(Credit: istockphoto.com/DNY59)
Azimuth Check
Navigation From the Leadership Center
By Colonel Russell N. Parson and Lieutenant Colonel Patrick L. Bryan
Leadership—the activity of influencing people by providing purpose, direction,
and motivation to accomplish the mission and improve the organization. 1
This summer, The Judge Advocate General (TJAG), Lieutenant General Charles N. Pede, created the Leadership Center at The Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School (TJAGLCS) in Charlottesville, Virginia. Broadly, TJAG’s vision is that the Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAG Corps) further incorporates “legal leadership” into both military legal practice and culture so that we can better support the operational Army and Joint Force. The Leadership Center will develop legal leadership training and education that best supports the Army and JAG Corps missions and our members’ roles as dual professionals.
To support TJAG’s vision, the Leadership Center developed five lines of effort that will guide the JAG Corps into the future and shape our practice: TJAGLCS training and instruction; field office support; doctrine and policy development; liaison with other entities; and wellness. Those lines of effort acknowledge the dual roles of JAG Corps leaders and will enable relevant and necessary education and training across the military legal enterprise, including in the Judge Advocate Officer Basic Course and Graduate Course, the Noncommissioned Officer Academy, short courses, and Offices of the Staff Judge Advocate. Initially, the main effort is TJAGLCS training and instruction, with priority to the Graduate Course, which will begin its program of instruction in January 2020.
There are many different methods to leading people. Exposure to different types of leadership helps future leaders develop and create their own leadership style. It is important to be self-aware and figure out what works best for your leadership style and those that you lead. The purpose of the Azimuth Check is to offer short anecdotes that inspire deeper thought and provide tools to add to readers’ leadership rucksacks, ultimately cultivating versatile and adaptable leaders. TAL
COL Parson is the Director, Leadership Center at The Judge Advocate’s Legal Center and School, Charlottesville, Virginia.
LTC Bryan is the Deputy Director, Leadership Center at The Judge Advocate’s Legal Center and School, Charlottesville, Virginia.
Notes
1. U.S. Dep’t of Army, Doctrine Pub. 6-22, Army Leadership para. 1-15 ( 1 Aug. 2012) (C1, 10 Sept. 2012).