Publication:Sea Talk Summer 2005/RAN officer leadership, management and personal development training
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Leadership, Management And Personal Development (LMPD)
By LEUT Theresa Cunningham
Courses for RAN officers in leadership, management and personal development provide knowledge and insight into what makes the ADF in general and the RAN in particular, function effectively. Leadership and management concepts are developed and practically illustrated.
Common subject areas across both the Officers LMPD continuum include:
- Leadership
- Effective communication
- Time management and delegation
- Leading change
- team development
- Team management
- Extending and developing the team
Civilian Accreditation
As a result of the mapping of Junior Officer LMPD training recently conducted, the following accreditation has been achieved (backdated to 2002 when the old qualifications expired):
Certificate IV in business (Frontline Management) and Statement of Attainment towards Diploma of Government (Management) awarded for completion of the New Entry Officers Course (NEOC) and satisfactory Navy Officer Performance Appraisal Report (NOPAR) - AC833-11.
Diploma of Business (Frontline Management) and Diploma of Government (Management) awarded for completion of JOLC and satisfactory NOPAR.
The Phases
The RAN Officer's LMPD continuum consists of Four Phases:
Phase 1 - New Entry Officer's Course (NEOC)
Phase 2 - Junior Officer's Leadership Course (JOLC)
Phase 3 - Junior Officer's Management and Strategic Studies Course (JOMSSC)
Phase 4 - RAN component of the Australian Command and Staff Course (ACSC)
This article describes two of the residential courses conducted at the RAN College, HMAS Creswell - the JOLC and JOMSSC.
Joint Officers' Leadership Course
The JOLC has, for the better part of two years, presented as the RAN College's chameleon. The ongoing evolution of the Officer's LMPD continuum aside, both the staff and Junior Officers who have encountered recent courses could be easily forgiven for summarising the JOLC as a complicated mix of leadership, staff skills, divisional management and adventurous training.
Ideally the course targets those junior officers who have completed initial PQ application training including a minimum of 12 months after Australian Defence Force Academy or initial officer entry training such as NEOC.
As could be expected from a course that has undergone significant development over the past two years, the title is perhaps not entirely appropriate to the broad spectrum of modules and topics covered in the five weeks of training.
Many of the subjects are intended to give junior officers a more in depth understanding of regional Defence (Maritime) issues which can be built upon with subsequent PQ training and postings. This approach should enable them to best contribute and comprehend at a higher level during the JOMSSC and ACSC phases of the LMPD continuum.
Other topics centre on the individual's ability to analyse data or historical information critically and subsequently present the key points clearly and thoroughly to an audience of their peers and RAN College staff.
A good deal of time and effort is also directed towards developing the junior officer's awareness of their responsibilities as Divisional Officers within the RAN. Topics covered include counselling skills, maintaining and completing divisional / service records, investigating officer, the DFDA, OHS for supervisors, alcohol and drug policy, leadership theories and how to relay information effectively within the defence environment.
Additional training and assessment is provided for effective communication (oral and written), administration proficiency and time management. The assessment includes leadership and strategic oral presentations, written assignments and divisional officer's exercise where many of the skills are put to the test under a controlled scenario.
One of the unique elements of the course, and in many ways, the principle means of assessing leadership credibility; is the three-day Adventurous Training Exercise Black Horse - named after an Australian helicopter base during the Vietnam War. This exercise gives students an opportunity to demonstrate time management, physical endurance, teamwork, logistics planning, liaison skills and administrative planning in an environment well outside their 'comfort zone'. The exercise is designed to establish links between effective planning and successful execution of an activity with set time constraints and is managed entirely by the class.In 2003 the course was condensed to five weeks. While students are expected to complete many of the set assignments out of hours, there is still ample time to take advantage of the excellent facilities and experience the awesome surrounds of HMAS Creswell.
Serious development has and will continue to occur with this important phase of the LMPD continuum such that it effectively prepares the junior officer for employment as a qualified officer in the RAN including performance as a divisional officer - our sailors deserve and expect nothing less.
Junior Officers' Management and Strategic Studies Course
Navy needs the next generation of its middle ranking officers to have a good grasp of strategic affairs and Australia's current defence policies. They also need to be able to communicate effectively both in the written and spoken forms.
Since the introduction of the new program in November 2003, 10 JOMSSC courses have been conducted at the RAN College. More than 150 senior Lieutenants across all PQs have completed the two-week residential course and fulfilled all mandatory LMPD requirements for promotion to LCDR.
Pre-course activities include the completion of a Defence paper on a Navy management issue of their choice, and to research a strategic studies question set by staff. They give an oral presentation on both requirements to course members and RAN College staff during the two week period.
The RAN Sea Power Centre and the University of Wollongong provide the formal strategic and maritime studies component of the course. The Land Warfare and Aerospace Centre provide academic lecturers to brief the officers on their particular service's approach to operational planning and order of battle (ORBAT). Other guest academics come from various University Defence Studies Centres and other Defence /Government Agencies, including Defence Intelligence Organisation, Departments of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs, Defence Imagery and Geospatial Organisation, Defence Materiel Organisation, Customs etc. to provide specialist expertise.
Other topics covered in JOMSSC include project, contract and risk management and a presentation on industrial relations as it applies to the Defence environment.
The general opinion among the graduates of the course has been that JOMSSC provides a unique opportunity to participate in a series of seminars that offer insight into the fast developing international situation in the Asia Pacific region. The effort that students put into their strategic studies presentations has been outstanding and has made a significant contribution to the success of the course thus far. The College and Sea Power Centre continue to work together to provide a dynamic, relevant and meaningful program for senior LEUTs as they prepare for the challenges of future employment as LCDRs.
The main thing to be aware of is that your effectiveness as a Naval Officer is not only based on your skills within your PQ but also the skills which can be learnt and developed in the LMPD courses. These skills are also lifelong skills which can be used in everyday life both within and external to the RAN.
Information on any of these courses can be obtained from the TA-ITLM website.
Enrolment on either JOLC or JOMSSC is by completion of form PT115 and forwarding it to CIO (MSSF), LEUT Theresa Cunningham, RANC, HMAS Creswell or by fax to (02) 4429 7811. Further details on JOMSSC can be obtained by contacting me - email theresa. cunningham@defence.gov.au or call on (02) 4429 7899.
Adventurous training: mid-winter kayaking in Jervis Bay.
Left to right: (Then) SBLT Jason O'Gorman and SBLT Judith Bird on the mainspar of the sail training ship,Windeward Bound on a Junior Officers Leadership
