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I have been enlisted in the army for 4+ years, and an NCO for 1.5 years. When I came through sand hill in 2011, my company put us through the 40 MRT course (master resilience training) to help its with the day to day life of military service and deployment. The ideas taught by classes like these can help your soldiers and us control out energy and thoughts on the ground and at home. So why do we add leaders brush these ideas off with stigma and jokes instead of embracing them? The hot words in the army today are adaptable and flexible, but isn't the response to classes like these proving that a lot of our leaders are not capable of adaptive thinking? And what do those actions teach our soldiers? Thoughts?
Leadership
Innovation
Master Resilience Trainer Course (MRT) Level 1
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 12
Large organizations generally are very resistant to change. It's why small innovative companies always rise up and eventually take over slower, larger companies. In its first 50 years of measuring, only 86 companies of the 500 largest companies on the stock market (S&P 500) remained in the top 500. The military of course is not a private company, so doesn't have the same market pressures and can therefore be even more resistant to change.
To a lot of people, change means having to learn something new. It means that some of their previous skills are no longer relevant, and it also means admitting that what they did before is somehow not the best thing any more. If there is not a culture that pushes innovation, change, and decentralized thinking, the tendency will be to fight it.
There are many strong and adaptive thinkers in the military... though many of them will admit the difficulty they have in overcoming institutional inertia. As an NCO though, you can make an impact in those around you. Work to be part of the solution, and catch yourself before you fall into some of the bad habits described above.
To a lot of people, change means having to learn something new. It means that some of their previous skills are no longer relevant, and it also means admitting that what they did before is somehow not the best thing any more. If there is not a culture that pushes innovation, change, and decentralized thinking, the tendency will be to fight it.
There are many strong and adaptive thinkers in the military... though many of them will admit the difficulty they have in overcoming institutional inertia. As an NCO though, you can make an impact in those around you. Work to be part of the solution, and catch yourself before you fall into some of the bad habits described above.
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SGT Jeremiah B.
LTC Yinon Weiss nails it. I've done consulting work for large venerable institutions and it's amazing just how much they'll pay you to not actually make any of your suggested changes. The military is similar except the intentional rigidity of its structure and the rather severe consequences of rocking the boat makes it a little worse.
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LTC (Join to see)
Maj Weiss, your company certainly is innovative; you are providing a wonderful community for military and veterans. Hopefully it will stay that way as it grows!
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Well as a younger soldiers it was just another power point that we had to sit through and hear someone that doesn't care teach us about something we don't care about. I guess being brought up in a abusive home, I learned that I had to deal with certain things on my own. I learned to disassociation techniques really fast. That and to stay out of arms reach! I learn that not everything was my fault, and that I could not control everything, and that not everyone hated me! I learned that I was the most reliable person that I knew. things have changed a little over the years and I have picked up new tricks here and there. Lost some of the old and use some of the new.
Mainly it is the old wise tale that you can't teach an old dog new tricks. Just like in the guard, this is the way it is done, has been done and always will be done. Plus I have also seen that It wasn't the higher persons Idea. so they tell you it won't work and then spin the Idea to higher in a different way and take the Idea. And before you say nuh uh I have seen it!
Side note, SGT Austin Kitchen, I went through Harmony Church B co 1-38th.
Mainly it is the old wise tale that you can't teach an old dog new tricks. Just like in the guard, this is the way it is done, has been done and always will be done. Plus I have also seen that It wasn't the higher persons Idea. so they tell you it won't work and then spin the Idea to higher in a different way and take the Idea. And before you say nuh uh I have seen it!
Side note, SGT Austin Kitchen, I went through Harmony Church B co 1-38th.
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Effective leaders are not defined by how many people follow them. They are defined by how many better leaders they create!
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