JLBC: Leadership
Officers contribute to unit resiliency in several ways. First, they must understand that people prosper from success. They seek to create an environment where the unit members experience success, especially early in their cadet careers. They build on this base by helping cadets achieve success in tasks of increasing difficulty and overall complexity. Second, officers must understand that people learn while observing others. They should assign new or developing personnel to successful workgroups to let them experience “vicarious success.” Everly argues that simply being a member of successful or elite groups may create a self-fulfilling prophecy. Third, officers must provide encouragement, support, and mentoring. Research suggests that the single most powerful predictor of human resilience is interpersonal support. Officers ensure their cadets understand the availability and support of tutors, human affairs teams, the chain of command, company mates, and campus resources such as the Chaplain, CARE, and the Academic Support Center. Finally, officers do available basic training in how to manage personal stress. Sometimes this is as simple as encouraging a cadet to go for a run or take a weekend
or overnight, but in more complicated cases, the officer refers the cadet to the appropriate expert resource such as CADIC or the Counseling Center.