6-22 SWO Characteristics

a. ADP 6-22 defines an Army Leader as “anyone who by virtue of assumed role or assigned responsibility inspires and influences people to accomplish organizational goals. Army leaders motivate people both inside and outside the chain of command to pursue actions, focus thinking and shape decisions for the greater good of the organization.” In the definition mentioned previously, the words “motivate people both inside and outside the chain of command,” is very important to my idea of what seniors should be able to do. In the 920B field, I personally have found that establishing relationships outside my chain of command has had direct influence over the success of missions WITHIN my chain of command. When reflecting on past SWOs who I have had …show more content…
There are six leader attributes and competencies that ADP 6-22 states Army leaders should be and know: character, presence, intellect, leads, develops and achieves. These characteristics apply to SWOs daily. Displaying character means your behavior will be ethical and moral. To exude presence, you must carry yourself confidently; your outward appearance can have a positive or negative impact on whether people will follow you. Intellect is one of the most important qualities in SWOs. SWOs need to invest time in knowing their craft and also in personal and professional development. Intellect is key to being a successful SWO. Leads describes leading by example, extending influence beyond the chain of command, communicating effectively, and building trust. All of these must be done by SWOs because this is how you get people to WANT to do the things you ask them to do. Develops describes taking a vested interest in coaching, counseling, and mentoring others. As stated previously, SWOs have an obligation to develop leaders of all ranks. Our experiences must be shared, especially with the junior WOs. Lastly, achieves is described by getting results and accomplishing missions and tasks on time and to standard. This is especially important for SWOs to establish credibility and build …show more content…
ADP 6-22 lists outcomes in the Leadership Requirements Model. Some of these outcomes are: mission success, sound decisions, expertly led organizations, stewardship of resources, and fit units. There are more but the ones that can be directly attributed to SWOs doing their jobs is expertly led organizations and stewardship of resources. SWOs are technical experts. When SWOs are active participants within their organizations they will contribute to the “expertly led” part of that outcome. SWOs will train many juniors and seniors in their career. The more we train and practice our trades with juniors, the more positive the impact we have across the Army. People PCS, people inter-post transfer, and people make lateral or promoted movements within their current organizations. What you train one person to do in one unit today will affect another unit in another location next year. It is very important that we pass on our expertise to the next generation. The other outcome of stewardship of resources is significantly affected by a SWOs leadership. As managers of people and resources, we are obliged to protect the Army’s assets. As a SWO we may not be in a position in the SSA where we are physically and directly responsible for property on a stock record account, but we oversee the operations that junior WOs own. As a junior WO the importance of stewardship is one of your priorities at work. When you become a SWO, this experience of stewardship as a junior continues