"Developing leaders is critical for the Army
given the amount of time officers spend in units, that experience should be important to their development. Yet few studies indicate whether Army units even have leader development programs, and, if they do, what the programs consist of and how well they are executed. To gain insight into these issues, Arroyo Center researchers met with over 450 officers (lieutenants through colonels) to discuss leader development within Army units. The discussions revealed that no set of activities exists that could be characterized as a standard unit-level leader development program. Instead, leader development tends to be informal, personality-driven, and dependent on the abilities, experience, and inclinations of the unit commander. The researchers do not recommend that the Army impose more formal programs or requirements on commanders, but instead that the Army.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 147-149)