Share Paper: The Leader Challenge as Cognitive Tool

1. Raymond Kimball, Center for the Advancement of Leader Development and Organizational Learning US Military Academy, United States

Abstract: As resources dwindle in the wake of the current drawdowns, the United States Army is challenged to find new and effective means of preserving hard-won institutional knowledge. One highly successful means of doing so is the Leader Challenge, which puts novice leaders in the shoes of experienced professionals and forces them to make decisions. Participants are then allowed to access the reflections of other leaders who have taken the challenge, and revise their approach if desired. This paper uses Kim and Reeves’ Joint Learning System framework to assess the Leader Challenge and identify future challenges in its wider use.