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New handbook offers help for junior, seasoned leaders

Soldiers entering leadership roles now have a comprehensive handbook to guide them through the transition to their new jobs.

The “Army Leader Transitions Handbook” is a 30-page publication from the Center for Army Leadership at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. It is laid out like a checklist designed to offer a menu of ideas for leaders to use as needed.

A main focus for incoming leaders has, for the most part, been equipment inventory and status of training. The new handbook now shifts emphasis to personnel and the assessments leaders need to be thinking about as they take command.

“Equipment is important, but we’ve realized over the past decade that our leaders and organizations should be more personnel-focused,” said Lt. Col. Eric Zeeman, commander of 1st Battalion, 79th Field Artillery at Fort Sill, Okla., who co-wrote the book at CAL.

The insight he gained while contributing to the book helped him prepare for his new battalion, which he took over in June. For example, he made sure his Family Readiness Group was well resourced, he surveyed his enlisted soldiers and officers for deployment history and post-traumatic stress disorder diagnoses and took stock of the competency levels among his junior leaders.

The new handbook is also about “a self-assessment — where do I stand as a leader, what to work on with leader competencies and attributes,” Zeeman said.

While senior leaders like Zeeman may use the handbook as a quick reference guide, more junior leaders may find a wealth of new information.

Hundreds of leadership transitions, from corporal to general officer, take place in the Army each week. The book outlines a phased approach to an effective 90-day transition period.

• Phase one suggests preparing to take command by learning about the organization, developing a transition plan, conducting a self-assessment, producing initial documents that may lay out the first 90 days, a leadership philosophy, an in-brief and performance objectives.

Practical preparation includes completing required education and in-processing and preparing ceremonies.

• Phase two addresses the first day on the job and establishing first-day priorities. The handbook advises not scheduling too much on the first day and determining who you need to meet, then seeing all personnel within the first two to four days.

• Phase three makes suggestions for the next 30 days and how to expedite learning with internal and external interviews and surveys. This phase includes building credibility as a new leader through open communication about expectations, showing tactical competence and a willingness to lead and listen.

• Phase four tackles best practices for aligning an organization and team building through day 60.

• Phase five describes best practices for establishing routine meetings, unit communication and coalition building. This phase considers elimination of things that don’t work or impede progress.

• Phase six follows the conclusion of the transition and how to begin preparing for the transition to the next leader, even if it’s 24 months away.

“We always say, ‘We hit the ground running.’ But we’re at a dead sprint in today’s operational environment,” Zeeman said. “This hopefully takes the guesswork out of leader transition process.”

For more information, see the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE ARMY LEADER TRANSITIONS HANDBOOK