Center for Junior Officers Annual Report Fiscal Year 2021

ANNUAL REPORT FY 2021

The Center for Junior Officers (CJO) started when a group of officers came together to help develop each other through novel, emerging technology. While our products and services have evolved over time, we maintain that same passion for leader development and sense of service to others. Innovation is at the heart of what we do. A spirit of innovation led to the creation of CJO and it is part of our charter; it is how we create value for the Army. We believe in providing relevant, high-quality content and creating products that meet the needs of junior officers using the latest leader development tools and techniques. PlatoonLeader.org Company LC added to CCEP The Officer's Forums retired launched Command: curriculum Guide to Unleashing the Mentoring Power of the published New website Army Profession launched published 30Under30 2000 2002 2007 2016 2018 Leadership 2021 Developers award begins 2001 2005 2011 2017 2020 CompanyCommand.com First LC presented Leaders' Huddle Re-named Leadership launched to Cadets podcast starts \"Center for Junior Fellows program CALDOL founded Officers\" starts as official USMA Taking the Guidon published center * Read2Lead begins Unit visit program starts *CALDOL - Center for the Advancement of Leader Development and Organizational Learning

Contents Director's Note..................................................................2 Mission & Vision................................................................5 Support to USMA Campaign LOEs...................................6 Academic Program Goals Support..................................7 Production Highlights......................................................9 Website Insights..............................................................10 Social Media Summary....................................................12 Partnership Information................................................14 30 Under 30 Update........................................................15 Fellows Highlights...........................................................16 Research Findings...........................................................18 Priorities for Fiscal Year 2022........................................19

DIRECTOR'S To support these new initiatives, we NOTE focused a lot of our attention over the past year on raising awareness of the products A lot has changed at the Center for Junior and services the Center offers. We Officers (CJO) over the past 12-months. implemented a robust social media strategy and engaged with leader The most notable difference can be seen developers in ROTC programs, TRADOC, in our website. We retired the forums CGSC, the Pre-Command Course, and the capability that started under Army War College. companycommand.com and platoonleader.org and fully transitioned To ensure we are using our resources from the legacy MilSuite appearance that wisely and adding value to West Point and was shaped by past needs and regulatory the Army, we examined a variety of metrics requirements to our new format that to assess our efforts. We also collected better communicates what we offer and data from over 1100 junior officers which that is tailored to the needs of today's we are using to shape our content junior officers. development efforts moving into 2022. This is our first year undertaking these We've updated the assessment efforts. In the coming months, website to better reflect we will continue to refine our methods of the variety and quality of gathering useful data and identifying the products and services acceptable thresholds of performance for the Center for Junior our various initiatives. Officers provides. Our priorities for 2022 are outlined in However, the changes at CJO were not more detail later in this report, but we are limited to just our website. We also using the data we collected to innovate launched our Leadership Fellows program and improve the products and services we and selected the inaugural group of 30 offer - ensuring we've nested our efforts Under 30 Leader Developers. Teammates with the USMA Superintendent's strategic also created some new products, such as plan and the Dean's annual guidance. the Listen2Lead and Watch2Lead guides, We're also committed to re-energizing our as well as the Lessons on Leadership video Unit Visit program, which we de- series. emphasized over the past 18+ months due to COVID-19 related safety concerns. Please read on to learn more about what we did in 2021 and where we're going in 2022. The CJO team is proud of what we've accomplished and excited about the way ahead! Lieutenant Colonel Jordon Swain .  Director & Associate Professor CJO Annual Report FY 2021 | pg. 2

If you do anything the way the Army is already doing it, you’re wasting my time. ​ If you don’t fail sometimes, you’re not trying hard enough. I​ f you don’t fundamentally change the way the Army learns and [the way it] educates its leaders, you’ve betrayed my trust. BG(R) DANIEL F. KAUFFMAN 12th Dean of the Academic Board guidance given to CJO upon our founding in 2002 CJO Annual Report FY 2021 | pg. 3

33% of those surveyed were aware of a formal plan or published guidance for leader development held by their unit or higher headquarters of those surveyed reported <50% their unit or organization places a high or very high priority on leader development 3 in 4 Employers say recent college graduates are lacking in \"soft skills\" Studies by ARI and RAND cite poor communication and counseling skills, poor human relation skills, & indecisiveness in junior officers 58% of Army leaders \"Unit commanders are the key to effective leader are rated effective development\" or very effective in developing subordinates. \"Unit commanders need to leave the schoolhouse with ideas of how to do leader development\" A number of senior officers said it would be helpful to have a flexible “tool kit” of leader development ideas Schirmer, P., Crowley, J., Blacker, N., Brennan, Jr., Leonard, H., Polich, J.M., Sollinger, J., & Varda, D. Leader development in Army units: Views from the field, Santa Monica, Calif.: RAND Corporation, MG-648-A, 2008. As of September 08, 2020: https://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/MG648.html Riley, R., Mihalco, K., Harvey, J., Fallesen, J., Lambourne, K., & McDonogh, M. (2019). 2018 Center for Army Leadership Annual Survey of Army Leadership (CASAL). Tech Report 2019-01. Center for the Army Professional and Leadership (CAPL), Ft. Leavenworth, KS. Wilke, D. ( Oct 21, 2019). Employers Say Students Aren't Learning Soft Skills in College. https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/employee- relations/pages/employers-say-students-arent-learning-soft-skills-in-college.aspx

Mission To lead in creating and modeling the delivery of high-quality content that maximizes human potential in Army junior officers. Vision To create a generation of junior officers who are inspired to lead through a human-centered approach. CJO Annual Report FY 2021 | pg. 5

LOE 1 Through our efforts, we support three of the USMA Superintendent's LOEs troffE fo seniL s'tnednetnirepuS Develop Leaders of Character We supported character development in 2021 through the planning and execution of two Leader Challenge sessions and through several articles focused specifically on cadets and issues of interest to them. LOE 2 Cultivate a Culture of Character Growth We supported a climate of equity and inclusivity through actions that impacted not only cadets but also faculty. We worked with faculty as Leader Challenge coaches and facilitated Honorable Living Day discussions among staff and faculty. LOE 5 Strengthen Partnerships The CJO engaged with numerous Army and DoD elements including two unit visits, two unit LPDs, and Army Solarium support as well as DoD Insider Threat product development and training. We engaged with elements from academe through the co-authoring of articles, supporting an Army Research Institute (ARI) project by hosting materials on our website for use by USMA and ROTC cadets, and by assisting in data collection for a high-potential leaders project being conducted by faculty at George Washington University.

Communication Through our efforts, we support five of the USMA Dean's goals slaoG margorP cimedacA s'naeD We helped cadets (and junior officers) effectively convey meaningful information to diverse audiences through the articles we edited and featured, as well as through some of the other products we created including the Read2Lead, Watch2Lead, and Listen2Lead LPD products Critical Thinking & Creativity We launched the 30Under30 Leader Developers award to recognize and encourage innovative approaches to leader development. We also authored an article and created an LPD focused on creativity for the junior Army officer. Lifelong Learning While we do not limit our focus to USMA graduates, we had a number of graduates serve as Fellows, with more still submitting insightful articles. We received about 1100 responses from 6000 USMA graduates, many of whom have volunteered to assist in creating new LPD products in FY22. Ethical Reasoning We created four new Leader Challenge cases in FY21 and collected data to assist in the development of relevant ethical decision-making products next fiscal year. We also worked with ARI on research focused on Enhancing Leader Decision-Making in Interpersonal Contexts (ELDMIC). Humanities & Social Sciences The majority of our articles and new Watch2Lead and Listen2Lead products focused on helping junior officers and cadets learn the art and science of influencing human behavior.

When ask about how CJO has impacted their development as an officer, the top 5 responses were: 1) Enhanced ability to develop others 2) Exposure to new concepts not touched upon by my unit 3) Improved confidence 4) Willingness to innovate 5) Improved communication/counseling skills \"The CJO gave a lot to me during my time as a lieutenant and a captain.\" Pete Linscheid CPT, EN Engineer CCC Small Group Instuctor When asked \"How has the CJO inspired you,\" the top two answers were: 1) to reflect on personal development as a leader 2) to place increased emphasis on developing others 2021 survey of CJO registered users CJO Annual Report FY 2021 | pg. 8

8 PRODUCTION 6 HIGHLIGHTS For the period Oct '20 to Oct '21 4 LPDs and unit visits 3 70 3 48 Articles 2 4 Resources Leader toolkit items CJO Annual Report FY 2021 | pg. 9

WEBSITE INSIGHTS For the period Oct '20 to Oct '21 +10.4% 67,545 Increase in registered Unique visitors users from 4000 to 4424 from 35,258 for previous 12 mo \"I love the new website. I am glad someone decided to revive the CJO. I was afraid that it was dead.\" 1LT Yujie Hu Maintenance Platoon Leader Delta Forward Support Troop 1st Squadron, 4th US Cavalry Regiment 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division CJO Annual Report FY 2021 | pg. 10

Positively impacting cadets and junior officers across our Army I'm an ROTC MS3 and I've found many CJO 1100 2021 USMA resources to be really helpful. I continuously cadets Leader Challenge recommend using your resources to all levels 144 of my CoC. I also share applicable articles staff & faculty with my peers fairly often if I think they're helpful. I learned a lot from this experience. Thank you for your feedback and for helping me get my thoughts down on paper. I'm more confident now about writing and sharing my ideas with others. I'll definitely be submitting more articles in the future. This was an excellent LPD on leader humility. The most effective approach was the interactive nature of the event. Extremely professional - the facilitator was clearly prepared and well-versed in the topic. The Leader Challenge exercises as a cadet were informative. They gave important context to the decisions that I would have to make as a Platoon Leader, while deployed. CJO Annual Report FY 2021 | pg. 11

SOCIAL MEDIA SUMMARY I @ARMYCJO For the period Oct '20 to Oct '21 4,265 25,287 259,686 Total Total Total Followers Engagements Impressions we experienced engagements include an impression is when a significant growth but we likes, shares, and post is visible in a social comments media feed. This is how have a goal of 10K followers by the end of many people saw the CJO brand 2022 1,921 660 1,162 522 total followers total followers total followers total followers +42% did not exist +236% +1016% prior to Dec '20 CJO Annual Report FY 2021 | pg. 12

\"I have really enjoyed the new ways you all are utilizing social media. There seems to be a lot more content pushed out through Facebook and LinkedIn and I've found that really helpful. Also, the quotes on Instagram were pretty cool and I think that resonates with Cadets and junior officers...CJO is awesome and provides a lot of really valuable resources!\" -Feedback from officer on 2021 survey CJO Annual Report FY 2021 | pg. 13

Sharing of original content Leader Challenge creation Providing of original and assistance in and the providing of gift content and assistance in funds to assist in CJO creating a new LPD for unit establishing the new CJO operations Fellowship Program visit support Partnerships Collaborations that helped us pursue our mission and vision in 2021 Student and faculty co- Provided access to the Army Senior Fellow support and authoring articles and Coaching Program for select Fellows research partner input on Fellows program and 30Under30 winners Enhancing Leader Decision Coordinated on high potential Insider threat training Making in Interpersonal leader research project- select development and funding Contexts (ELDMIC) Fellows and 30Under30 winners research for CJO operations engaged in interviews CJO Annual Report FY 2021 | pg. 14

A new initiative in 2021, the Center for Junior Officers’ 30 Under 30 Leader Developers award is designed to recognize top cadets and junior officers who have demonstrated excellence in the “Develops Others” realm of leadership. The intended benefits of the program include addressing shortfalls in the Army in \"developing others\" by incentivizing cadets and junior officers to focus on making developing others a priority, encouraging CJO participation, sharing innovative approaches and best practices with cadets and company-grade officers, and recruiting for USMA rotating faculty positions. 2020 THIRTY UNDER THIRTY LEADER DEVELOPERS 107 nominations 4 selected as Leadership Fellows 6 articles 1 toolkit item 4 USMA faculty 4 enrolled in ATMTF coaching program applications CJO Annual Report FY 2021 | pg. 15

22 6 \"It is a great opportunity to meet other passionate junior officers and contribute articles published on LPD products created to the resources available for a wider CJO site audience of JOs throughout the Army. I wish that I had more mentorship as a 2 8 junior officer, particularly in my first assignment, and believe that the products added to articles published in Leadership Fellows program has helped Junior Officer Toolkit external outlets with that.\" 2 13 \"This program is an amazing broadening selected for Army and developmental opportunity because it USMA classes Coaching Program allows Fellows the time and space to grow supported into a more polished leader with a expanded network...it has expanded my horizons and has forced me to professionalize my image (LinkedIn), expanded my network, and has provided opportunities to research, write, and share lessons learned. The opportunity to impact junior officers is an honor and I’m thankful for the opportunity.\" 2021 LEADERSHIP FELLOWS 72 applicants 5 Senior Fellows selected 28 Leadership Fellows selected Contributions & Highlights As of Oct '21 (term runs to Jan '22) CJO Annual Report FY 2021 | pg. 16

Andy Cohen PhD LTC Chevy Cook, PhD Paul Lester, PhD COL Eric McCoy Sarah Rosnick Professor Bn Cdr (pending) Professor Bde Cdr Facebook 2LT Augustine CPT Bush 1LT Campbell CPT Cantell 1LT Chung CPT Eklund 1LT Evans CPT Gomez 2LT Hack CPT Hauptman 1LT Jordan CPT Llorente 1LT Matlack CPT McGinnis CPT McLamb MAJ McLaughlin CPT Moyeno 1LT Nattiel 2LT Norwood CPT Randel 1LT Rapp CPT Roach CPT Rogers CPT Saxton 1LT Schaeffer MAJ Thompson 1LT Thorn CPT Tollefson CJO Annual Report FY 2021 | pg. 17

75% \"somewhat agreed” or “strongly agreed” that the Leader Challenge scenarios they experienced as West Point Cadets prepared them to face some of the moral and ethical dilemmas they have faced as an officer research LEADER DEVELOPMENT TRENDS FROM A CJO INITIATED SURVEY OF 1100 ARMY LIEUTENANTS AND CAPTAINS Findings #1 #2 #3 False reporting. A large number Supply knowledge and Soldier family and marital issues. of junior officers experienced associated ethical practices. Junior officers highlighted they were pressure from leaders to “fudge Respondents note this is largely unprepared to assist/deal with the numbers” or take shortcuts lacking in commissioning these types of issues. This echoes “for the good of the unit or sources and BOLC - with \"on findings from the 2020 BOLC survey mission.” the job training\" varying where LTs said they felt least widely. prepared to \"...resolve subordinate problems and grievances.\" #4 #5 Fraternization. A surprising number of junior NCO/Junior Officer interactions. A few themes officers mentioned issues involving fellow emerged in this topic area. The first was how to junior officers making bad decisions, as well prepare for working with NCOs - who are more as NCOs and superiors engaging in the experienced (e.g., overcoming fear of appearing same unethical behavior. incompetent). But a second theme also emerged about how to deal with untrustworthy NCOs. A third theme focused on dealing with insubordinate NCOs/those who would not follow guidance issued to them. We're using these findings to shape efforts in 2022 CJO Annual Report FY 2021 | pg. 18

Priorities & Projects Outreach & engagement Fiscal Year 2022 We will continue to raise awareness and generate interest in the products and services CJO offers. We will attend AUSA, emphasize unit visits, and continue the distribution of high-quality, relevant content via channels preferred by junior officers and cadets. A few specific projects will focus on partnering with the West Point Center for Enhanced Performance and the West Point Writing Center as well as engagement with the Army War College for Senior Leadership Fellows support. We will also pilot an essay contest focused on cadets from all commissioning sources. Resource acquisition Given the current fiscal environment, we must identify external funding sources to ensure our continued viability. We will examine additional elements who will pay for custom-built leader challenge modules, as well as research grants, and potential donor money via the West Point Association of Graduates. Priority will be on renewing the support agreement with the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense of Intelligence and Security for Insider Threat training support. Continue to test and learn We will expand our new \"Lessons on Leadership\" video series on YouTube, pilot an essay contest focused on cadets, assess the adjustments made for the second iteration of the Fellows Program, and gather data on the effectiveness of the unit visit program. We will also assess new feedback from West Point Cadets on the Leader Challenge process. Finally, we will examine usage metrics from the website to determine what products are adding value. We will reduce or discontinue efforts that are not supporting the pursuit of our mission and vision. Strengthen the CJO team We will codify best practices from the first iteration of the Fellows Program and 30 Under 30 Leader Developer Award to improve the CJO network. We must also select a new Operations Officer and focus on retaining our in-house IT, video editing, and social media capabilities. Other efforts will include trying to add War College personnel as Senior Fellows and increasing cadet engagement in the 30 Under 30. CJO Annual Report FY 2021 | pg. 19

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