Page 68 - JSOM Winter 2019

Performance Enhancement Assessment
and Coaching in US Army Special Operations

Rapidly Enhancing Performance Through Targeted, Tailored Feedback

David M. Barry, PhD *; Michael DeVries, PhD, ABPP 2
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ABSTRACT

Background: Performance enhancement coaching poses sig- constantly strive to stay physically, mentally, spiritually, and
nificant benefits to individuals and organizations, such as socially fit. Recently, the USASOC Strategy 2035 Campaign
improved job satisfaction and goal achievement. Given their Plan codified the need for ARSOF to “improve human/spir-
training and experience in assessment and feedback, opera- itual performance, behavioral health, social readiness, and
tional psychologists assigned to Special Operations units are resilience.” 2p38 This emphasis on readiness speaks to the SOF
uniquely positioned to provide performance enhancement Truth that “humans are more important than hardware.” In
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coaching tailored to Operators and enablers. A preliminary other words, people—not platforms or technology—represent
program evaluation was conducted of the Performance En- ARSOF’s most valuable resource.
hancement Assessment and Coaching (PEAC) Program. Meth-
ods: A sample of 32 Operators and enablers assigned to a US Unfortunately, due to the high operational tempo of their units
Army Special Operations Forces (ARSOF) unit voluntarily par- (e.g., extensive field training, course attendance, deployments,
ticipated in the PEAC Program and completed one 90-minute and other operational tasks), ARSOF Soldiers face consider-
coaching session. Following their coaching session, Soldiers able time constraints for addressing areas of personal growth,
provided qualitative and quantitative feedback on their coach- professional development, and performance recovery. Lead-
ing experience. Results: Soldiers overwhelmingly agreed that ers and subordinates must coordinate closely to find mutu-
the PEAC Program was worth their time and helpful towards ally available time for counseling, coaching, and mentoring
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achieving their goals. Results indicate the PEAC Program en- as prescribed by Army doctrine. Because of the wide variety
hanced Soldiers’ perceived self-awareness, self- efficacy, and of demands on a Soldier’s time, it can be challenging to focus
job performance. Results also suggest performance enhance- on performance improvement in any domain (e.g., physical,
ment coaching may improve pass rates on interpersonally spiritual, behavioral health, social readiness, or personal resil-
demanding Special Operations courses. Conclusion: Perfor- ience). For many in the community, there may only be a few
mance enhancement coaching delivers considerable value for hours a month to meet with a physical therapist, nutrition-
Special Operations personnel and their organizations in rela- ist, counselor, or chaplain during regular work hours. During
tively minimal time. Operational psychologist coaches (OPCs) those narrow windows of opportunity, resources that purport
assigned to Special Operations units can leverage their assess- to sustain and enhance human/spiritual performance, behav-
ment skills to provide targeted, tailored performance enhance- ioral health, social readiness, and resilience must “hit target”
ment coaching and increase value to their organizations. and provide value as efficiently as possible.

Keywords: coaching; performance enhancement; operational Army doctrine defines coaching as a professional development
psychology; assessment method used by experts to improve skills, tasks, or specific be-
haviors. ADRP 6-22 lists six steps in the coaching process: fo-
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cus goals, clarify self-awareness, uncover potential, eliminate
developmental barriers, develop action plans and commitment,
Introduction
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and follow up. Performance enhancement coaching—defined
US Army Special Operations Forces (ARSOF) units are com- in this paper as an intentional focus on achieving personal and
posed of approximately 33,000 specially selected and highly professional goals which lead to individual and organizational
trained men and women tasked with conducting worldwide, gains—has emerged as a promising tool for maximizing bene-
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full spectrum Special Operations missions. Recruiting, select- fits in minimal time. Since 2015, the Joint Special Operations
ing, and training ARSOF personnel take a considerable amount Command (JSOC), US Army JFK Special Warfare Center and
of time and resources. Even after ARSOF personnel graduate School (USAJFKSWCS), and US Special Operational Com-
from their training pipelines and join their units, ARSOF per- mand (USSOCOM) have implemented coaching programs to
sonnel must continue to develop and adapt their knowledge, train operational psychologists, senior Operators, and other
skills, attributes, and other factors to match the demands of support staff to provide evidence-based coaching techniques.
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their missions and perform as effectively as possible. The object of performance enhancement coaching can vary
from helping Operators thrive in their assigned roles, success-
Because of the highly demanding, complex, and ever- evolving fully complete challenging military or academic courses, or ul-
nature of their missions, ARSOF Operators and enablers must timately transition out of service into the civilian sector.
*Correspondence to David Barry, PhD, 4545 Memorial Loop, Eglin Air Force Base, FL 32542 or david.m.barry.mil@mail.mil
1 MAJ Barry is the command psychologist with the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne). LTC DeVries is the command psychologist with the US
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Army JFK Special Warfare Center and School.
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