Squadron Goals

[Eaker Guy]

Hello all,

I have recently been appointed cadet commander(deputy for two years) at a composite squadron with about 30 cadets, seven of those as line staff. It's been a while since we've had the number of cadets that we do, which is great. Most the the cadets are new, with only a month or two experience behind them.

However, I'm new to the goal setting process, as there wasn't much need to set goals the past two years. I've read, re-read, and re-re-read the Cadet Staff handbook and CAPR 52-16, and it tells me a lot about how to set goals, but not what goals to set.

I've already contacted my DCC and asked for her assistance. We will be having a meeting fairly soon. However, I'm very much interested in getting multiple opinions, and any or all comments are helpful. If you need additional information about the squadron, please feel free to ask.

Thank you very much,

C//Maj Kiss

[BFreemanMA]

C/Maj Kiss,

First (and most importantly) congratulations on your appointment as cadet commander! I was recently appointed squadron commander of my own unit and have had a lot of first-hand experience with your situation.

It looks like you understand the 'hows' of setting a goal (SMART goals and whatnot), but, as cadet commander, your goals are your own to set. This can be a bit daunting as, like you said, the regs go at length about HOW to set goals, but not what good goals should be. However, I recommend the following process. It worked well for me.

1. Plan backwards.
     In a year's time, how specifically would you like to see the squadron improve? Would you like to set up a Great Start program? Do you want specific time for NCOs to mentor airmen? Would you like to field a Color Guard team? Thinking about things like this (and coordinating with you CDC, which you are already doing and is essential) will help you set an objective. In other words, to get where you're going, you need to know your destination in the first place! I also recommend setting both short-term (can be accomplished in a quarter or so) and long-term (a year or so out) goals. Using the SMART format ensures that this goal is realistic, specific, and has a deadline to keep people motivated.

2. Create a plan
     You know what you would like to achieve...how are you going to make it happen? Look at your resources and support afforded to your squadron. How can you use them in the most efficient way to achieve these goals?

For example, one of my squadron's SMART goals: Assign one cadet officer for recruiting and one dedicated cadet staff member for retention to achieve a 75% retention rate by 1 MAR 2016

So, I want this objective to happen. I broke it down into two specific parts: assign an officer for recruiting and a cadet for retention. Then, use these individuals to achieve a 75% cadet retention rate by the deadline.

As I am SQ/CC, I asked my Deputy to use her judgment and fill those positions with quality cadets. She did so.

Awesome! Now we have myself, my CDC, and two excellent cadets to work on this together. My CDC and her cadets went through the Great Start program, stood that system up, and then created a mentoring program from scratch as our two cadets indicated that many cadets left the program because they felt overwhelmed and that they didn't have anyone to help them.

Now that the plans in place, the commander checks up on progress every so often, trusting the others to get the job done.
     
3. Encourage and follow through
     This is probably the most important step. Your members, as volunteers, need to be motivated to achieve the goal. If you're trying to stand up a Color Guard, play up the Color Guard program. Talk about the prestige and precision that a Color Guard member carries with them. Make sure members understand how they fit into the 'grand scheme' of your goal and give them a reason to want it too!

I hope this helps. I don't know much about your unit and any common problems you may be facing, but usually those problems can be fixed through the proper planning of goals and good human resource management. If you want to look at my squadron's goals, I put them online here: https://sites.google.com/site/capwestover/mission-statement-goals-and-objectives You may or may not find that useful.

Hope this helps! Sorry if things are a bit disorganized; I haven't yet had my coffee!

[jeders]

Well, the reason that the handbook doesn't tell you what goals to set is because it can't tell you what you want to do. So that's where you need to start, what do you want to do/see with the cadet program. Do you want to see your squadron grow by another 10 or 20 cadets? Do you want to see your squadron field a championship NCC team? Do you want your squadron to become the best at AE or ES?

Once you know what you want to do (long term strategic goal) then you can figure out how to get there (short term SMART goals).

Lastly, and certainly not least, congratulations and I hope you enjoy your time as Cadet Commander, I know I did when I was a cadet.

[Eaker Guy]

BFreemanMA,

Thank you very much for your response. I find your goal finding process and squadron goals very useful. I like the way that you broke up the goals, one being a "master goal," and the other(s) being "director goal(s)." It's great. No worries about being disorganized. I appreciate that you took the time to respond to my question before you had your coffee. It shows dedication!   :clap:

jders,

Also, thank you very much for your response. I do realize that the handbook can't tell me what goals to set. However, I do believe it could be updated to have some better suggestions, like the ones you mentioned. Incidentally, what do you think the term limit of a cadet commander should be? The cadet handbook says six to 12 months, but the previous cadet commander was in place for two years and no one complained.

[jeders]

jders,...

I'm sorry your experience as a cadet commander was poor.

Incidentally, what do you think the term limit of a cadet commander should be? The cadet handbook says six to 12 months, but the previous cadet commander was in place for two years and no one complained.

I think that 6 months is too short and that two years (on the cadet side) is too long. I think that 12-18 months is about right, especially when you consider that most cadet commanders (at least from my subjective observation) are juniors or seniors in high school and soon heading off to college.

[Eaker Guy]

Jders, sorry about that. Just misread the post. Thank you for your input. It is much appreciated.

[jeders]

No problem.

The most important part about the goal setting process, and I tell my cadet staff this all the time, is what do you want. What do you personally want, what do you want professionally, and what do the other cadets in the unit want personally and professionally. Before you meet with your DCC about the goal setting, you might want to informally poll your line and in-flight cadets to see what they want.

[MSG Mac]

Take a critical look at your unit. what's good/ What's bad? What can be improved.
After collecting this information set your goals.

For Example:
Membership Goal: 10% increase
Wright Bros completion rate: 40%
Mitchell Awards: 10%
Encampment Attendance: 50%

As a Cadet Commander, I would recommend checking out the Outstanding Cadet Unit Award criteria as a starting point. Of course every unit is different, so your goals may vary.

[Eaker Guy]

MSG Mac,

Thank you for your suggestion. Our squadron has had some issues with regards to cadets promoting to fast, and I need to take a serious look at what I need to see in a cadet before he/she gets promoted. Because of this, I am hesitant to set promotion goals. We will be bringing in a promotion contract/agreement system for, ironically, the cadets to learn goal setting skills. We'll see how that shakes out.

I thank everyone for their well wishes and support.

C/Maj Kiss

[coudano]

There are at least two important reasons why the cadet staff handbook doesn't give you sample goals,

1.  You can't (well, shouldn't) apply the same goals evenly to every squadron.  Your squadron has a different developmental state, and is made up of people with different inclinations and preferences than other squadrons.  Part of your job as the commander is to understand your unit and your people.  Picking a destination is half the battle, corporately referred to as "vision".  However, you also need to be able to make a realistic assessment of where you ARE.

If your goal is to drive to Washington DC, and you _THINK_ you are in Boston, you'll probably take off going south.  If you are, infact not in Boston, but  Atlanta, then you aren't going to wind up in DC...  you're going to wind up in Florida.   Rough analogy, but you get the idea.


2.  Suggesting a dozen possible goals runs the danger of fostering squadrons who just pick 2 or 3 of the suggested dozen.  In the long run, you wind up with a bunch of squadrons pursuing 4 or 5 goal sets, and everyone starts looking kind of the same.  This probably stifles some potential innovation.  Think up something new (!!!)


On SMART goals, i'm personally a fan of adding another A  (SMAART goals?) That second A being "attributable".  Particularly when the goals start turning into tasks;  who -specifically- is responsible for those specific, timely measurables?  That comes in handy at attribution time, for better or worse, when a goal has been achieved in shining fashion, or utterly failed.  Whistfully saying "(royal)we need to do x, y, and z" is different from saying "smith do x", "jones, do y", and "baker, do z".

--infact, achievable and realistic basically mean the same thing, if you ask me... so just change achievable to attributable

[Eaker Guy]

Coudano,

I do agree with what you have said. However, if not all squadron goals are alike, why are there awards such as the quality cadet unit award? Many CAP members have told me to look at these requirements, but they're not a suggestion in the handbook. I completely understand the idea that creativity is stifled when you just pick two or three goals out of a dozen. I encourage creativity among the cadets, and have no intention of stifling it. It would be nice if the handbook, at the very least, listed resources for goal ideas. That's just my opinion. I'm not looking for anything to be handed to me on a silver platter, but a little help would be appreciated. Kind of like the help I'm getting here. No one is telling me what goals to set, just different methods, systems, and the like to help set them. I've learned a lot since I first posted this question, and I'm so excited!

I always thought that achievable and realistic mean the same thing to. I understand what you're saying about attribution. I'll definitely take that into account when planning my goals.

Thank you very much,

C/Maj Kiss

[lordmonar]

NHQ goals....are not always YOUR goals.

Situational Leadership.

To make goals......look at your squadron as it is today.   Compare that to what NHQ wants your squadron to be.   Sit down with your commander and DCC and see what they would like to see.

Then figure out what you would like to see.

Then....and only then....do you pick one (or more) of theses visions and make your SMART goals.

[abdsp51]

NHQ goals....are not always YOUR goals.

Situational Leadership.

To make goals......look at your squadron as it is today.   Compare that to what NHQ wants your squadron to be.   Sit down with your commander and DCC and see what they would like to see.

Then figure out what you would like to see.

Then....and only then....do you pick one (or more) of theses visions and make your SMART goals.

+1

[coudano]

I would say (imho) that QCUA, while not a requirement, represents a baseline of what every 'quality' unit 'should be'.  It would be nice if every cadet unit was minimally operating at QCUA level.  FROM THERE a quality cadet unit still needs to have some short medium and long term goals (what it's going to DO with all of that quality potential and energy).

Also, dusting off the cobwebs, I think (but could be wrong) the cadet staff handbook might actually pre-date the QCUA program, so that would explain why it isn't mentioned in there.


I hear you on looking for some more guidance, i'll think on it some more.
Another thing that i'd like to point out is that we really should be introducing cadets to smart goal setting around the WBA, on a smaller scale.  What are your goals for your element/flight...   like zero uniform discrepancies in the next four inspections.  Or something like that.  Then stepping up to bigger and broader things as your scope of influence increases with rank and job assignment.

Consider the smart goals an encampment cadet commander might set shortly after being selected for the post (months before the actual encampment kicks off).

[Eaker Guy]

coudano,

I tend to shy away from awards, because they tend to be very engrossing, and soon you pursue the award just for the award, not for it's merits. However, I do believe that, if I can control myself , I can set reasonable goals that somewhat align with the QCUA level and beyond.

As for the staff handbook, when was the last time it was updated, and at what interval should it be updated.? If we come out with a new CAPR 52-16 each year, but each new CAPR 52-16 references an old staff handbook, then something is very wrong.

I apologize for my lack of acronym knowledge, but what does WBA mean?

I will consider the S.M.A.R.T. goals a cadet commander for encampment may use. Great suggestion!

Thank you so much,

C/Maj Kiss

[lordmonar]

In this case....the QCUA are bench marks that NHQ wants every cadet unit to strive for.

So....picking "we are going to get the QCUA this year"as your goal is not a bad thing.

WBA is Wright Brothers Award.

And what is wrong with striving for awards?

The people who create those awards want you to do the actions that result in you getting those awards.

Sure....self actualization and selfless service and excellence for excellence sake are all good things.......But don't ignore the awards....just because they are awards....that is counter productive.

As for the staff hand book being updated......the leadership lessons taught in the the hand book don't change....just because we put a new date on the 52-16.  And as you say...the NEW reg still refernces the OLD hand book....ergo....it is still relevant.

[Eaker Guy]

lordmonar,

There is nothing wrong with striving for awards, as long as you strive for the award because of how it challenges yourself and your cadets, and I don't ignore awards. I'm in the process of writing up CAPF 2a's for the CAP
Achievement Award, for outstanding service to our squadron. Our pipes burst, and these cadets came in to help clean up the damage. It was not mandated by the CC, they just volunteered, without knowledge or care of earning the award. I want to keep that kind of environment at the squadron. I know I'm a bit too cautious, but I really don't want to end up with a bunch of officers that are self-centered. Please respect my caution. I have a meeting with my DCC tomorrow, and the QCUA will be a talking point. More likely than not, we will be striving for the QCUA, as well as for Squadron of Merit(Game on if you're in the Maryland Wing!!). I just want to make sure we don't focus to much or ourselves, and instead focus on one of our core values, volunteer service.

Don't get me wrong, I think the cadet handbook is a great resource. I don't know what I'd do without it. As a suggestion, I think it would be beneficial to future cadet staff if multiple resources were centralized in one place, that place being the cadet handbook. That's just my opinion.

Thanks for the response and the clarification of the WBA!

C/Maj Kiss

[lordmonar]

C/Major Kiss.

Remember Maslow's Hierarchy....and situational leadership.

[Eaker Guy]

Hello everyone!

So I met this morning with my DCC. I discussed with her some of the things that were discussed in this thread. As for the QCUA, the squadron will be pursuing the QCUA. We will make the goals accordingly. My DCC does agree with me that awards can get out of hand, so we will be monitoring it carefully. In addition to these long term goals, I will be setting smaller goals, such as fixing uniform discrepancies by a certain date, offering the cadets at least two hands on activities per month, etc... I still have to get a list together and assign a certain time frame for the goals, but it shouldn't be long now. I did poll my staff, but they didn't offer much. I have a goal(ironically) to set and implement all the goals by the end of the month.

Thank you again for all your suggestions,

C/Maj Kiss