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Cameron Armstrong
@cameron
literally me (on the left)
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Captain 🧑✈️
@temmyokboye
Completely unrelated but I took time to read your post on Veteran Imposter Syndrome and it was a really long and interesting read lol. I must say you had a very impressive career with highlights of accomplishments even though you may try to downplay it. I’m curious tho, during your time teaching at the Army Officer Candidate School, what was one of the most rewarding aspect of guiding future officers, and how did you balance your own high standards with helping them develop their own leadership skills?
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Cameron Armstrong
@cameron
Thank you so much for taking the time to read! At OCS, I taught the curriculum first, then when a candidate mastered the basics I would put them in scenarios with no good outcomes. The most rewarding thing was when they realized they had no good options, understood they still needed to make decisions, and executed aggressively. I love the indomitable human spirit manifest. Biggest thing about balancing high standards actually just holding people to the standard you set. It’s extremely easy to let things relax so you can avoid having tough conversations - but it’s a disservice to the candidate and to their future soldiers. Standards are standards in the army because if you can’t meet them people sometimes die. The private sector also works this way (with lower stakes) and the progressive creep that organizations have as a result of avoiding tough conversations is the start of the slow death of great companies.
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Captain 🧑✈️
@temmyokboye
It’s a fascinating perspective, and I can definitely see how those high pressure and no-win scenarios would push candidates to truly understand the weight of making decisions in leadership roles. It’s one thing to learn the fundamentals, but another to face those tough calls and still act decisively under pressure (if there is any) I imagine that must’ve taken a lot of mental resilience on their part and yours, as their guide. Did you ever find that some candidates struggle more with the pressure than others during your 1 yr of teaching? And how were you able to manage this while still holding them to that same high standard? It sounds like a delicate balance to be honest.
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