Describe the NCO 2020 Strategy using your personal experience and future leadership expectations. You will use the Army writing style, and comment on how to apply acquired knowledge into real-world situations back at your unit. Describe the possible obstacles or barriers to your implementation of what you learned and how you will overcome the obstacles or barriers. The essay should contain between 500 and 750 words and be written in the first-person narrative

ANSWER

NCO 2020 Strategy

I describe NCO 2020 Strategy as a guidance, developmental model, and visionary tool for Noncommissioned Officers with continued efforts of development, talent management, and promotion of professional stewardship, hence, preparing us for uncertain future challenges and barriers within operations. I believe that the NCO 2020 Strategy works to not only educate and train NCOs on achieving national excellence in war and attaining peace but also providing a supportive experience and system for NCOs and soldiers for the success of their activities in an ever-changing environment presently and in the future (USA Army, 2015). The NCO 2020 Strategy application in real-world situations can be challenging due to diverse learning acceptance, flexibility, and preparedness among individuals, lack of personal belief, and impatience. Overcoming these obstacles requires developing virtues of cognitive agility, resilience, and flexibility among Army leaders.

A true and competent leader does not stay in the comfort zone, knowing only the information and mastering the skills of running an organization through the day. A true leader learns, trains, and masters diverse skills essential in achieving excellence, which Army leaders embrace through the NCO 2020 Strategy. This shows that a true leader is concerned about tomorrow, the future, by acquiring these diverse skills. The NCO 2020 Strategy provides a cultural shift whose three distinct efforts apply highly in Army Leadership. Primarily, the development of Army leaders is a lifelong practice and linear progressing. For one to be considered for a promotion, differentiation from the soldieries must be established. Moreover, for Army leaders to achieve the ultimate goals, objectives, and responsibilities, we must develop our skills, knowledge, and abilities through lifelong education, learning, training, and experiences. Many leaders, especially in the Army, overly focus on accomplishing the organizational MVGOs, hence, forgetting to develop their careers and furthering education.  We must seek new opportunities and skills and increase our knowledge as the Army’s operating environment keeps changing. The NCO 2020 Strategy provides Army leaders with tools and resources to align and keep up with newer techniques, competence, enlightenment, modus operandi, and effective decision-making models. Having undertaken the Basic Leader Course (BLC), I believe I have added and expanded skills and knowledge within my exposure. Therefore, I feel confident to take up newer challenges and barriers. I can track and monitor my career development and learning progress through the Army Career Tracker (ACT) tool (USA Army, 2015).

Through the NCO 2020 Strategy, talent management enables me to broaden my assignment, contributing to the expansion of my proficiency and leadership skills. With broadened assignments, cross-cultural exposure maximizes making me more aware of many environments of operations. As a leader, growing professionally and personally is crucial as it pushes one to accept challenging assignments and settings. They are not obstacles; rather, I view them as stepping-stones for seeing things from differential perspectives, resilience, and awareness building. It is the fundamental responsibility of leaders in the Army to transfer and disseminate Army values to our subordinates to develop these attributes as their grit, which can be achieved through action, example, and role model. This is because the American citizens’ credence on Army responsibilities depends on how well we live up to these Army values. Therefore, when setting an example and instilling Army values among soldiers, we promote professional stewardship. As backbones of the Army, maintaining and enforcing Army doctrines, guidelines, and standards is crucial among Army leaders, as I view myself as a steward of our profession in the Army.

I believe the strategy focuses on an integral aspect that helps leaders in the Army understand their responsibility to create and develop newer leaders by educating, teaching, and providing supportive systems and experiences among soldiers that they need for their growth. The Army’s ultimate responsibility is to win all national wars, maintain peace, and as Army leaders who embody warrior ethos, character, competence development, and continuous value learning is critical in achieving the ultimate goal and excellence. The world is complex, keeps changing, with new trends making all aspects complicated. As an Army leader, the NCO 2020 Strategy provides an arena for transformation, building resilient and strong NCO corps. We lead by example, training from experience, and through maintenance and enforcement of Army values, standards, and doctrines.

References

USA Army. (2015, December 4). NCO 2020 Strategy. Retrieved from UNITED STATES ARMY TRAINING AND DOCTRINE COMMAND: https://www.tradoc.army.mil/Portals/14/Documents/NCO2020.pdf