2013 Center for Army Leadership Annual Survey of Army Leadership (CASAL): Army Civilian Leaders

CASAL is an annual survey sponsored by the Combined Arms Center to assess the quality of Army leadership and leader development. 2013 civilian leader findings are based on responses from 2,006 managers and 2,971 first line supervisors. Getting results, preparing one s self, and stewardship are the most favorably rated competencies from leadership doctrine. Demonstrating expertise, confidence & composure, the Army values, technical knowledge and self-discipline are the highest rated attributes. Areas for improvement include developing subordinates, building effective teams and building trust. Working environments are generally conducive to civilian leaders abilities to complete their tasks and missions. Civilian leaders report moderate to very high levels of trust in those with whom they work, and levels of commitment among teams continue to be high. Morale showed a sharp decline in 2013 reflecting a challenging period of DoD fiscal uncertainty. Operational job experience is favored as the practice that has the largest impact on civilian leader development. Most who have completed a Civilian Education System course view the quality of the education received as good or very good. Course ratings for improving leadership capabilities show room for improvement. Formal and informal performance counseling continues to occur inconsistently for civilian leaders and most do not have a mentor. Findings are also reported on leader influence, workload stress, distributed learning, the mission command philosophy and satisfaction with military and civilian leadership. The original document contains color images. Prepared in cooperation with Cubic Applications, Inc., Leavenworth, KS.