Leadership training

[arajca]

CAP has relied on the military and business communities for leaders, which has work well. I am seeing more members coming in that do not have either military or business leadership/management training/education or experience. I believe this has resulted in some of the issues that continually crop up, particularly with the "I'm just a volunteer" crowd. Would it be worthwile for CAP to develop it's own leadership training program or modify an existing one so CAP can develop its own leaders?

A potential side benefit may to increase the number of younger adults getting involved since they could get a marketable skill set from CAP.

[Eclipse]

I would say "yes" to either, though for it to work in CAP it really needs to have a hint of both military and business sense and skills.

Perhaps looking to pieces of the relevant enlisted BMT and crash OTCs for professionals, as well as some leader / manager 101 type classes.

The culture of "me", coupled with school systems where participation trophies are considered equal to winning is not breeding leaders,
nor really even imparting a lot of basic life skills to people, and I think it's partially because the assumption has always been that you would get
those lessons at home or in "life apprenticeship" (etc.).

The family situation in this country, coupled with an expectation that you should have the corner office on your first day of work, not to mention
how much time kids spend buried in a screen are not getting us where we need to be.

A critical lesson not being taught is that "Not everyone's opinion is equal, or even matters."  It used to be that you had to be somewhat informed
and experienced before anyone cared what you said, that didn't make those people "right", but it at least gave their opinion "weight".  These
days people spout 1/2-read, 1/2 truths as gospel and then form opinions based on bad information.

Knowing why someone's opinion is more valuable / relevant then someone else's, and therefore why that person is a leader and gets to
make decisions would be a huge part of the fix, because, at least in theory, it would then give others the path to becoming a leader instead of a PITA.

[jimmydeanno]

I'm not too sure that CAP can develop it's own leaders.  I think that we need to recruit the talent and then teach the CAP culture.  The assumption that we could teach leadership through a few courses and a few hours a week, I think is a bit of a stretch.  People gain their leadership expertise through years of actually practicing it out in the real world as supervisors, managers, and strategic leaders. 

I think that some of our training helps point people in the right direction, but going from "zero" to "hero" because I took RSC, nah, I don't think that any amount of course alteration can fix that.

[Storm Chaser]

I agree with both of you (first two posts). But I wonder if we're up to the challenge. I mean, we already have some of this training available right now: OBC, SLS, CLC, TLC, UCC, RSC, etc. Yet it seems that may not be enough. Do you feel we need to add more courses/schools or change the content/focus of the existing ones? The third post also makes a valid point.

[Eclipse]

^ None of the courses you indicate are intended to teach leadership, at best they might help with managerial skills for units or higher, which in and of itself
has value.  RSC, especially as it is presented today, is more a rehash of SLS/CLC then any instruction in wing or higher leadership, and it usually
catches people far too late in their CAP careers.

I think a >real< UCC that teaches leadership, and preferably one which would vet out those unqualified for command, would go a long way.  Seriously,
by the time you are being considered for a command, you should have a full grasp on the day-to-day administrative requirements of running a unit.

Sadly, because we are so short handed, our ability to develop leader >before< they assume command is very limited.

The fix.

MORE PEOPLE.

The only thing NHQ should be focused on right now is recruiting and mission.

[arajca]

I'm not thinking about training that's a few hours or even a week long, but something longer like Squadron Officer School (SOS) correspondance courses. The CAP folks who've taken it tend to agree that it is good training, but a significant part doesn't apply to CAP. Developing a CAP SOS type course, much more indepth than OBC, would be a good starting point. Having the AF SOS folks vet it would help ensure it's not a fluff course. Running it through the LMS would make it available to all CAP members, with a restriction to Capt and above.

I agree we need more people.

[Eclipse]

The issue with online training, especially in this multi-window distracted world, is that "leadership" is such a subjective, spongy subject.

The bearing and demeanor of the instructor can impart so much more then hours reading.

I've read a fair amount written about and by people who are considered good leaders both in the military and civilian roles, and unless you have a
personal context in which to understand the lessons, a lot will just glance off.

Dick Winters, Colin Powell, and even Jean-Luc Picard's lessons and actions meant a lot more to me after I'd had real-world experience leading people
then when I was rank and file (in CAP and otherwise). 

The examples of people who have led (or tried) to lead me, both positive and negative were my most valuable learning experiences.  And some
of those lessons have come from cadets.

[Storm Chaser]

I've been to SOS in residence and don't disagree that a CAP-focused SOS would be very beneficial. AETC and, more specifically, Air University have resources to put these courses together that I don't think CAP has. That would be a great challenge. The other thing is the length of this course. There are many volunteers that just don't have the time to dedicate to a lengthy course like this, even online or in correspondence. The other thing is that we need to focus the right type of training for the right type of leadership role. SOS is gear towards Air Force captains and the vast majority of AF captains are not in high level leadership positions. We would need courses more like a CAP version of Air Command and Staff College. Building a course like that presents an even greater challenge.

[Eclipse]

There are many volunteers that just don't have the time to dedicate to a lengthy course like this, even online or in correspondence.

No problem, but then you can't be a commander. There's also a misnomer in CAP that all things are possible, everyone can do everything and anything,
and that we should bend the system to the members' needs.

Thinking to those who are the most effective CAP leaders I personally know, they have flexible job situations, and/or choose CAP over family vacations (or split them, etc.).
Not everyone can do that, no harm, no foul, we need >lots< of dedicated followers.  Same goes for promotion.  You don't lower the bar because some people
can't make it, you just accept not everyone can be a Lt Col, nor should they be.

There's also a phenomenon of members who will go to NESA, or staff an encampment, and then say they have no time for RSC or NSC, etc.  Again, no problem, you made a legitimate choice, and the service at those activities is appreciated, but with choice also comes narrowed or different opportunities.

The other thing is that we need to focus the right type of training for the right type of leadership role. SOS is gear towards Air Force captains and the vast majority of AF captains are not in high level leadership positions. We would need courses more like a CAP version of Air Command and Staff College. Building a course like that presents an even greater challenge.

I agree, but that goes back to the above point.  The average member "doer", say an effective pilot who just wants to be a pilot, has absolutely no need or justification
for being a Captain on those merits alone. They don't enhance or reward his actual contribution, but the issue does muddy the structure.  Keep them at 1st Lt, reward them with missions and decorations, and leave the command grades to those interested in commanding and have proven themselves in those roles.

[SamFranklin]

The issue with online training, especially in this multi-window distracted world, is that "leadership" is such a subjective, spongy subject.... unless you have a personal context in which to understand the lessons, a lot will just glance off. Dick Winters, Colin Powell, and even Jean-Luc Picard's lessons and actions meant a lot more to me after I'd had real-world experience leading people
then when I was rank and file (in CAP and otherwise). 

The answer to dealing with a squishy subjective area of study is... more subjectivity?

A memoir-based leadership program -- famous people recount their exploits -- is nothing but subjective. Biographies are great for folk wisdom and nuggets of enduring lessons and a careful study of a response to a discrete situation, but more often than not they lack the rigorous challenge of alternative hypotheses that you'd find in a real textbook or scholarly article. But because the author is a famous, interesting person, it's a fun read.

Of course, there is some worth in learning from biography. But if you think it's a "distracted world" and "subjective, spongy subject," isn't the answer more focus and deeper study, not a more subjectivity and more entertainment from the Enterprise's second greatest captain?

[Eclipse]

My point was that you cannot teach the subjective with an objective criteria.  We no personal frame of reference the lessons of
a leadership "manual" won't stick.

You can learn more in 5 minutes with a good leader (or a bad one, for that matter) then an hour with a manual.

Once you have a frame of reference, historical remorse and biographies actually have meaning.

Motivating volunteers, for example, is something which is can be very difficult for military commanders to grasp, because on some level
they are simply used to a baseline of "just do it", I can tell you in text the things I have seen work, but spend an hour in a room with someone
who is a good leader of volunteers and the lessons are sure to stick.

[Walkman]

...we already have some of this training available right now: OBC, SLS, CLC, TLC, UCC, RSC, etc.

I honestly think that when it comes to leadership talent, some people have it and some don't. What differs within those that do is the level to which it has been nurtured and developed. The courses cited above are very good for taking those with the natural bent to lead and giving them more tools to grow.

What good CCs should be doing is keeping an eye out for those that show leadership ability, however raw it may be, then mentoring and exposing them to to the tools that mold them into the CCs of the future.

The average member "doer", say an effective pilot who just wants to be a pilot, has absolutely no need or justification
for being a Captain on those merits alone. They don't enhance or reward his actual contribution, but the issue does muddy the structure.  Keep them at 1st Lt, reward them with missions and decorations, and leave the command grades to those interested in commanding and have proven themselves in those roles.

I agree. Not everyone is cut out to be, or wants to be, in a leadership position.

When we talk about training leaders, the key principal is mentoring. Some have been mentored and schooled in the art of leading prior to joining CAP and just need to be educated in our culture and regs. Others may not have had the opportunity to receive such training, but those that are true leaders will recognize the signs of potential and begin to point them in the right direction.