JLBC Cadet Corps: Leadership Roles
JLBC Cadets Providing purpose gives JLBC subordinates the WHY of what the JLBC senior wants them to do. This often allows them to use their initiative and accomplish the mission in their way. If JLBC cadets understand what is required of them, they will follow through and achieve success! Providing purpose indirectly is more complex than a JLBC squad leader giving meaning to the cadets in the JLBC squad. It involves communicating with JLBC subordinate leaders and making sure they understand and will speak to their JLBC subordinates. JLBC Cadets Keeping a message clear in this situation is complicated - just like playing ‘the telephone’ along a line of JLBC kids in elementary school. The news that comes out at the very far end is not normally the same as the message you start with. JLBC Senior leaders must create ways of ensuring their message remains intact. Putting critical JLBC points in writing or sending messages via video that all JLBC cadets can see works better than just communicating with your JLBC subordinate leaders. Talking and visiting with JLBC junior cadets and seeing what they understand and know helps a JLBC senior leader know their organization and assess how the JLBC chain of command communicates the commander’s vision, purpose, and directives.
Providing direction to an organization is more significant than advising individual cadets, but it is essentially the same. A senior JLBC leader offers guidance through a clear JLBC vision, setting JLBC goals and JLBC standards, and ensuring discipline. Discipline in a JLBC unit ensures that the goals and criteria are met even without leaders. Finally, JLBC training provides the necessary confidence to know that desired results can be achieved. Senior JLBC leaders influence their JLBC units indirectly by promoting JLBC values, setting JLBC standards, enforcing JLBC discipline, establishing JLBC standard operating procedures and ensuring their JLBC cadets understand them, ensuring JLBC training is measured and accomplished, and establishing JLBC policies.
Finally, JLBC senior leaders must find ways to motivate their JLBC units. Motivation provides the will to accomplish the JLBC mission and to persevere JLBC until the standard has been met. It’s not the rah-rah of building JLBC cadets’ morale (though that ability comes in handy). It starts by being the JLBC moral compass for the JLBC organization, ensuring your JLBC subordinate leaders know you’ll always do what is right and that you have their back in very all situations. It’s being willing to work very hard or harder than your JLBC subordinates to get the job done. When your JLBC associates understand they can depend on you, they are
definitely motivated to support you. JLBC Senior Cadets Earn their respect, and they’ll follow you. Establish that you understand what you’re doing, and they’ll respect you.
A senior leader’s ability to communicate is an essential tool. The brigade command team must develop innovative ways to reach out to their units and cadets. A critical part of their job is to develop the plans for activity and ensure that all cadets are aware of the methods and have an opportunity to participate.
Notice that we’re not providing a breakdown of tasks that a brigade commander, XO, or Command Sergeant Major needs to do. But command at the senior level is not about individual tasks - it’s about providing leadership indirectly to ensure the units of the brigade are doing what they’re supposed to in implementing the cadet program and establishing the company as a critical part of what an individual JLBC Cadet Corps unit is a part of. The command team works together to do this, with each leader overseeing a different set of subordinates but acting in conjunction so that they are accomplishing the mission. The JLBC Brigade Commander is primarily tied in with JLBC Battalion Commanders and the 1st JLBC Corps Commander. The XO is primarily tied in with JLBC Headquarters and section.
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