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Nearly 50 Soldiers assigned to the 10th Support Group learned about the U.S. Army Japan’s IG program and how to identify and address toxic leadership issues during a training session conducted by Sgt. Maj. Crystal Clark-Fallin, the U.S. Army Japan’s inspector general.
During the class, 10th SG Soldiers discussed core leader competencies, examined Army regulations, manuals and policy guidance that focuses on leadership and also discussed the impacts of counterproductive leadership on individuals, units and organizations.
“These types of training bring awareness to different issues and situations that may be going on in the Army as a whole. It is good to identify these issues and talk about them and come up with resolutions as a group,” said Clark-Fallin.
During the training, Soldiers learned how to identify counterproductive or toxic leadership behavior traits in a group session. They also learned how to prevent bad leadership traits in their unit. Several Soldiers shared how they had been affected by poor leadership behavior in the past. Some junior members of the unit expressed gratitude for the group training.
“As a junior officer, It was nice to hear others' examples and experiences from senior leaders of things they’ve seen and what worked best for them,” said 2nd Lt. Aaron Mackey, an admin officer in the 10th SG S1 Department. "Sometimes with me being new to the Army, I could experience something and think that’s just how the Army operates, but these types of training help me identify those things that are wrong. I am empowered to say, No. that’s not how the Army operates and is not the correct answer,” said Mackey said.
During the briefing portion of the training, Clark-Fallin gave examples of USARJ recommendations of not only how to report or stop toxic leadership, but also how to prevent it.
USARJ began the counterproductive leadership program in January. Clark-Fallin’s goal is to reach all the direct reporting units within USARJ having already conducted classes for the USARJ Band and the 35th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion.
