Page 69 - JSOM Winter 2019

In 2017, the first student cohort of the SOCOM Coach Train- providing psychological assessment feedback to clients. Fol-
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ing Program (SOCOM-CTP) attended a 3-day course at Fort lowing ethical standards outlined by both the American Psy-
Bragg, NC, and learned coaching fundamentals from expe- chological Association (APA) and ICF, all Soldiers wishing
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rienced coaches credentialed by the International Coaching to participate in the PEAC Program review and voluntarily
Federation (ICF)—the world’s largest organization of profes- sign an informed consent outlining the scope of how their
sionally trained coaches. Many of the graduates of this course assessment findings will be used, securely stored, and kept
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established coaching programs at their home units, tailoring confidential within the scope of the coaching relationship (Ap-
the lessons learned from the course to match the unique de- pendix A). Once Soldiers sign the consent form, they complete
mands and culture of those units. In subsequent months, the a brief questionnaire (Appendix B) and a series of measures
cohort attended a 2-day follow-on training at Fort Bragg and that assess cognitive ability, functional personality, and in-
participated in numerous “virtual” trainings and individual terpersonal communication styles. The questionnaire sets the
coaching sessions. stage for the targeted feedback by asking the Soldier to answer
five key questions:
Many of the students in the initial SOCOM-CTP cohort were
Army, Navy, and Air Force operational psychologists assigned 1. What do you want to learn from this assessment?
to units throughout SOCOM. Unlike their clinical psychology 2. What aspects of your life would you most like to improve?
counterparts who focus on the medical model of assessment, 3. What do you see as your biggest interpersonal challenges?
diagnosis, and treatment of behavioral health disorders, op- 4. What do you see as your biggest occupational challenges?
erational psychologists serve as special staff officers to their 5. What aspects of your personality make you successful?
commands, providing behavioral science consultation to help
decision makers understand, develop, and influence individu- Arguably, these questions are the most critical aspect of the
als, groups, or organizations in order to accomplish tactical, entire assessment as they establish a roadmap for how to “hit
operational, or strategic objectives. Every operational psy- target” in an efficient manner. Starting with question 1, Sol-
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chologist in SOCOM possesses a doctorate in clinical or coun- diers state their “bottom line up front,” clarifying for them-
seling psychology along with extensive training in personnel selves and the OPC exactly what they want to gain from their
assessment and selection, survival, evasion, resistance, and coaching experience. Subsequent responses help them identify
escape (SERE) concepts, behavioral science consultation for what they care about and what they already recognize as areas
intelligence operations, and advanced assessment techniques. of improvement. These responses encourage the Soldier to be-
Given the nonclinical nature of their missions combined with gin by examining their value system and perceived challenges
thousands of hours of counseling experience, operational psy- in both interpersonal and occupational domains. Critically,
chologists make ideal candidates for serving in a coaching role. the final question elicits their perceived strengths—setting the
stage for a strength-based coaching approach. Too often, feed-
A cornerstone competency for licensed psychologists is assess- back in ARSOF environments solely focuses on identifying
ment, interpretation, and feedback of psychological data (e.g., weaknesses or mistakes needing corrective action. While there
cognitive ability, personality). By leveraging this skillset in a is value in this approach, the coaching process primarily aims
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coaching role, operational psychologists can provide targeted, to help clients identify strengths and opportunities to unlock-
impactful feedback that enhances awareness of strengths, ing their potential.
weaknesses, and deficiencies and catalyzes opportunities for
personal and professional growth. Most important, assess- After the questionnaire, Soldiers complete cognitive, person-
ment feedback can be delivered in 1 to 2 hours and typically ality, and interpersonal communication measures. The entire
requires only one session. In an environment where time and PEAC assessment usually takes 2 to 3 hours to complete, and
resources are precious, an OPC can provide considerable re- the scoring, interpretation, and feedback products usually take
turn on investment for individuals and organizations in rela- the OPC less than 1 hour to prepare. It should be noted that
tively minimal time. many Soldiers have already completed the same cognitive and
personality measures during previous assessments (either for
After attending the initial SOCOM-CTP training, the first entry into ARSOF or for other purposes), and Soldiers can opt
author, an ARSOF operational psychologist, developed the to use the existing data instead of retaking the measures. This
PEAC Program to provide Soldiers with valuable coaching in saves Soldiers considerable time and cuts the PEAC assessment
minimal time. Given ARSOF Soldiers’ high operational tempo time down to less than 30 minutes. Once the assessment por-
and limited availability, the PEAC Program aimed to distill tion is complete, the Soldiers schedule a time with the OPC to
the six tenets of the coaching process into a single, 90-minute conduct the feedback session.
coaching session. It was hypothesized that coaching sessions
incorporating psychological assessment data from objective During the interpretation phase, the OPC compares the Sol-
measures of cognitive ability, personality, and interpersonal dier’s obtained scores to established reference norms (i.e.,
communication skills would lead to enhanced Soldier perfor- average scores and standard deviations) of ARSOF Operators
mance in a single, 90-minute session. This report presents an in various contexts (e.g., enlisted Operators, officers, sensi-
overview of the PEAC Program, explores its process and com- tive activities units). By using reference norms of Operator
ponents, and presents preliminary program evaluation results peer groups, the OPC can tailor feedback to the individual
obtained from individuals coached from 2017 to 2018. by showing them how they compare—on average—to their
peers. In a community where Soldiers typically strive to per-
form at-or-above their peers, this technique rapidly identifies
The PEAC Program
consistencies and mismatches with coworkers that often lead
The PEAC Program is modeled after Finn’s therapeutic assess- to interpersonal and occupational challenges. This approach
ment—a brief, individualized, and collaborative approach to helps them to understand their individual traits in context

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