All I Really Need to Know about Leadership I Learned from Spaceballs

Spaceballs (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer / Brooksfilms) ย  Editor's note (with apology built in): Reader, if as you peruse the following, you wonder whether the author is sick in the head or does not understand FM 6-22 but at all, rest easy. This, but for the negligence and oversight of the editor, should have run on the 1st …

Grand Admiral Thrawn: Strategist, Coach, and Mentor

Leader development was a hard thing to come by in the Imperial Navy during the 24-year reign of the Galactic Empire.  Throughout the movies, books, and television shows set in the Star Wars universe, there are countless examples of counterproductive leadership in the Imperial hierarchy that highlight the lack of positive role models in the …

Gratitude: A Leader’s Duty

It's around this time of year that we're encouraged to give thanks for the good things in our lives. And while it might seem like a bit of a stretch in the midst of a pandemic, I think we can all find at least one or two things to be thankful for. For those of …

When the Force is Not With You: Mentorship and Star Wars

We talk a lot about mentorship in the military, but for most of us, we donโ€™t have a good example of what that even looks like. Itโ€™s not as though there are mentors dropping from the sky to deliver words of wisdom whenever we need them. No, weโ€™re more likely to end up Googling our …

Mentorship: Cross-Component Leader Development

Guest post by XO of XOs Knowledge diffusion and leader development in the Army is at best, a slapdash effort.  You finish the appropriate schooling level--maybe rotating through a leadership position, or not--and then get dropped into your newest assignment.  Primary Staff, Command, on occasion the officer in charge of the officer (I had one …

Additional Duties? We Donโ€™t Need No Stinkinโ€™ Additional Duties! Ten Tips for Executing the Role of Executive Officer

This post first appeared on the blog Point of Decision and has been reposted in its entirety with permission. So, youโ€™ve pinned (or rather, hook-and-loop fastened) your black bar to your chest. Gone are the days of people calling you โ€œButterbarโ€ and ignoring what you have to say. Itโ€™s a new era, right? Wrong. Youโ€™re …