Quote Originally Posted by Surferbeetle View Post
We all regularly reflect upon how and why the long race unfolded...who was selected, how long did they last, what were they able to accomplish, the right and wrong of it all, and how do we improve it...

As a result of my reflections, I would suggest that 'good officers' meet a threshold criteria of being 'all-a-rounders' who are mentally & physically tough, smart, deeply driven, and selfless.

Cadet selection processes that i am familiar with place a premium upon a rich and plentiful amount of opportunities to assess and develop a feel for how a variety of systems & processes unfold (from the cadet perspective) while providing valuable insights into the core of the cadet (for those making the selection). The goal is to consistently select and develop balanced individuals able to effectively function across the 'full spectrum'.

Leadership and management skills are required of all officers throughout their careers...the actual balance between the two varies from situation to situation and over the course of various duties assigned...but my observation is that both skill sets are part and parcel of a successful officer's innate makeup.

Perhaps we are having difficulties with respect to our definitions of leadership and management skill sets...I know what they are and are not when i see them.....but i don't have references at hand at the moment that provide clean definitions of what i am trying to share...
It is good that there is a discussion going where we may have to agree to differ.

Yes,much of the problem is the semantics which is why we probably need to be careful to clarify what we mean. After all we have there are a number of people around here who don't have English as their mother tongue (like the Germans, the odd Frenchman... and of course all the Americans )