Leadership classes available to midgrade and senior personnel Story by Elizabeth Christopher, MyCG Serving as a leader within the Coast Guard—be it active duty, reservist or civilian—means handling a wide array of complex challenges. As members progress through their careers to positions of greater responsibility, they must broaden their leadership competencies to maximize their effectiveness. The Leadership Development Center’s Midgrade Officer and Civilian Transition Course and the Senior Leader Transition Course present opportunities to facilitate growth. Midgrade Officer and Civilian Transition Course The primary focuses of MOCTC, which is aimed toward lieutenants and GS-12s that have recently assumed supervisory roles, are “leading self” and “leading others.” Course curriculum emphasizes enhancing self-awareness, critical thinking and interpersonal relationships. Students will graduate better able to analyze complex problems and effect change through productive relationships. Senior Leader Transition Course SLTC is targeted toward lieutenant commanders and GS-13s transitioning from operational leadership positions to more strategic roles. Course curriculum expands participants’ intellectual agility as well as fine-tuning their diagnostic skills to maneuver thoughtfully in highly dynamic systems. The primary focuses of SLTC are “leading performance and change” and “leading the Coast Guard.” Learning outcomes enhance decision-making, systems thinking, innovation, shared leadership, and change management. The hybrid course is six weeks long–four weeks online and two weeks in person. Senior Leadership Principles and Skills SLPS is a facilitated leadership seminar targeted at commanders and GS-14s. The course is one week in person and requires 2-4 hours of pre-work. It focuses discussions around four content areas: leadership foundations, senior leader perspective, emotional intelligence and interpersonal communications, and self-awareness, feedback, and reflection. Interested members can request seats through their local training officer; backup sessions should be listed in class request notes. . Reservists are eligible to attend leadership courses Story by Lt. Cmdrs. Kazuaki Sugiyama, Jonathan Hsieh and Meaghan Gies Our class, Cohort 14-23, recently completed the Senior Leader Transition Course, which was held at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C. During the online portion, we completed coursework in the theory of critical and strategic thinking and conducted interviews with senior leaders. Some interviews rekindled old touchpoints and memories as several members chose to interview past supervisors or mentors. Assignments also included self and peer assessments, as well as collateral duties and pre-course coordination planning. Throughout the two-week in-person portion, members were divided into groups named after Coast Guard commandants. LDC staff focused on three key learning outcome areas: decision making, strategic thinking, and leadership/change management. Throughout the course, instructors encouraged members to be vulnerable and share positive and negative leadership experiences. Because the course was offered at Coast Guard Headquarters, the students were able to hear from several senior leaders including the service’s vice commandant, Vice Adm. Steven Poulin, as well as other senior officers. Members also completed a capstone project, choosing to complete either a Harvard Business School case study or address an issue in the Coast Guard using the strategies learned in the class. Each group presented their capstone project to their peers and selected stakeholders. On the last day of class, Deputy Commandant for Operations Vice Adm. Peter Gautier administered the oath of office to all the students as we reaffirmed our commitment to our roles in the Coast Guard. . 26 Reservist . Issue 4 • 2023 Celebrating Celebrating 70 70 years of the Reservist years of the Reservist
