TRADOC: Where Tomorrow’s Victories Begin

1. Adaptive Leaders Methodology (ALM) 18 February 2009 Mr. Donald Vandergriff Leader and Soldier Gap Analyst Army Capabilities Integration Center (Forward) TRADOC:Where Tomorrow’s Victories Begin

2. Evolved from Industrial Age training philosophy Influence of General DePuy “tell them what to do, tell them how to do it, and check that they did it right.” Needed in the age of linear industrial war with a volunteer Army Impacted by End of the Warsaw Pact as a threat model Cold War drawdown effect on Army leader behavior Army assumptions regarding war in the “information age” Follows “Competency theory” of education (train for the test) Result- almost religious allegiance to the unchallenged doctrine of training to “task/conditions/standards,” yet they cannot explain why it is the Army way History of current training model

3. Complexity of warfare Faced with continuous employment across the full range of military operations, the Army will require extraordinary strength in the moral, physical, and cognitive components of the human dimension Characterized by persistent conflict with a thinking, adaptive adversary Must counter attempts to exploit the seams of U.S. and international expectations of military conduct Must contend with adversaries interspersed with diverse civilians (religious, ethnic, and societal) Expectations for Soldier and Leader Employ advanced weapons against an adaptive enemy Recognize that tactical decisions have strategic consequences Direct widely dispersed non-contiguous networked joint forces in increasingly complex full spectrum operations across the spectrum of conflict Cooperative leadership that releases authority to lowest level of competence Drivers for Changing the 21st Century Army

4. What is ALM? • Allows students to: • Experience the emotional trauma of failing within a safe, face-saving environment; and • find answers for themselves and build intuition – a necessary trait of adaptive leaders • Employs a POI that consists of: • a case study learning method • tactical decision games (TDGs) • free play force-on-force exercises; and • feedback through the leader evaluation system (LES) • Select leaders at various levels already champions for application (combat veterans get it) • What it is not • a prescribed list of • scenarios • a singular process • an all or nothing • the end of task, • condition and standard Follows latest research on learning, Dr. Robert Bjork, UCLA

5. Placed in positions two to three levels up in order for them to understand how their unit operates in context Emphasis maintained on an instinctive willingness to act Effect of students’ actions overall, not on the method they may have chosen Use two criteria to judge students Timeliness of their decisions Justification for that decision Employs 360 degree assessments Individual understands their own strength and weakness against time and mission ALM-Evaluating the Individuals

6. Knows how to teach, facilitate, mentor and evaluate No room for egos Understands art of facilitating Respectful – identify good ideas Confrontational, keep the pressure on Talks only 20-25% of the time Socratic method Does today prepare and certify for cadre fit 21st Century Training model? Need focus on how to develop adaptability (not administration) Practice the art of facilitation Learn how to coach Help others deal with complexity Centerpiece-Cadre