2015 Center for Army Leadership Annual Survey of Army Leadership (CASAL): Military Leader Findings

• Main Authors: Riley,Ryan P, Cavanaugh,Katelyn J, Fallesen,Jon J, Jones,Rachell L
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Subjects: Administration and Management; Combat Training Centers; Credentialing; Education; ENLISTED PERSONNEL; LEADERSHIP; Military Forces and Organizations; MILITARY PERSONNEL; Mission Command; nco(noncommissioned officers); NONCOMMISSIONED OFFICERS; OFFICER PERSONNEL; Performance Assessment

CASAL is the Army's annual survey to assess the quality of leadership and leader development. 2015 findings are based on responses from 25,943 Army leaders, consisting of 20,015 sergeants through colonels in the Regular Army, US Army Reserve, and Army National Guard, and 5,928 Army civilians. This eleventh year of the survey has additional coverage on methods of unit leader development, mentoring, and workload stress. Among uniformed leaders, assessments of leader attributes and leadership competencies surpassed a benchmark of 67 favorable by an additional 5-20 , except for Developing Others, on which 64 of the uniformed leaders are rated effective or very effective. Operational experience has the largest percentage of active component leaders rating it as an effective domain of leader development at 79 , followed by self-development at 73 , and institutional education at 61 . While professional military education quality is rated favorably by 75 of recent graduates, only about half believe their course was relevant to their job duties or improved their leadership capabilities. Less than 50 of leaders indicate awareness of formal leader development plans and guidance in their unit, despite units employing effective methods at least occasionally. Notable gaps in the occurrence and quality of performance counseling for junior leaders persist, and many of these leaders are not proactive themselves in seeking out feedback or mentorship. The climate in which leadership occurs has mixed indicators with high commitment to ones unit, effective collaboration among teams and working groups, but a decline in the proportion of leaders who report career satisfaction, and an increase in workload stress. The respondents reported that effective leaders mitigate workload stress by addressing it through management of task assignments, clear guidance, advocating for resources, and respecting subordinate contributions and work/life balance. Recommended steps are offered to address