanceat the end of the assessment period. By identifying trends, the assessor can appropriatelyadjust the Cadet’s development plan and ensure the Cadet develops to his or her fullpotential before attending LDAC and BOLC II.The Cadre-Focused JPSC, on the other hand, records each individual assessor’s ratingsof all the Cadets he or she assesses. Battalion staff use the Cadre-Focused JPSC to spottrends in how individual assessors rate Cadets. Staff can also identify dimensional “blind

12 ■ SECTION 1spots”—dimensions that the assessor rarely uses and that may indicate that the assessorneeds more training. You can find detailed instructions on how to administer and completethe JPSC in the LDP Handbook.Cadet EvaluationReporta report that uses theinformation on a Cadet’sperformance to giveconstructive feedback onstrengths andweaknessesCadet Evaluation ReportAs discussed earlier, MSL III Cadets receive a Cadet Evaluation Report (CER), an LDPdevelopmental counseling tool similar to the Army’s OER. The CER’s purpose is to use theinformation obtained from Cadets’ performance to give them constructive feedback ontheir strengths and weaknesses on campus.In addition, each Cadet attending LDAC receives another CER from LDAC. The PMSreceives a copy of the LDAC CER and uses it to fine-tune the Cadet’s development planduring the MSL IV year. A copy of both the on-campus and LDAC is included in each MSLIV Cadet’s accessions packet.As an MSL IV Cadet, you will receive an OER instead of a CER at the end of yourfinal semester.Summary Rating ProcessAssessors use these leadership performance indicators to come up with a Summary rating thatmeasures the Cadet’s performance in each of the leadership dimensions the assessor observed.At the end of each observation, the assessor analyzes trends in the Cadet’s behavior and weighshow effective the Cadet’s actions have been. The assessor then determines a Summary ratingof Excellent (E), Satisfactory (S), or Needs Improvement (N) for each leadership dimensionclassified (those observed at least once). Any Cadet behavior that does not meet the minimumrequirements for a Satisfactory performance rating receives a Needs Improvement rating.During the rating event, assessors must take into account the relative effectiveness ofthe Cadet’s actions on the overall success or failure of the evaluated event. For example,the Cadet leader may remain under emotional control throughout most of the evaluatedevent. But a single momentary lapse of self-control might negate everything positive donethroughout the day if the loss of self-control resulted in, or contributed to, mission failure.In such an instance, the assessor might weight the Summary rating more heavily towardthe single loss of self-control, particularly if the assessor believes such behavior points toa trend in the Cadet’s leadership style. Similarly, the Cadet leader might not do well at thebeginning of the evaluated event, only to show marked improvement near the end. Inthat case, the assessor might determine that the improved performance more accuratelyreflects the Cadet’s abilities, and rate the Cadet accordingly.Although assessors are unlikely to observe all 23 dimensions of behavior over a singleevaluated event, or even over a short period of time, it is likely that a Cadet will demonstrateall 23 dimensions over the course of an evaluated period or during a period in a ratedleadership position. Over time, the trained assessor makes many observations of eachdimension, which allows the assessor to rate accurately the Cadet’s abilities and limitations.Critical ThinkingeYour ROTC cadre may call on you as an MSL IV Cadet to help them in assessingunderclass Cadets. You may know these Cadets very well. Some may be yourfriends, while you may not be familiar with or be a friend of others. How will youprevent bias from influencing your assessment? Do you believe some of thedimensions carry more weight than others? If so, which ones, and why?

Using the Leadership Development Program ■ 13eCONCLUSIONThe LDP is a continuous process designed to develop Cadets into United StatesArmy officers. It uses leadership performance indicators to classify behavior bygiving examples of the types of behavior for each dimension. Since the examplescannot be all-inclusive, instructors, staff, and assessors must use their bestjudgment and professional experience in making decisions about Cadets’performance, on campus and during training. They observe Cadet behavior,assess leader traits, identify areas of weakness, provide feedback, and develop aplan of action to improve areas of leadership where Cadets are weak. FM 6-22revises Army leader doctrine. However, until Army G-1 revises and publishes thenew OER, the ROTC LDP cards will continue to be based on FM 22-100.Learning Assessment1. Compare and contrast the LDP objectives for the MSL IV and the MSL I Cadet.2. What are the tools for documenting Cadet performance?3. List the dimensions of leader attributes, leader skills, and leader actions on theROTC Blue Card.4. Explain how the BE, KNOW, DO model aligns with the LeadershipRequirements Model from FM 6-22.5. How does the LDP help develop capable Army officers?Key WordsLeadership Development Programdevelopmental counselingleadership performance indicatorsJob Performance Summary CardCadet Evaluation ReportReferencesField Manual 6-22, Army Leadership: Competent, Confident, and Agile. 12 October 2006.Junior Officer Leadership Development Research BOLC I: ROTC. (2006). Arlington, VA:Analytic Services Inc.Leadership Development Program Handbook. 12 July 2002.