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2d Place 2004 MacArthur Writing Award Winner
The efficiency report is the most disturbing administrative farce in the Army. It is the measure of "following" and not leading. Its weight in "tickets of success" allows officers of incompetence in leadership to advance.
-anonymous Army captain, U.S. Army War College Study on Military Professionalism, 1970
The General Officers in the U.S. Army would gain much from having instruction and developing an understanding on "selfless service" versus "selfish service. " Most are preoccupied with their careers. Unfortunately, this is the type of officer the system moves along.
-anonymous Army major, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College Survey, 2000
THE U.S. ARMY celebrated the arrival of the 21st century with a much-needed Transformation effort that applies to everything from force structure to logistics. Leader education schools are changing to reflect new demands on junior and midlevel leaders in response to the changing operational environment. Yet a common theme, as seen in the two quotes given, reveals what the Army as an institution has yet to address-how subordinates or peers evaluate their leaders. A 360-degree leader-evaluation tool would provide a substantial improvement for the Future Force in its mission to produce the best leaders to face current and future challenges.
A 360-degree evaluation system elicits and provides feedback about leaders-supervisors, peers, or subordinates. With the supervisor's comments being an exception, feedback is anonymous to eliminate possible retribution. The rater's comments are part of developmental counseling, which includes a detailed account of another's strengths and weaknesses and perceived methods for possible improvement. A 360-degree system would allow subjects to review others' perceptions of their leadership abilities and characteristics and could spur self-reflection when their self-perception differs from others'.
Does the Army really need a 360-degree evaluation system? The Army recently revamped the Officer Evaluation System with an emphasis on more senior-to-subordinate counseling and Officer Evaluation Report (OER) counseling at the end of the rating period. This has improved the dialogue from seniors to subordinates, especially since the new OER has blocks in which to report mandatory counseling meetings. In addition to counseling, the Army's leader-development program is an effective process that provides periodic feedback for subordinates to improve over time.1 Yet all these programs are senior-to-subordinate-intensive. None give...