reflection journal entry

This Assignment targets ELOs 

400-SMC-1015.08 (L110: Civil Military Relations), 400-SMC-1015.17 (L211: Organizational Stress), 400-SMC-1015.23 (L301: Mission Command Framework)

400-SMC-1015.24 (L308: Leadership in Irregular Warfare)

Army doctrine teaches us that journaling is a tool to help expand one’s knowledge (self-awareness). Doctrine emphasizes that leaders read about, write about, and practice their profession. As a senior Army leader, you are constantly preparing yourself through lifelong learning and broadening experiences. Self-awareness enables leaders to recognize their strengths and weaknesses across a range of conditions and progressively employ strengths to correct weaknesses. Competent and confident leaders make sense of their experience and use it to learn more about themselves. Journals and after action reviews (AARs) are valuable tools in gaining an understanding of one’s experiences and reactions to changes in conditions. When an individual journals they are developing their critical thinking skills. Critical thinking provides a basis for reflection and continual learning. This type of thinking is purposeful and helps find facts, challenge assumptions, solve problems, and make decisions. Critical and innovative thought are abilities that enable adaptability.

External influences affect organizational readiness, moral, performance, and proficiency. These influences can be either positive or negative. As a Sergeants Major, you will have to aid your commander in preemptively identifying potential external influences and ways in which to mitigate negative outcomes. Likewise, Sergeants Majors must be able to critically, and creatively think, in order to exploit, and multiply potential positive external influences on their organizations.

Assignment Instructions: Analyze the concepts and theories you read about in L110, L211, L301, and L308; utilizing key language and terms from these concepts and theories. Throughout this module, you have examined external influences of an organization. Write a 300-500 word substantive journal entry identifying and addressing external influencers on the organization.

Analyze and journal on a Sergeants Major’s role in civil-military relations and the impact of irregular warfare. Further describe the Sergeants Major’s role regarding leader engagement in the developing resilient organizations, and exploiting either positive or negative external influences on an organization.