Improving Retention in Royal Canadian Army Cadets: Organizational Improvement Plan
Chris J. Collins - DBM, LLM, MSc The Royal Canadian Army Cadet League is a national organization promoting community youth leadership skill development through an afterschool program format called "corps" across communities in Canada. Each corps is attached to a Canadian Forces Reserve Regiment. However, numerous corps are experiencing a decline in retaining their youth members. This decline in retention jeopardizes each corps’ funding from the Department of Defense, possibly closing the community corps. Examining retention through the lens of critical pragmatism will identify areas for improvement. A paradigm shift from primarily transactional-based leadership to transformational and servant leadership is required to improve the organization, ensure sustainability in the corps, and support the Canadian Armed Forces. Using mixed and current best practices for engaging youth and inserting a more applicable framework for teaching and training with a transformative change in mindset for the corps leadership, will improve the organization and ensure sustainability with a model of inclusivity. A leadership framework supported by recognized change path models with reinforcement from continual monitoring and evaluation will ensure a continued corps presence in the community.
Show LessImproving Retention in Royal Canadian Army Cadet’s
Organizational Improvement Plan
Christopher J. Collins
European Institute of Management Technology
Doctorate: Business Administration
Dr. S.N. Kulkarni
October 1, 2023
Abstract
The Royal Canadian Army Cadet League is a national organization promoting community youth leadership skill development through an afterschool program format called "corps" across communities in Canada. Each corps is attached to a Canadian Forces Reserve Regiment. However, numerous corps are experiencing a decline in retaining their youth members. This decline in retention jeopardizes each corps’ funding from the Department of Defense, possibly closing the community corps. Examining retention through the lens of critical pragmatism will identify areas for improvement. A paradigm shift from primarily transactional-based leadership to transformational and servant leadership is required to improve the organization, ensure sustainability in the corps, and support the Canadian Armed Forces. Using mixed and current best practices for engaging youth and inserting a more applicable framework for teaching and training with a transformative change in mindset for the corps leadership, will improve the organization and ensure sustainability with a model of inclusivity. A leadership framework supported by recognized change path models with reinforcement from continual monitoring and evaluation will ensure a continued corps presence in the community.
Keywords: organizational change, organizational culture, transformational leadership, retention, after-school program
Executive Summary
The Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) is a requirement within the Doctor of Business Administration at the European Institute of Management Technology (EIMT). It is the culmination of significant research accumulated through the program to make an organizational improvement plan within an organization distinctive to the individual, where an identified gap or area of improvement is recognized. This gap is referred to as the Problem of Practice (PoP). This paper will be a three-chapter OIP that will include the organizational context and the need to invoke transformational change to achieve sustainability in a cadet corps. This paper will also include reasons why change must occur, theories that support the retention of cadet members, leadership approaches to transformational change, potential solutions to the PoP, and the change implementation plan. An investigation into a single army cadet corps’ (OIP corps) trend in maintaining membership, as part of the larger parental organization, the Army Cadet League of Canada (2022), will be the focus of this paper.
The first chapter, Chapter 1, will introduce the PoP, the focus of this OIP, where organizational improvement must occur because of a state of or soon-to-be crisis. It will include the organizational context and various causal factors that have led to the PoP. Inclusion within Chapter 1 will demonstrate the requirement of having transformational and servant leadership to promote the organizational change that is traditionally ingrained in transactional leadership, one of strict adherence to the chain of command, reporting structures, and adherence to orders and regulations (Soeters et al., 2006). The first chapter leads into the development and planning for the improvement in Chapter 2.
The second chapter begins by explaining the operationalization of the improvement process through a transformational and servant leadership paradigm shift, with a mindset of the ingrained, heavily cultured organization that adheres to the power of reporting relationships across the parent organization and with each corps, including the OIP corps. To achieve the paradigm shift, a blended framework model combines Cawsey et al. (2016) change path model with Kotter’s (2007) 8-step model for leading and modelling the change process. The chapter will also examine the readiness for change through a qualitative analysis using an adapted questionnaire that quantitatively evaluates the ready state and highlights those areas that require a more focused strategy and tactical application. The chapter includes Deming’s (2018) plan, do, study, and act (PDSA) cycle model to ensure and improve the implementation plan process. The chapter will conclude with strategies to address the PoP and introduce the next chapter's focus, one of action through implementation.
The final chapter explains the critical communication component of achieving the OIP. Aligned with Deming’s PDSA cycle model, the paper will show the correlation with the blended model of Cawsey et al. change path model and Kotter’s 8-step change model for practical evaluation. The final chapter also demonstrates the implementation and monitoring of the framework discussed in Chapter 2, with evaluation occurring at identified steps. As a critical component of the change process within education, Kirkpatrick’s (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2015) four levels of program evaluation are also contained in the evaluation to ensure its inclusion achieves the desired results. The constant monitoring and evaluation support the effectiveness of the implementation plan. The OIP concludes with the next steps to broaden the scope of success with a regional, provincial, and national focus in the transformational paradigm shift.
Acknowledgements
As read in the OIP, collaboration, cooperation, and communication are critical components to achieving success. These same attributes contributed to the significant initiative that was undertaken in the program and final OIP. First and foremost is my partner, my wife, Olga, who picked up the farm chores, answered municipal constituents' calls of concern, and more so that I could devote time and concentrate on this work. Second, within my family is my mother, who has always supported my life’s adventures, despite the worry.
I also need to acknowledge the command element of the OIP corps, who will remain nameless but know who they are. They offered support in providing governance, insight, and, as will be read, identifying and explaining the intricate allowances at the OIP corps level that they can manage and initiate directly without interference from the larger organization.
Of course, the journey was not without the support of my new friends, peers, and instructors within the program. They were there to assist, constantly providing constructive advice and being candid when required. Thank you for the push and encouragement. I must also thank EIMT proper, as this program has propelled me in my role as municipal councillor in addressing areas for improvement within the municipality in corporate services and other extensions of my duties.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction and Problem Posing 1
Positionality and Lens Statement 1
Collaboration and Team Leadership 4
Leadership Problem of Practice 11
Framing the Problem of Practice 13
Cultural Factors and Community Awareness 15
External Factors of Influence 16
Guiding Questions Emerging from Problem of Practice 20
Leadership-Focused Vision for Change 22
Chapter 2: Planning and Development 29
Leadership Approach to Change 29
Transformational Leadership 30
Framework for Leading the Change Process 34
Organizational Change Readiness 40
Strategies/Solutions to Address the Problem of Practice 44
Strategy 1: Meeting Specific Needs of Cadet Members 44
Strategy 2: Changing Attitudes of Staff 47
Strategy 3: Creativity in Instructional Program Planning 48
Analysis of the Proposed Three Solutions 51
Chapter 3: Implementation, Communication, and Evaluation 56
Potential Barriers and Strategies to Mitigate 63
Plan to Communicate the Need for Change and the Change Process 65
Change Process Monitoring and Evaluation 71
Awakening Monitoring and Evaluation 73
Mobilization Monitoring and Evaluation 74
Institutionalization Monitoring and Evaluation 76
Next Steps and Future Considerations 77
Appendix A: OIP Corps Parent Organizational Chart 99
Appendix B: OIP Corps Readiness for Change Matrix 100
Appendix C: Communications Plan – Awakening Phase 103
Appendix D: Communications Plan – Mobilization Phase 104
Appendix E: Communications Plan – Acceleration Phase 105
Appendix F: Communications Plan – Institutionalization Phase 106
Appendix G: Example of Feedback Form 107
Appendix H: Visual of Knowledge Mobilization Plan 108
List of Tables
Table 1: Proposed Solution Analysis Matrix 54
Table 2: Change Path and Priorities with Outcomes 61
Table 3: Evaluation Matrix of all Training Deliverables in OIP 75
List of Figures
Figure 1: OIP Corps Organizational Chart 9
Figure 2: Blended Change Framework Model 36
List of Acronyms
BOPPPS Bridge-In, Outcomes, Pre-assessment, Participatory Learning, Post-assessment, Summary
CIC Cadet Instructor Cadre
DND Canadian Department of Defence
ISW Instructional Skills Workshop
OIP Organizational Improvement Plan
PESTEL Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal
PoP Problem of Practice
SIRT Search Incident Response Team
UDL Universal Design Learning
Chapter 1: Introduction and Problem Posing
This chapter will describe my leadership theories and positionality within an organization, an individual corps, pronounced kôr, of the Royal Canadian Army Cadets. It will describe the organization from a structural and cultural context. The identified problem of practice (PoP) and the organizational improvement plan (OIP), which are specific to the selected corps, hereafter referred to as OIP corps, are also outlined in the chapter. To effectively change an organization, one must have positional power or influence (Hickson et al., 1971). This level of influence is impacted by our organizational characteristics, such as positionality and the interrelated personal leadership lens through which we approach leadership practices. I will examine these critical components of organizational change in the following sections.
Positionality and Lens Statement
I am an influential person within the OIP corps, being a mentor, educator, trainer, and role model of what characteristics and leadership traits look like for its youth members. I have what Northouse (2022) defines as positional and personal power in the OIP corps. Like the other OIP corps officers, I am governed by the larger entity's orders, regulations, and directives, including elements within the cadet instructor cadre (CIC) on teaching and delivering the education and training components.
As a servant leader and change agent, I have a robust community presence endorsing transformational leadership. The continuous public service application and demonstration of positive change for organizations I have been part of highlight the servant (Russell, 2001; Spears, 2010) and transformational (Avolio & Yammarino, 2013; Bass & Riggio, 2006) leadership styles. This blended transformational and servant leadership style has been my foundation and practice for decades. I have served with the Canadian Armed Forces, the Special Services Force, and as a police officer, with the Halton Regional Police, achieving a senior command rank. I have furthered this service and given back to the community by representing my community as a current municipal councillor. Within the military and police service, a para-military organization, I have had the privilege of being gender accepted without hardship, as both organizations are male-dominated (Brewster, 2019; Government of Canada, 2020). This positionality will also support the OIP, as the organization is still male gender dominant. This male dominant culture, albeit an advantage for recognition, elevation of ranks, initiating ideas and concepts such as the OIP, can be problematic as it is not representative of the community in gender equality, especially within the corps, with female corps members, and a want to recruit more females into the military (Segal, 1983; Titunik, 2008). I have and continue to volunteer with numerous agencies and entities, and I am now an educator at a higher-learning institution. I have been privileged and honoured to receive numerous awards for actions that denote transformational and servant leadership. An example is identifying a gap in the Halton Regional Police Service service delivery for missing person searches. I led the collaborative research, organization, and creation of the Search Incident Response Team (SIRT) that still serves the community and surrounding area (Halton Regional Police Service 2014 Annual Report, 2014).
As part of the CIC and in my current position, I have direct responsibility and accountability for delivering education and training to the senior cadet members of the OIP corps, referred to as gold stars and masters. My direct membership in the CIC with direct lines of communication to the officer in charge and second-in-command allows me to build a bridge, to better address and support aspects of the PoP and implementation of the OIP as a train-the-trainer. Because of my background and accomplishments, I have gained the respect of the commanding officer and second-in-command. Although there is an adherence to following commands, regulations and directives, a transactional leadership style, I have and continue to be given latitude by both individuals with open communication, and an allowance to try new ideas such as using YouTube in presentations, which is normally outside of the accepted format of educational delivery by corps instructors. This allowance and latitude, is not shared with all officers and training cadre. This positional and charismatic advantage will significantly assist in implementing the changes required to obtain change and retain cadet members successfully. Aligned with this responsibility and accountability is an allowance to support or implement, through direct communication to the officer in charge of the OIP corps, any incentives, strategies, and tactics that will promote the OIP corps within the community. This allowance directly supports the PoP of the OIP corps in retention. As the officer in charge and second-in-command are aligned with me in recognizing the problem, the senior leaders will initiate the change operationally, with me as the change manager. This holistic, collaborative association will support the OIP and any challenges associated with the PoP.
Transformational Leadership
No one leadership style suits any organization; there are no purist organizations. There must also be an adaptation. I have learned from excellent leaders I have had the privilege of working with and those individuals who lack proper leadership skills, such as ethics, morals, and values. For me, the effect and learning from negative leadership were more impactful, causing reflexivity and resultant personal action. I know that rapport, respect, and trust with internal and external stakeholders are valuable in being a leader (Griffith & Johnson, 2019; Kouzes & Posner, 2017). Bass and Riggio (2006) explain that these traits are consistent with transformational leadership and will support organizational improvement. Albeit the traits of rapport, respect, and trust may be ingrained in the organization, they are not to the degree of allowance for required change, as they are as stated aligned with transactional leadership and not transformational. This autocratic style hinders growth and change (Ivey & Kline, 2010).
The transformational leadership style with a servant leader injected with adaptive requirements will support the positive change required and be instrumental in developing the OIP with a focus on the youth and community. Throughout my worldly experiences, I have gravitated toward and demonstrated transformational leadership, by challenging the status quo, always exploring avenues for improvement, or identifying gaps that required improvement. I have exercised the self-quote of trying to achieve perfection, knowing it will never be achieved. This mindset indicates betterment, challenges what can be referred to as the status quo, is aligned with high leadership attributes, and is transformational (Kouzes & Posner, 2017). As relayed by Oren Harari (2002), General Colin Powell said, "Don't be afraid to challenge the pros, even in their own backyard" (p. 256). This mindset of questioning and betterment is aligned with already noted authors Kouzes and Posner (2017) and will be discussed in greater detail in Chapter 2.
Collaboration and Team Leadership
I have had the honour and privilege of working with specialty teams within the Canadian Forces and in policing. Whether I was an operator, team leader, or commander, the preparation and planning always had a collective and collaborative aspect. The teams' success depended on trust, respect, and a collective body of individuals working towards the same goal or achievement of a mission. In most instances, many ways or strategies exist to accomplish a given task. The OIP is such an example. Like achieving goals or missions on special teams with a collective, cooperative, and collaborative mindset, the development, initiation, and implementation of the OIP will be similar. An individual, a leader, does not always possess the answers or best strategies to achieve success or overcome complex problems. The leader may instead guide, mentor, and support others to achieve the desired outcome. As Flynn and Herrington (2015) relay, using one’s position and influencing and guiding others to address complex needs indicates authentic leadership.
Adaptive Lens
My development within the Western University Ed.D. program and associated courses have refined my mind mapping of the OIP concerning the PoP, as well as decision making outside the educational forum, such as politics. Mind mapping refers to creating a graphic of ideas and concepts and assists in structuring information (Sutherland and Katz, 2005). The mind mapping has constantly improved, and my philosophical beliefs about the underlying PoP with leadership styles to address are aligned and based on solid epistemological and ontological viewpoints.
I have always exhibited strong leadership traits, such as collaboration, cooperation, open communication in the various organizations I have been part of. I have facilitated learning and improving in both the military, police and private organizations. I have vast experience in military and para-military organizations, international in scope. This experience, ingrained intuition with logic and reasoning. As noted by Tickle et al. (2005), the link between personal epistemological beliefs and mannerism can be linked with the transformational leadership model in areas of underlying beliefs, metacognition and cognition with further expansion in areas of education and training.
Recognition of a current state of crisis or soon to be crisis within the organization and a required shift in leadership from transactional to a transformational and servant led approach is part of the ontological growth I have undergone. This approach may challenge the organization that focuses on the organization before the people within the organization, but as noted by Elliker (2016), recognition of this potential conflict, and required robust strategies, will support the transformational and servant leadership style.
Through my many life experiences and education, I know that the OIP corps foundation, including its youth, is based on heterogeneous groupings, including those identified as underprivileged and privileged, and genuinely represents the Canadian mosaic of many cultures. For this reason, the OIP cannot be examined from a single viewpoint. Its structure must be built upon a transformative research paradigm foundation and an adaptation of current best practices.
The transformative research paradigm will provide the framework to address the community's underprivileged youth and include new immigrants who identify as minorities. Although the demographics of the community for the OIP corps indicate that less than 1% of the total population identifies as a minority (Government of Canada, 2017), the transformative research will be proactive and address sustainability and growth within the OIP, taking into account a broader, more holistic macro view and aligning itself with social justice issues.
The three leadership styles will be tailored to meet the needs and requirements of the OIP for a successful outcome. Transformational change is not rigid, and adaptation must occur with high emotional intelligence supported by the adaptive leader (Yukl & Mahsud, 2010). This adaptive leadership will support the change requirements by utilizing and mobilizing people who are passionate about doing so. As Heifetz et al. (2009) relay, this aspect of mobilizing is characteristic of adaptive leadership and will need to occur for this OIP to be successful. The result focuses on serving the community and society, as I have been a servant since early adulthood.
The awareness and understanding of my leadership strengths and taking necessary actions within the organization for positive change are crucial in addressing the PoP. Furthermore, understanding the organization's structure, culture, mission, vision, values, and current leadership styles will provide additional support in implementing the OIP.
Organizational Context
This OIP is developed for a single corps of the Royal Canadian Army Cadets (Army Cadets History, 2022; McDonald, 2013) community youth group called the OIP corps. A corps is a branch of a military organization with a specific kind of work (Corps Definition & Meaning, 2022). The OIP corps is part of a larger national model (parent organization) representing over 800 corps within communities in all provinces and territories. The OIP corps originated in 1902 as a collegiate institute and has been rebranded with various names since its conception. It is currently part of a larger military unit known as a regiment. This regiment is part of the larger national organization called the cadet program.
The cadet program encompasses army, sea, and air cadets, and has over 55,000 youth enrolled, aged 12-18. They are supervised and led by military and civilian members and are supported by the community where they are based (Defence, 2018). The program is national and military theme-based, with a cultural foundation for adherence to orders, regulations, policies, and procedures (Soeters et al., 2006). The cadet program provides a structured learning environment for the youth of the community, developing them into good citizens and leaders while promoting physical activity and stimulating an interest in possible careers in the Canadian Armed Forces.
Organizational Structure
Because of their military foundation, the OIP corps and cadet program require mandated adherence to the chain of command. This adherence is embedded in orders under the National Defence Act (1985), a federal statute, and associated regulations that bind all staff. The National Defence Act (1985) has policies and standards (Defence, 2018) as well as Queen's Regulations and Orders (QR&O) (Defence, 2014) that the OIP corps must follow. Unlike other organizations, failure to adhere to orders and regulations, such as reporting relationships, may be punishable through discipline. This heavy governance with established expectations is ingrained into each enlisted individual and any contractors or volunteers within each corps. This adherence to governance and following orders symbolizes transactional leadership (Ivey & Kline, 2010). The transactional leadership style is distinct in that it allows a high degree of clarity for staff and employees regarding the expectations of senior leaders (Atwater & Yammarinol, 1993) to accomplish tasks. As established by senior leaders, the definitive goals and objectives allow the participant to feel productive once they are achieved. This leadership style has a place in the military, especially during a crisis where tactical decisions must be made promptly, but it does pose problems when collaboration is warranted. More specifically, when change and betterment through a collaborative effort of internal and external stakeholders are required, it presents barriers to participation and brainstorming. This transactional leadership style is instilled in staff and volunteers on their first day working with the military (English, 2004; Halvorsin, 2010), setting and establishing the culture of the organization.
A second stream of reporting relationships and governance also exists in the organization, as it has a community and non-military component due to the age of the corps members. This second stream is the Army Cadet League of Canada (2022). Like the military structure, the second stream has a national council and executive committee that the Army Cadet League president governs. The Army Cadet League president has provincial or territorial branch presidents with branch or zone chairs. The elected and senior positions, such as the Army Cadet League president and branch or zone presidents, are usually held by retired senior military officers. These senior leaders still have a strong military mindset. The final component within the second non-military stream is one of the community representatives. This non-military stream consists mainly of volunteers from the community that the corps serves. These two streams manage the daily operational requirements of each corps, from education and deliverables to recruitment initiatives via governance.
The corps has a high level of bureaucracy because of its structure, adherence to reporting relationships, and governance. A visual display of the numerous reporting relationships with their associated barriers, such as redundancy in achieving approval, is illustrated in Appendix A. Because of these factors, I have defined the scope of the OIP to be a single corps, referred to as the OIP corps, of which I am part of the leadership team. As such, I am in a position to influence and initiate positive change with the OIP corps senior-level leaders, who are already conceptually aware of the OIP. The larger national organization will be referred to as the parent organization.
Canadian military officers directly manage the OIP corps. The officer in charge of the OIP corps is a captain, along with the second-in-command, who serves as the training officer commander and a captain as well. Titles, such as captains, refer to ranks in the Canadian Forces. The rank indicates a person's position in a hierarchical structure, the more senior the rank, the greater the responsibility, accountability, and empowerment. Senior ranks issue orders, ensuring command clarity and maintain order and discipline within the military (Defence, 2017). The second-in-command has a unit of educators and trainers known as the Cadet Instructors Cadre (CIC) under their command (Defence, 2022). I am part of the CIC, possessing the title of training officer and reporting directly to the second-in-command and the officer in charge, pending the circumstance. Figure 1 presents the OIP corps organizational chart, with me noted as the change manager within the training cadre of officers who all have direct responsibility and accountability for mentoring, coaching and guiding cadet members during their attendance at the armouries.
Figure 1
OIP Corps Organizational Chart
Note. This figure shows the positions within the OIP corps and their relationships via the lines showing to whom each position reports. As an illustration, consider the reporting structure for the training cadre officers and volunteers to the training officer, second in command, who in turn reports to the commanding officer of the corps.
The visual clarity in understanding reporting relationships through a hierarchical model of the military ranking system demonstrates my positional authority within the OIP corps and why it was selected as a pilot project for the OIP. The commanding officers usually hold a rank of captain or greater, with training cadre officers being Lieutenants or 2nd Lieutenants, as well as volunteer civilians.
Mission, Vision, Values
Through the corps mission, vision, and values, the corps hopes to better the community and society by providing structure, education, training, mentorship, coaching, and leadership to youth for their transition to adulthood. The corps is free to join for youth, supporting social justice equality for youth who identify as underprivileged within the community (Bowman & Pellman, 1958). This supportive social justice element will enable the youth to meet the challenges of modern society (Defence, 2021). The corps’ vision is to provide relevant, credible, and timely education, mentorship, and coaching to its members, preparing them as leaders for society in a fun, challenging, and well-organized setting (Defence, 2021b). Values in the corps include respecting the dignity of all people, serving Canada before yourself, obeying and supporting lawful authorities, and enhancing understanding of duty, loyalty, integrity, courage, stewardship, and excellence as is expected of Canadian Armed Forces members (Defence, 2020b). In essence, the corps transforms its youth members into servant leaders for the community.
Leadership
The corps is entrenched in adherence to a hierarchal chain of command, orders, regulations, and other forms of governance. It resists collaborative leadership styles (Kramer & Crespy, 2011). The OIP corps is firmly rooted in an autocratic transactional leadership style that aptly suits those incidents or times of emergency when tactical, timely decisions must be made. This leadership style fails to advance collaboration, collectively problem-solve, and improve an organization. It stagnates the development of leadership and improvement by not allowing junior officers, who are de facto corps leaders, to interact with cadet members themselves, even though they should be part of the decision-making process.
Despite what the organization may view as its strengths, such as its strong regimented processes and adherence to reporting relationships, these positives may lead to failures unless utilized correctly in proper situations, and risk imposing barriers and initiating gaps within the organization that will require addressing through improvement (Amanchukwu et al., 2015). In non-crisis times, a transformational leadership style is better suited to managing the corps.
Leadership Problem of Practice
Recognizing the PoP is a significant step in enacting positive change within an organization precisely because its challenges are complex, and the root problem may not be addressed due to the specific positionality of leadership. For these reasons, I have refined the scope to be a single corps, albeit the extent of this condition extends nationally (National Defence, 2013, 2020, 2018). My sphere of influence and positionality is within a single corps, the OIP corps.
The PoP is the declining retention rate of army cadet corps members, which negatively impacts the sustainability of the OIP corps (National Defence, 2013, 2020, 2018). The Canadian Forces also struggle to recruit and retain members (Brewster, 2019; Roberts, 2022; Thorne, 2022). The OIP corps directly support youth transitioning to part-time or full-time careers in the Canadian Forces. If the OIP corps fails to address this trending gap, the likelihood is that funding for the OIP corps will cease, and the OIP corps will shut down and no longer be able to support the community’s youth and future Canadian leadership in both the military and community at large.
A transformational leadership framework positions the PoP under investigation. As Burns (2003) mentions, it intends to go beyond merely altering and is instead an attempt to directly address the fundamental needs at a deeper level, making changes that will tackle the problem at its roots. This framework will support longevity and sustainability and is intended to be adopted nationally.
The OIP corps is part of the largest federally sponsored youth development program in Canada and is under the command of the Department of National Defence (DND) (Defence, 2020c). The DND and the Army Cadet League of Canada support the program by supplying personnel, such as myself, with logistical and administrative assistance. The OIP corps, as part of the national program, has been evaluated since 1993-1994 (Defence, 2018), examining the relevance and performance of the program. Evaluations since that time and, most recently, in 2018 and 2020, indicate gaps and areas of improvement required for the corps program (National Defence, 2018, 2020). The identified gaps, such as performance by the training cadre and having the appropriate knowledge and skills by the training cadre staff (National Defence, 2013), have seen some improvement, but the most recent evaluation in 2020 still found a presence of too much emphasis on command and control of the cadet corps at a national level. Another problem area also recognized in the 2020 evaluation was that the cadet corps was not keeping pace with technological trends.
The OIP will provide methods and tactics to increase the retention of cadet membership. It will deal with the PoP for the OIP corps, strongly emphasizing root cause analysis and remedial measures. The OIP will cover obstacles and chances for advancement that a transformative and obedient leader with accountability for developing future leaders can encounter. Despite the military’s numerous evaluations intended to help correct gaps, the recommendations were never operationalized systematically to ensure sustainability and resiliency (National Defence, 2018, 2020). It is anticipated that once organizational improvement is achieved, the OIP can be used nationally with modifications to adjust for the demographic and geographical requirements.
The OIP will address a gap and an area for necessary organizational improvement, specifically retention. A failure to address this gap will lead to a cessation of national funding and the closure of the OIP corps. Once the cadets are recruited, they must be retained in the program while recruitment continues. The cadets’ decision to remain in the program is based on interpersonal and contextual factors (Gillard & Witt, 2008).
The PoP identifies the gap and areas of required improvement needed in the OIP corps. This identification will support the OIP as we continue to move forward in analysis in framing the PoP.
Framing the Problem of Practice
The PoP addresses a decline in retaining the cadets that are enrolled in the corps. Corrective action via the OIP will address the contributing causes within the OIP corps and lead to corrective action and implementations, but it will likely not address the root cause or causes because the extent of the condition (Steele, 2006) may be national in context. The extent of the condition is a term that refers to a generic implication, failure, deficiency, weakness, or problem that extends beyond the recognized immediate area or focus (Ruck & Merlo, 2018). A strategy to overcome this possible failure in addressing the root cause will be embedded in the OIP, as the OIP is a pilot project model with an incentive to expand the pilot for regional and national adaptation when successful. This type of vision and implementation demonstrates servant leadership (Song et al., 2022) and will be interwoven into the OIP corps. This visionary foresight will guide a paradigm shift from typical transactional leadership styles in the military to transformational leadership when it is deemed proper to do so. This paradigm shift from transactional to transformational during non-crisis incidents will allow the OIP corps and, by extension, the program, to initiate transformational characteristics within the organization modelled by what is referred to as the four I’s: idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individual consideration (Hartsfield, 2003). Examination of the current organizational culture and analysis will support this paradigm shift.
Historical Factors
Within the framework of any organization is the culture, which is usually based on history. This history and an understanding of the data are needed to support improvement or change (Prywes, 2011). The historical insight and data gathered can either be supportive of the change or restrictive (Bolman & Deal, 2017). The military is rich in history, has pride in its accomplishments, and is very transactionally rooted in its leadership (English, 2004; Halvorson, 2010). This leadership foundation strives to ingrain a regimental mindset in all Canadian Forces staff and members in a highly bureaucratic organization (Appendix A) (Ivey & Kline, 2010). The transactional, autocratic regimental culture forces members to depend on orders before exercising the decision-making process. The range of impact, or what can be referred to as the scope of the condition, includes a methodology for education and training via guides. The process for any decision-making has members looking for validation or a how-to before proceeding. This conditioning extends to, as stated, educational and training deliverables by providing dated step-by-step processing (Chief of Defence Staff, 2010) and is not aligned with the pedagogy of using various modes in teaching delivery to capture a more extensive learner base (Akram Awla, 2014; Yeop et al., 2016). The educational and training deliverables are related to a failure to retain members (Defence, 2018; Sprang, 2020). These cultural influencers can be viewed as barriers, as they do not promote collaborative, innovative problem-solving. The PoP will provoke a cultural paradigm shift by emphasizing a servant-focused and transformational leadership style. The historical and cultural barriers extend to the community, including social justice factors.
Cultural Factors and Community Awareness
The culture of the parent organization extends to social justice impairments. Social justice refers to those aspects of society where fairness extends to society, such as healthcare, employment, and housing, and advocates for a fair and equitable division of such allowances, opportunities, and privileges in society (Mollenkamp, 2022). The organization’s culture places barriers and impairs this equality, a prime example being the exhibition of sexism within the parent organization and the corps (McCristall & Baggaley, 2019). The community’s awareness of sexism is known mainly because of the media’s attention (Austen, 2022; Brewster, 2018). Despite the military acknowledging that social injustice issues are present in the organization as relayed from the highest levels of organizational leadership, the actual implementation of change is not forthcoming. This is especially true when the organization’s leaders themselves exhibit social injustices, as demonstrated by the actions of former Chief of the Defence Staff, General Vance (Brewster, 2021; Burke, 2022). The cultural allowance for failing to address social injustice fails to support those transformational leaders who do inspire change. The current culture, instead, stifles and drives these leaders from the organization (Brewster & Everson, 2021). The PoP will have a cultural impact on social justice, correction, and improvement. Transformational and servant leadership, with adaptation as required, will provide the nexus for change, as relayed by Stauffer and Maxwell (2020). Further examination
by factor analysis, inclusive of the political, economic, social, and technological areas, will further support the need for the OIP.
The perception of the culture and its inadequacies, such as sexism and failed leadership, can impact the community where the corps is based due to the media highlighting the negative aspects (Brewster, 2021). This media attention negatively affects the community’s view of the corps, reducing the desire to join among those caregivers responsible for youth. This negative perception can result in reduced community support, including financial support, and decreased advocacy for participation in the program. It can also contribute to members departing if they are unsatisfied or if the corps fails to meet their expectations in fun, engaging, and interactive areas. As we will explore in the OIP, the regimented mindset does not support an ever-changing and evolving younger community.
External Factors of Influence
To support and understand the PoP, examining external factors is essential in analyzing
various areas’ influence on the organization. I will use the PESTE model factor analysis tool to assist in this. PESTE is an acronym for political, economic, social, technological, and environmental factors that will assist in analyzing the situation and support the development of a strategy for improvement (Shtal et al., 2018; Yüksel, 2012). The factors are relevant when considering external environmental influence in the PoP.
Political
Each corps is influenced by the geographical location of its established base and builds on the culture already within the corps. Despite being funded nationally, individual corps, such as the OIP corps, have a solid connection to the municipality in which they are situated. The municipality of the OIP corps is very supportive, with council members, including the mayor, regularly involving the OIP corps in municipal events such as parades and town festivities. I personally maintain a supportive element in this relationship because I am on the municipal council. The involvement at the local community level supports the OIP corps’ efforts and the national program. It also supports financial influence through donations captured in the next section, economics, and an enhanced community cultural connection, further supporting the PoP.
The political factor also addresses power and competitiveness in achieving senior rank and command. Decisions by individuals looking for promotion will affect their decision-making process. These individuals, for the most part, will conform with the parent organization so as to not appear as rogues in the hopes of achieving a better standing for promotion (J. Ford et al., 2012).
Economic
The Department of Defence (Defence, 2021) federally manages the organization and OIP corps through governance, such as regulations and orders, staffing, and financial support. Challenges faced nationally, particularly financial challenges, result in reduced revenues, impacting the OIP corps budget. This significant impact can affect the members directly, through changes such as the non-issuance of essential clothing (Press, 2013) and learning supportive aids. Reducing clothing and equipment, which many youths may regard as cool stuff, may result in further dissatisfaction and lead to members departing from the corps. The reduction in funding forces the individual corps to approach community groups and members, soliciting donations. This economic factor has an overlapping impact within politics, but is still considered an independent contributing factor as funds from the parent organization are not the only form of funding received. Through interaction with the community via participation in local events, the OIP corps secures community donations, especially from groups such as the Lions Club (2022), Masons (2022), and others. This community aid helps to overcome the shortages caused by the withdrawal of national economic support. Economic support is essential for the OIP corps and impacts all three leadership levels, macro, meso, and micro, which will be discussed in Leadership-Focused Vision for Change.
Because of their socio-economic level, our more senior cadets do find themselves having to support family requirements through part-time employment (Powell, 2023). This economic competing factor can also be a contributor to withdrawal from the OIP corps if it is not countered in a robust manner.
Social
The social intelligence (Kihlstrom & Cantor, 2000) aspect of the educational and training deliverables in OIP corps is noticeably absent. This social impact is significant, yet has not been seized upon correctly at the national level (Madden & Slavin, 1983). An example is the failure to provide social growth based on how individuals identify (McCann & Sharek, 2016), which is not captured in the governance issued to OIP corps for instruction to cadets. The regimental adherence is neutral based when communicating from instructor to participant by addressing them as Cadet X. However, we fail as a training cadre to educate the cadets themselves on how to respectfully speak to community members by asking them how they would like to be addressed, for example, he, him, or they, when communicating to those outside the corps. The failure of governance to address social adaptation requirements, as Gillborn (2005) indicates, is a failure in social shift requirements. This social element can appear antiquated and out of touch with current events. This element can easily be corrected through education within the training cadre.
Within the OIP corps there should be a sense of belonging, of being part of a larger family unit as it is sometimes referred to, where guidance, mentorship and discipline through respectful engagement is practiced and modelled by officers and training cadre members alike (Dauenhauer et al., 2022).
Historical Efforts
As indicated, the corps has regularly evaluated the cadet program since 1993-1994 (National Defence, 2013). Unfortunately, the organization is exhibiting a gap in implementing recommendations from these evaluations, as noted in the reports where repeat findings are captured (National Defence, 2020, 2018, 2013). The organization is plagued with systemic issues, such as sexism, which some scholars trace back to its history and culture, with males being the dominant historical factor (McCristall, 2020). This gap and the ability to correct it are likely part of the culture of the parent organization. The diminishing retention of cadet members has been identified, but there has been no substantive change in strategies or tactics to correct it. The PoP will fill this void at the OIP corps.
External Data
Culture is likely a significant influencer in conditioning the current leadership and contributing to the gap identified by the PoP. Understanding the culture is critical to organizational improvement (Maull et al., 2001). The organization's culture is a psychological as well as a social construct (Spencer-Oatey & Franklin, 2012). Examining the influencers' demographics in this culture at the individual corps level allows for a better understanding the OIP corps. Statistics Canada will support for an understanding the OIP corps’ community demographics through its population census and census profile (Government of Canada, 2001). Pertinent statistical information related to the OIP corps includes:
The age group of the OIP corps comprises 5% of the total population, just under 20,000, with equal representation between males and females, with no substantive change historically.
The community's primary language is English, with over 99% identifying as such.
The median income of community households is $64,016.
Less than 1% of the community is made up of international immigrants.
Less than 1% of those identifying as a minority (Government of Canada, 2017c) and Indigenous (Government of Canada, 2017b) are within the community.
The statistical analysis indicates the community's identity, which supports the OIP corps being Caucasian, with colonization heritage and attributes. Other factors, such as systemic social inequities, especially those of the female gender (McCristall, 2020), reduced funding (Press, 2013), and research within the framing of the PoP, accentuate the required organizational change. The research and data overlap in the economic, political, and social factors.
The framing of the PoP, gathered data, and these external factors all require further
exploration by asking questions to understand the problem's root cause and the significant causal factors currently being encountered in the organization. This exploration considerably supports the OIP and allows for strategic and tactical decisions to correct and improve the OIP corps.
Guiding Questions Emerging from Problem of Practice
As a servant leader, mentor, coach, and educator, I have a strong passion for achievement in everything I do. This passion extends and envelopes the OIP corps and the national organization. Through a professional mannerism, I must rise and respectfully challenge the status quo (Curtin, 2015) with organizational practices and adherence to regimental conditioning actions that have been and continue to be detrimental to the organization. To achieve this end state, research in focused areas must be conducted, and problem-solving from a holistic or macro point of view must be undertaken and refined for the OIP corps. The research and associated findings will invoke awareness and a desire for transformation.
The Canadian Forces have a robust culture. One of the Canadian Forces publications, Duty with Honour (Defence, 2019), has a chapter devoted to "The Statement of Canadian Military Ethos" (p. 25). The chapter focuses on the Canadian Forces' ethos, integrity, legitimacy, and effectiveness. It delves further by including the Canadian Military values: duty, loyalty, integrity, and courage. Building on such an ethos, we can formulate our first question: how might the Canadian Military Ethos lend itself to improving retention for the OIP corps? This allowance will support initiating investigations and research to identify major contributing causes and possible root causes.
Aligned with the Canadian military ethos and the evaluations (Defence, 2018), an identified gap is the lack of enriched education and training within the OIP corps, leading to members departing from the OIP corps. How might the Canadian military ethos and evaluations lend themselves to enhancing the educational and training deliverables for the OIP corps? The analysis via root cause investigation will reveal gaps in the educational and training deliverables, including the pedagogy of formats. This question will enhance members' education and training
sessions and, by extension, retain their interest and zeal.
Another question that will be pinpointed, and is also aligned with the same Canadian military ethos, is: why are members of the OIP corps leaving? This direct question will bring awareness to causal factors contributing to the decline in retention of corps cadet members. The findings will then support the development of strategies to mitigate or correct the identified gaps.
Leadership-Focused Vision for Change
As Kouzes and Posner (2017) say, leaders must consider the organization's mission, vision, and values that will impact the futuristic goal with embedded strategies and tactics. As improvement can always be achieved in any organization, the mission, vision, and values form part of the organization's culture and must be considered when initiating positive change. In the OIP, the Royal Canadian Army Cadets’ sustainability is jeopardized because of the reduced retention of cadets. This jeopardy resonates personally because of the positive impact the military had in guiding, modelling, and instilling leadership traits within me. This personal leadership development supported my professional career achievements after the military. Not only was this instilling personally beneficial, but the learned leadership foundation was and still is transferred to others that I have the privilege of working with, either directly or indirectly.
The extent of the condition widens to affect recruitment for full-time and reserve members of the Canadian Armed Forces (Berthiaume, 2022; Gilmore, 2022; Thorne, 2022) due to the lack of zeal and interest in the military felt by the youth withdrawing from the OIP corps. The experience of cadets and reasons for departing from the OIP corps are also likely conveyed to peers and others, exacerbating the extent of the condition. I will scrutinize the organization holistically to understand and appreciate the systemic issues and convey my vision of what needs to change.
Vision for Change
The OIP corps will overcome the culturally based organizational weaknesses that are
traditional and transactional in the retention of OIP corps members. I use the words culturally based because of the organization’s ingrained attitudinal adherence to following transactional leadership, orders, and regulations without question. Members of the organization are conditioned to regimentally follow commands, adhere to regulations, and reporting relationships, a transactional leadership style that is beneficial in times of crisis. However, it is detrimental to the organization during non-crisis times because it does not promote collaboration and a visionary mindset in the improvement process (Ivey & Kline, 2010). Despite this inherent flaw, it has become the ingrained organizational culture.
We need to strategically implement current best practices and utilize proactive, technological, and socially supported mediums to address the declining retention rate of cadets in the OIP corps. We can maintain the enthusiasm and interest of the cadets by adopting a transformational leadership mindset and constantly improving our processes and programs. I refer to this as professional organizational maturing and improvement.
This maturing is a need versus a want to address the declining retention rate of cadets in the OIP corps. The parent organization needs to be refined and mature holistically, and we will start as a pilot project with my corps. The parent organization, part of the Canadian Armed Forces, has been highlighted as being prejudicial by way of sexism and mistreatment of personnel who identify as female (Brewster, 2019; Brewster & Everson, 2021). Despite senior leaders saying an organizational change is forthcoming, these leaders fail to walk the walk (Burke, 2022). This leadership failure is an example of a flawed culture. The same culture is antiquated and transactional in what methodologies and allowances are used for operational requirements and content material delivery to OIP corps members. It has not exhibited positivity and vision with OIP corps members, with a decline in cadet retention over the last few years, compounded by COVID-19. The maturing will allow the OIP corps to improve by instilling a transformational and servant leadership shift where integrating collaboration, cooperation, and brainstorming can allow for directly addressing problem statements such as cadet recruitment and retention. A more open-minded willingness to deliver core materials during education and training on methodologies will also be embraced. We will manage the change by prioritizing cadet retention as a critical goal for the OIP corps.
The two leadership styles, transformational and servant, are examples of collaborative leadership styles. Having a transformational leadership style allowance within the corps will support organizational improvement, advancement, and retention of corps members. This allowance of transformational leadership, with aspects of servant leadership for operational control outside times of crisis and emergencies, will be more appropriate to developing and fostering cadets in becoming better leaders in the community (Ivey & Kline, 2010). The collaborative styles will further develop the advancement of those leaders who are sub-servants to commanding officers in the OIP corps in areas of collaboration, integrity, and empowerment, and will initiate a cultural shift that will hopefully manifest itself in a cultural paradigm in the military. As Northouse (2013) relays, the development of leaders to become more aligned with addressing the needs of others instead of their own is an example of transformational leadership.
Priorities in Change
One of the highest priorities is the change in education and training methodologies from the training cadre combined with the leadership style within the OIP corps leader membership. To succeed in change, the leaders themselves will need to undergo a paradigm shift, understanding the importance of being transformational servant leaders in times of non-crisis to inspire the cadets to thrive, grow, be coached, and be mentored via an exhibition of what good looks like. Positive change with the end goal of developing leaders for the community will bring forth an understanding of the requirement for change. This understanding aligns with Cawsey et al. (2016), who relay that once leaders understand the need for change, they can adapt and take various approaches to heighten awareness within the organization. This understanding allows these same leaders to “make the organization aware that it is in or near a crisis or creating a crisis that needs to be solved” (Cawsey et al., 2016, p. 112). This same understanding aligns with OIP corps’ PoP. This change will enhance retention strategies and tactics and transform twice weekly attendance formats into a more robust, passionate and fun-centred approach to education and training. Alignment and understanding of all leaders within the OIP corps must be achieved by those in senior positions, laterals, as well as those who report to me.
Once all leaders within the OIP corps understand the problem or gap, the immediate and necessary response is to adjust current practices in retaining cadet members, because if we are not already in a crisis, we will be shortly. Strategies and tactics for implementation and delivery will focus on the change of content and methodology, the content of weekly meetings, and education and training methodologies. This same priority ensures that all internal stakeholders, such as the training cadre, are aligned with the vision for change in the delivery methodology for retention purposes. This realigned theme is promotion and zeal, creating excitement to remain (Grossman et al., 2001) in the corps.
A third priority is the need for the OIP corps leadership to understand that success is not finalized once an end state of organizational improvement is achieved through the pilot project. Sustainability must be built with a constant proactive assessment of best practices for retention. As Serrat (2017) relays, organizations must have “knowledge management” (p. v.), with a cross-understanding of how to inspire and elevate performance through a combined understanding of the organization, knowledge, technology, and
motivation of people. This understanding must also apply to all facets of the organization, such as education and training. As social culture changes, so must OIP corps’ retention strategies.
The three focused priorities will set a foundation for success for not only the internal stakeholders, such as OIP corps cadet members and leadership, but also the community by facilitating better future leaders through cadet membership and participation. The community is the reciprocal benefactor.
Leadership Considerations
The military is based on working in unification, as a squad, platoon, battalion, or regimentmilitary terms denoting various team sizes. Team leadership is essential, especially with necessary actions requiring timely completion (Trent, 2004). Support is required to implement the change, including determining the team’s process (Gilley et al., 2009). Collaboration and guidance by team members, mainly those in senior positional command positions, will be essential. This collaborative approach will be critical for fellow training cadre members with varying ideas, visions, and perspectives. These collective inputs will cause synergistic elevation and motivation toward positive change.
The OIP is a pilot project at an individual corps because of my leadership position, and the range of control and influence is strictly within the OIP corps and not the parent organization. Although the condition extends to the parent organization, in a national context, any parent organizational improvement plan will need strong allyship with senior-ranking Canadian Forces personnel, who are currently not within the scope of my interpersonal relationships. Interpersonal relationships and positional leadership influence were deciding factors in using an individual corps for a pilot project. The culture of the parent organization is directly influenced by the senior command staff, which is macro in nature but interrelated to the other levels of leadership, such as meso and micro. The meso-leadership refers to the individual corps and the community they are based in as an individual organization. Micro-leadership refers to the individual cadets, their families, households, and an extension of their neighbourhoods. The OIP will directly influence the sociological impact of meso- and micro-leadership (Blackstone, 2012).
The sphere of influence of the OIP directly impacts the meso-leadership OIP corps and must be considered. Consensual commitment and collaborative decision-making that will be strategically guided and coached will ensure the success of the OIP. This strengthening of peers through empowerment and an allotment to participate and promote positive change by OIP corps senior command will ensure that dysfunctional team dynamics do not occur (Rowland & Parry, 2009). The two senior commanders are aligned with the OIP conceptually, as they understand the need for change and will support and guide others strategically as is required.
Like politics, the macro (county or region) and micro (municipal) levels directly impact our daily lives and quality of life. The same considerations must be considered to achieve success for the OIP, including the micro-leadership level within the OIP corps. The OIP corps has senior cadet members with associated ranks who directly influence cadet members through orders, transference zeal, energy, and commitment to performing tasks. These senior cadet leaders must be considered by the OIP and used as ambassadors for the OIP. Aligning and utilizing these micro leaders will promote the success of the OIP and garner its energy within the community through schools, communities, and neighbourhoods.
The vision and identified gap with the future state will support the OIP corps and the community, region, and envisioned national end state. Through managing priorities with consideration of allyship and collaboration with other leaders at various levels, the OIP will be achieved. It will take attention to detail, strategy, and a tactile mindset in planning to achieve it. The leadership-focused vision for improvement through change will be shared and collaboratively built upon by many internal stakeholders.
Chapter One Summary
This chapter introduced an organization at or near a crisis in an identified gap, and a plan called an Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) to improve on this gap. The gap is referred to as the Problem of Practice (PoP) within the organization. As I do not have positional power or influence at a national level, the OIP is refined to a single corps, OIP corps, where I do have positional power and leadership to implement the OIP. Information about the organization was shared, demonstrating the heavy bureaucracy and strictly regimented culture that is a factor contributing to the PoP. Further examination on factors contributing to the PoP were explored, including external influence factors. Three supportive questions allowed us to work down further toward the root cause and significant contributing causal factors with the PoP. Leadership will be continually discussed throughout this paper, with a paradigm shift required from transactional to transformational within the OIP corps. The next steps involve planning and developing the corrective actions, as presented in Chapter 2.
Chapter 2: Planning and Development
This chapter aims to provide insights into how to address the problem of practice and improve member retention in the OIP corps organization. The parent organization, cultural context, and PoP have been established as previously introduced. The chapter will consist of the following sections in our next step in the OIP: leadership approach to change, the framework for leading the change process, organizational change readiness, and strategies and solutions to address the problem of practice. The framework is the template that will guide the OIP to success.
Leadership Approach to Change
Military leadership can be very tactical and dynamic, with learning occurring through formal education and conditioning via leadership modelling. The requirement to address the PoP will challenge the ingrained processes in a highly regulated culture based on transactional leadership. In times of crisis, military leadership benefits from this style, as it is authoritarian-based with directives, short-term goals, and viewed rewards (Halvorsin, 2010; Ivey & Kline, 2010). Forward-thinking and visionary leadership will be necessary to cultivate renewed sustainability, referred to as institutionalization in the OIP corps (Archbald, 2013). As Archbald explains, to succeed, organizations will not "succeed with incompetent management" (p. 136) and must address problems effectively. This knowledge is a consideration in the framework to remedy the problem of retention within the OIP corps successfully.
The necessary improvement in retention will require a new approach to conditioning through culture and leadership aligned with the organization's mission, vision, and values (Defence, 2021b). Bass (1985), who fostered transformational leadership, described a transformational leader as "one who motivates us to do more than we originally expected to do" (p. 20). This leadership approach will be ideal for the necessary change. The OIP corps organization supports this model as the organization's leadership, particularly those in positional power, such as the commanding officer and second-in-command, are aligned with the distribution and empowerment of others in leadership. Harris and Deflaminis (2016) state that this supportive element will be critical in initiating improvements and facilitating change, as distributed leadership within the transformational aspect will allow the organization to "secure a competitive advantage through shared, collaborative, or team leadership” (p. 144). Northouse (2022) also speaks to the positive approach that transformational leadership will have through a collaborative and unified approach.
Transformational leadership will be the primary leadership approach in the organizational improvement plan. Servant leadership (Greenleaf, 1998), aligned with transformational leadership, will ensure the organization will thrive, share power, and prioritize the needs of the cadet members and stakeholders, particularly internal stakeholders, in order to complement the approach to organizational change. This added approach will magnify the transformation required for improvement.
Transformational Leadership
Transformational leadership is about inspiring, motivating, nurturing, and elevating others to achieve change (Bass, 1985; Kouzes & Posner, 2017; Northouse, 2019). Caldwell et al. (2016) explain that organizations that incorporate the principles of transformational leadership differ significantly from those that are not recognized as being more ethical and trustworthy. The transformational style will support the organization that is the focus of the OIP and the parent organization. In addition, as Bass and Riggio (2006) relay, the transformational leadership style will help to support individual needs. We are ideally suited to achieve success.
This transformation will initiate the paradigm shift in culture needed to retain membership in the organization. Bass and Avolio (1994) and Northouse (2022) express that ingraining the educational components of the initiatives for change, and maintaining respect for the moral and ethical needs associated with all the initiatives, will further motivate internal stakeholders to perform beyond the demands of the new changes. This transformation will start to change the culture. Through fostering the now transformational culture, which is demonstrative of shared norms and collaborative approaches to problem-solving, the organizational shift from transactional to transformational will commence and be magnified. This magnification will be demonstrated by the staff's zeal, encouraging the shift through their being champions and ambassadors for the change by exhibiting, endorsing, and modelling good behaviour and initiating the required actions for improvement (Faupel & Süß, 2019).
This empowerment and zeal to improve upon outdated directives and guides in operational elements through various methodologies, strategies, and tactics is precisely aligned with the PoP. Furthermore, the same empowerment and zeal for change amelioration will allow the individuals to recognize areas of improvement that will help to sustain the organization's membership.
Bass and Riggio (2006) describe the four components of transformational leadership, the four I’s, as such: idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individual consideration. In developing the organizational improvement plan, all four components are considered and will be factored into the plan's success.
Idealized Influence
The modelling will occur through the formal leadership of the senior officers and the training cadre. This modelling of what good leadership looks like by being exemplary role models will propel the organization's membership by mimicking and prompting the organization's zeal. As Afshari (2022) explains, this zeal will be a force multiplier in achieving success for organizational improvement by fostering an end state that all stakeholders want to be part of the energetic, collaborative team.
Inspirational Motivation
Setting a vision for success with inspirational motivation will encourage the team to reach and achieve the desired goals, as noted by scholars (Bass & Riggio, 2006). The motivation will emanate from the two senior commanders and me, the change manager. Like idealized influence, this second stage multiplies the likelihood of achieving organizational improvement.
Intellectual Stimulation
The allowance to have leadership that is not usually supportive of collaboration and thinking outside the box will propel the success of the organizational improvement plan. Allowing and encouraging innovation for retention strategies, such as elevating current training cadre members with empowerment and flexibility in developing education and training delivery, is a win-win for the organization and influential internal stakeholders (Givens, 2008).
Individual Considerations
As discussed in inspirational motivation, coaching, mentoring, and advisement with all internal and external stakeholders will occur with the two primary drivers, the commanding officer and second-in-command, and the change manager. Understanding all individuals' motivations and expectations will support the organizational improvement plan. Further, being mindful of individuals and considering their needs aligns with both transformational (Bass & Riggio, 2006; Northouse, 2019) and servant leadership (Greenleaf, 1998). Transformational leadership will be the primary leadership approach in the organizational improvement plan, as it is firmly rooted as a primary driver with me as the change manager and agent, along with alignment from the two senior commanding officers. However, servant leadership will also provide support through an application of the same strategies with identified micro stakeholders. Servant leadership will keep the OIP aligned with a cadet member-centric focus aligned with the OIP corps' mission, vision, and values (Defence, 2020). The mission, vision and values are relayed and transferred to corps members via education and training components (Chief of Defence Staff, 2010), and this approach will support success in the OIP.
Servant Leadership
Servant leadership and its associated traits have existed in our society for decades, with Robert K. Greenleaf formalizing the term in 1970 (Smith, 2005). Osborn et al. (2002) expressed that having more than one leadership approach to organizational change and various approaches and adaptations in managing must occur with the interplay of the various styles.
Through training, coaching, and collaboration, servant leadership will empower the other supportive elements in the corps, specifically peers and subordinates. This empowerment will allow creativity to solve issues and eliminate associated barriers with the PoP. Servant leadership will encourage a collective and innovative approach to obtaining the end state of the OIP. As relayed by scholars such as Baldomir and Hood (2016), this approach emphasizes the staff requirement —in this case, military officers and cadet ambassadors—as an integral part of the change and improvement.
The servant leadership approach will be of primary importance to the military officers, most notably with empowerment, responsibility, and accountability in delivering education and training for the corps members. They are critical steps, which will be further explained in Chapter 3. This front-line contact with the membership directly influences not only the organization's mission, vision, and values, but also on making that educational and training element fun and transferring the zeal and passion of the organization to the members. This element of engagement and fun is very beneficial in retaining members in after-school programs (Dauenhauer et al., 2022; Ferrari & Turner, 2006; Vandell et al., 2005).
The two leadership approaches, transformational and servant leadership, will complement each other. Together, and as adapted, they will be entwined into the framework for leading the change process. As explained in the next section, the framework will be the template that guides organizational improvement.
Framework for Leading the Change Process
The OIP corps will focus on implementing retention strategies and tactics as part of the pilot project. A framework to guide the improvement process effectively, as it is a process versus an event requiring careful planning and execution, will be chosen, being mindful of the causal factors that led to the PoP. Deciding what framework to use will depend on the factors specific to the organization, as one framework does not suit all organizations. The leadership approach, both transformational and servant-led, as well as the context of the plan, need to be aligned with the framework.
The strategies critically examine education and training, including their various internal components. Cawsey et al. (2016) relay that this action is required for organizational change improvement. To guide the change process, I considered multiple frameworks, including the Prosci ADKAR model (Boca, 2013; Hiatt, 2006), Kurt Lewin's 3-step change model (Levasseur, 2001), Cawsey’s change path model (Cawsey et al., 2016), and Kotter’s (Kotter & Schlesinger, 2008) 8-step change model.
The Prosci model (Boca, 2013; Hiatt, 2006) and Kurt Lewin's 3-step change model (Levasseur, 2001) were eliminated as viable. The Lewin model is very simplistic (Admin, 2021). This simplicity may be problematic with the military culture, which relies on step-by-step processes. The Prosci ADKAR model (Boca, 2013; Hiatt, 2006) has similar stages to others, such as Kotter’s (Kotter & Schlesinger, 2008) 8-step process, but with a focus on an individual level and a prescriptive approach to change. This prescription may be advantageous, but the OIP and forward vision require a deeper understanding.
Kotter's 8-step process is ideally suited to a military culture already conditioned and regimented to following processes. It is very structured and focused on tactics and tasks associated with the managerial level. The PoP has identified a problem in the OIP corps that indicates a crisis is present or will be shortly. This identification and state of crisis can be easily explained to all organizational stakeholders. The two senior commanders and I have already established the formal coalition leaders. This leadership formation will widen to include peers, subordinates, and cadet members, demonstrating the importance of involving all levels of the organization in the change process. Kotter’s model is simple to understand and follow with its step-by-step process. It is well suited for the characteristics and culture of the internal stakeholders, staff, and micro leaders, who will also be used as part of the implementation process, emphasizing internal stakeholder buy-in and communication.
While Kotter's 8-step change model (Kotter & Schlesinger, 2008) is advantageous and beneficial for leader and managerial change, with an easy-to-follow process and application focused on preparing and accepting change, it may have limitations if used independently. As transformational and servant leadership complement each other (Smith et al., 2004) in their approaches, Kotter's model will be complemented by another framework, Cawsey’s change path model (Cawsey et al., 2016), forming a blended model.
Blended Framework
Having peer and subordinate leadership buy-in from the organization is critical to achieving the organizational improvement plan. It is prudent to have a model that possesses both processing and prescription. As Kotter's model is linear, it can be supported and adapted to Cawsey's change path model (Cawsey et al., 2016) to incorporate a non-linear format as exhibited in Figure 2.
Figure 2
Blended
Change Framework Model
Note. Blended framework model for leading the change process. Image adapted and altered from Ardenle (2016).
Awakening
The change process model starts with the point of awakening. It encompasses Kotter's inclusion of the requirement to create urgency for the change. Part of this urgency is identifying the gap between the current state and the envisioned state, and asking the question as to why change is necessary (Cawsey et al., 2016). Bringing the organization’s leaders’ attention to the urgency of retention will compel the need for change. As Cawsey et al. (2016) and Kotter (2008) relay, this first step of raising awareness with urgency will energize the stakeholders and validate the need for change. It will also examine the opportunities to intervene effectively and support proactive discussions and dialogue (Pollack & Pollack, 2015).
Within this blended model, this stage is aligned with Kotter's second stage, one of forming powerful coalitions (Kotter & Schlesinger, 2008). An integral partnership will be formed through these initial discussions and an understanding of the urgent need for action. This initial dialogue will aid in understanding how each officer (internal stakeholder) will be part of the solution and gauge their involvement and commitment to the process.
Assess
Assessment is critical in any change management or improvement process (Van Wart, 1995). While we will work to prepare the best strategies and tactics, human performance and other factors may impact the process's outcome. They are embedded in the blended model (Figure 2) in an assessment between phases. This assessment will allow for understanding the weaknesses, strengths, and barriers present during the process. This action will support a revisit, refinement, and learning for the other phases (Savage et al., 1991) when monitoring and evaluation are conducted, discussed in Chapter 3.
Mobilization
Immediately after the assessment of phase one, the mobilization phase will be initiated with communication within the organization, using assets and building upon the collaborative stakeholders garnered in phase one to move forward and drive the change. Feedback on phase one of the accomplishments will continue to propel the organization's change with small successes (Kouzes & Posner, 2017). The drive for change is the vision discussed in Chapter 1, the analysis of the current state of retention, and the end state of improvement in retention and recruitment, a result of the cadet members themselves promoting the program.
This phase will also encompass Kotter's (2008) third and fourth steps of his 8-step process. The alignment of the vision within the organization's mission, vision, and values will inspire and guide stakeholders in their actions and decisions. Communication and collaboration in this phase will encourage the organization to accept and support the change, thus creating more alliances. The collaboration with stakeholders will create passion and positive emotion. When a leader applies this tactic, it generates a positive emotion that Kouzes and Posner (2017) refer to as buy-in, where all stakeholders are emotionally invested in the process. The buy-in through hearts will provide a platform for success and have the stakeholders willing to make sacrifices, if required, for the betterment of the organization and, ultimately, themselves, to accomplish the change. As in the previous phase, assessment will occur again at the end of this phase.
Acceleration
As the process has been initiated and gained momentum, this phase will build upon that momentum by bringing awareness to the small goals already obtained, spurring further empowerment and continuous encouragement for others. These small wins will be broadcast to the stakeholders, focusing on those who excelled in the change, similar to an employee of the month announcement. This public display of good news stories about small victories, highlighting the accomplishments and publicly praising individuals, is again aligned with proper transformational leadership tactics (Kouzes & Posner, 2017). Within this phase, such changes as a multi-internal stakeholders approach will occur. This multi-internal stakeholder group consists of the officers, training cadre personnel, and the cadet members' leadership, usually associated with sergeants and warrant officers. The impact will occur via education, training, recruiting, modelling, and technology, with slight adaptations to organizational orders.
As assessment has occurred twice during the process, further analysis through examination and analysis of barriers that may have been presented earlier will be taken by leaders to mitigate or remove them in entirety as the process continues.
The senior commanders and I will highlight achievements to encourage participation and gain further momentum in the change process. Assessment will again occur as we transition to the next phase, institutionalization.
Institutionalization
The final phase will ensure that the changes that have been embedded will have sustainability. The cementing of the changes is conditioned on constant improvement and refinement. In turn, this change should start to alter the organization's culture (Cawsey et al., 2016). The OIP corps must continuously refine its retention strategies and tactics to achieve sustainability, considering social and technological changes. As the organization is part of the larger parent organization, refinement and analysis of achievement with internal and external endorsements from senior leadership will support the organizational improvement plan to be adopted nationally. The revisions within Kotter's (2007) inclusion will support the revised processes and implementations at a governance level.
Transformational and servant leadership will support the various phases and the adapted blended framework model (Figure 2). It is expected that minimal barriers will be present, as senior commanders of the organization are already conceptually involved in the organizational improvement plan and understand the urgency of the problem of practice. They will be driving the changes as managed by myself.
The blended model of Kotter’s 8-step and Cawsey’s change path model best suits the framework to accomplish the actions required. The key considerations were the scale of the change (being a single corps, but with a broader visionary scope once accomplished), time requirements, ramifications of the change across the organization, the number of people it will take, and sustainability. With the building of a strong coalition, Kotter’s increased urgency to act is ideally suited for the initial phase. The urgency to act is combined with Cawsey’s first step in the change path model, awakening, where scanning of external and internal environments is done to understand the factors for or against the change that may be incurred, like the OIP corps, which has a significant factor being the parent organization. As Cawsey et al. (2016) further explain, the remaining steps, mobilization, acceleration and institutionalization, support a broad, almost macro framework, while Kotter’s 8-step model refines the process through implementation.
Organizational Change Readiness
Understanding organizational change readiness is critical for any change to occur within an organization, especially one that is part of the culture of the corps (Martinez et al., 2015). As explained in the previous section, we will use a blended framework approach to implement the change via Kotter’s 8-step process and Cawsey's change path model. One of the drivers of change was the urgency of the OIP corps being in a state of crisis. Examining the motivation for change and preparation must also be considered in evaluating the readiness for accepting and promoting change. Evaluation tools can support this, and we will use the Cawsey et al. (2016) readiness for change questionnaire to understand the OIP corps readiness.
The Cawsey et al. (2016) readiness for change questionnaire is a baseline for awareness of a ready state for implementing change. It contains seven sections to evaluate an organization's readiness. The seven sections are previous change experience, executive support, credible leadership and change champions, openness to change, readiness dimensions, rewards for change, and measures for change and accountability.
As displayed in the questionnaire (Appendix B), insightful information is gained from the questions. In the first section, that of previous change experience, an identified area that denotes a gap is the question about the OIP corps resting on its laurels. This question highlights this as an area of concern and a key gap, and is perhaps suggestive that this may significantly contribute to the OIP corps being in a crisis. This gap and area for improvement must be considered when developing the implementation plan.
The remaining sections were relatively supportive in noting the OIP corps being at a ready sate for change, except for the rewards for change section, which included a question that asks if people are being silenced when attempting to make a change and perhaps failing in that attempt. Similar to the other identified gap, this area too must be considered when developing the plan.
Analysis of the response to the questionnaire indicates that the organization is ready for change with a value of 23 out of a possible 35. This same questionnaire highlights areas requiring a more focused area than others, either being assigned a negative value or not noted as being positive.
Holt et al. (2007) suggested that if an organization is ready and receptive to change, this is probably the most crucial factor in determining if the organization and its members are prepared to support and endorse change initiatives. At this point, the OIP corps is going through an internal examination such as that used by Cawsey et al. (2016), supportive of the blended model being used as a framework for change.
Leadership, especially those who are change agents, must understand the organization as a system process to determine what needs to be changed and the impacts of that change at the macro, meso, and micro levels. There may be an inherent bias to see cause and effect proximally toward a central point. This point is relayed by Senge (2006), explaining that when identifying problems, "cause and effect are not close in time and space. By effects, I mean the apparent symptoms that indicate that there are problems” (p. 63). We must try and explore the root cause to be successful with change. There are always factors to consider when understanding the readiness for change.
Internal Factors
According to Senge (2006), internal factors and, by extension, threats to organizational survival, emerge gradually over time. The steady decline of retention in the corps and military generally is a conditioned state, where leaders are ignorant of the trend because there is no mechanism for those leaders to be aware; they are ignorant of a crisis that is still developing, as noted in retention.
As previously discussed, the organization's culture is a factor to consider in establishing change readiness. A complex culture with shared beliefs, values, and ingrained discipline may legitimize its organization to be in a good and ready state that does not require improvement because of conditioned beliefs (Schein & Schein, 2017). Everyday actions become the norm and, as stated, also become the conditioning for the culture. While some members may be aware of the requirement for change or improvement, the culture can impede their ability to act, especially one as rich as the military (Lorsch, 1986). This culture was considered a problem or practice and a factor in the organizational improvement plan. Clear communication with all stakeholders attesting to their importance will be imperative with the plan.
External Factors
External relevance and impact must also be considered when evaluating change readiness and the need to change. The organization must be aware of the current state at the local, regional, provincial, national, and global levels (Cawsey et al., 2016). As the world has recently encountered and made changes with the recruitment and retention of staff due to COVID-19 and the changing landscape (Gupta et al., 2022), this adaptation of others can be used as a nexus for the same to occur at the organization and help to support the requirement for comparison purposes.
The limited scope of the OIP corps has allowed a ready state to initiate organizational improvement, mainly because of the collaboration and receptiveness of the senior commanders of the corps. The Cawsey et al. questionnaire (Cawsey et al., 2016, p. 108) has confirmed this ready state and provided valuable insight into what potential barriers or hindrances will be encountered during the process. This insight will allow strategies and tactics to be implemented in order to mitigate. Using those areas identified as a hindrance within the completed questionnaire supports building strategies with associated tactics to address the problem of practice.
Strategies/Solutions to Address the Problem of Practice
Considering the cultural conditions captured in Chapter 1 and the critical OIP corps organizational analysis findings, three strategies are proposed to address early attrition in the OIP corps. Strategies to retain youth must address the factors influencing members' participation in an after-school program, such as intrapersonal, interpersonal, and contextual interactions (Gillard & Witt, 2008). The strategies will need to enhance and build sustainability within the organizational change (Harris, 2011) that will ensure retention for the OIP corps. The proposed changes must also align with the mission, vision, and values that will ultimately enhance and build upon the parent organization, the cadet program nationally. The found strategies are meeting the specific needs of the cadet members, changing attitudes, and using creativity in program planning. These three strategies are sustainable options to reverse the negative trend of reduced retention, and will help support a more inclusive OIP corps. A comparative analysis of the strategies is undertaken to support the best solution.
Strategy 1: Meeting Specific Needs of Cadet Members
It is essential to be cognizant of what attracts youth from a wide range of communities to OIP corps. This targeting includes ethnic, socio-economic, and academic backgrounds (Lauver & Little, 2005). Once a cadet member enters the program, the fulfillment and motivation to remain in it varies and depends on the individual and their respective influencers, most commonly their family (Ferrari & Turner, 2006). Ferrari and Turner (2006) examined reasons for youth departing programs, citing the key reasons for remaining as caring mentors and instructors, homework assistance, fun, learning, and character development. The current cadet members' recruitment process does not consider or evaluate data from individuals entering the corps or individual community demographics, which would assist in understanding individual needs. Using available open data sources, such as Statistics Canada (Government of Canada, 2022) and SimplyAnalytics (2022), we can gather information about the various identified groups within our community, and consciously try to mirror the community's diversity. An understanding of the cultures of the community will assist us in determining the areas to focus on, and allow for an application of different methodologies that will capture a broader range of youth. As explained in Chapter 1, the organization's culture impacts its behaviours. This impact also applies to the cultures of community members with various beliefs, traditions, religions, and values. Understanding the community and its diverse cultures will support the next phase of targeting a more comprehensive range of youth for membership and retention, as it will cultivate a better understanding of what they are accustomed and conditioned to through their upbringing and family encounters. We would, in essence, be an extension of their family and social circle, improving retention.
This first step of identifying the community's various cultures will support organizational growth and improvement in cultural intelligence (Dyne, 2010). As Dyne explains, cultural intelligence is "rooted in four different, yet interrelated sets of capabilities" (p. 132): motivation, cognition, metacognition, and behaviour. Cultural intelligence will allow the organization to target the community through its understanding of membership and adapt the program to better suit the needs of the individuals by hiring a more diverse leadership group of officers and, as Dauenhauer et al. (2022) relay, having a consultation with individuals regarding their developmental and relevant needs and wants as they join.
The adaptation does not currently exist within the organization. The current methodology of using standardized guides and models in program delivery is inadequate to maintain interest because of its regimented, out-of-date models. The cadets in the OIP corps receive no individual needs assessment of the delivery of specialized wants. Instead, the training cadre delivers standardized instructions, such as the gold star guide (Chief of Defence Staff, 2015). There is no forward-thinking or visionary allowance for the training cadre members.
A broadening of current practices to be more inclusive of the target audience, youth aged 13-18, will also be part of this diverse targeting and inclusive enrollment. The mediums for promoting inclusiveness and mass marketing will include:
videos of current fun activities with multicultural inclusion in the video,
advertisements on multiple social media platforms,
using existing members as ambassadors to promote in-person at the community centre and events, schools, videos, and places of worship with officers,
newspaper ads, and
mail inserts.
In the in-person recruiting process, having a dialogue with the individual and starting a corps cadet file will assist in ensuring specific needs are met for the diverse group of individuals that the corps attracts and support retention.
Collaboration between internal stakeholders benefits organizational change (Khatib et al., 2022). As such, the collaboration between the cadets who will be serving as ambassadors of change and the officers of the OIP corps will occur. Collaboration will occur at every stage of the change process. The initial stage will focus on what the cadets view as best practices and mediums, plus language that appeals to them and will likely appeal to others of their age. The collaborative efforts between members and officers will further support another strategy: mindset. The mindset of inspiring a shared vision for change and using cadets as ambassadors, which is currently not being used as a strategy, aligns with Kouzes and Posner’s (2017) leadership model and our transformational leadership style (Bass & Riggio, 2006).
Studies indicate programs like the cadet corps offer benefits such as providing supplemental physical activity and reinforcing the knowledge and skills (Dauenhauer et al., 2022; Protheroe, 2006) gained initially from school and home. Other benefits include developing the participants socially and emotionally through enrichment activities. These activities can be self-governing through the informal leadership of the youth and senior members, such as the roles of sergeants, warrant officers, and OIP corps instructors. Including benefits aligned with the previously discussed marketing and communication strategy will support retention and inclusion in recruitment (Protheroe, 2006). Adapting to the change will also include changing mindsets and training cadre instructors in various areas.
Strategy 1 identifies their needs through initial and ongoing meetings with cadet members. Those needs may be related to culture, socioeconomic factors, etc. The program will be modified based on the findings to meet these identified needs.
Strategy 2: Changing Attitudes of Staff
Empowering the officers to operate and think outside the box, especially in improving upon what works well, will support retention in the OIP corps. As Faulks et al. (2021) relay in their empirical research during the COVID-19 crisis, "empowering leadership impacts innovative work behaviour" (p. 1) and will benefit the organization as a whole. The empowerment will be particularly true to the interactions that the OIP corps staff do regularly, the how-to delivery of educational and training material, and the effectiveness of the instructor cadre, measured by competency and qualifications.
Entz (2007) tells readers there is a difference between teaching and learning, with both being complex processes. The complexity increases because of the changing, diverse population and technological advancements. It is recognized that an individual may be a subject matter expert in a given area, but may not be competent in relaying that knowledge to others through an educational format. The quality of education includes the "social and emotional interactions between teacher and students" (Entz, 2007, p. 4). This bonding between teacher and student is aligned with elevated ethics of care, where instructors, assessed as very good or excellent, exhibit three characteristics: humility, authenticity, and reflexivity on personal values (Conroy & Ehrensal, 2021). The instructors also have a foundation in pedagogy. Entz explains that this foundation in pedagogy is currently absent in the corps, as is the emotional connection with cadet members.
Strategy 2 focuses on changing the attitudes of the OIP corps staff, officers and training cadre personnel. This change will cause the officers and training cadre staff to be more focused on bonding, exhibiting ethics of care with their members and, through that connection, developing a professional relationship and being viewed as a mentor, coach, and confidant.
Strategy 3: Creativity in Instructional Program Planning
The Chief of Defence Staff’s office manages the current material for education and training through the instructional guide, qualification, and standard plan per governance. The instructional methodology within the governance is aligned with the organization's culture and is stringent and regulated. The instruction cadre is expected to use the how-to guide to educate and train organizational members (Chief of Defence Staff, 2015). The instructional methodology of delivering the educational and training material is not updated regularly, does not have allowances within the governance for flexibility, nor does it instill visionary thinking for the instruction cadre in delivering the material (Chief of Defence Staff, 2015). This methodology is not conducive to the youth members who want interactive, fun learning that will promote zeal in remaining in the organization and promoting membership with others, which is a reason for staying (Ferrari & Turner, 2006).
The organization's training cadre demographics consist mainly of ex-military personnel who served as members in the Canadian Armed Forces, with most being non-commissioned personnel. Non-commissioned refers to usually lower-ranking individuals without the title of officer who do not have as wide a range of responsibilities and accountabilities as commissioned personnel (Defence, 2017). The other members of the training cadre are civilian personnel who have enrolled through the Canadian Reserve Program (Defence, 2020a). The minimum standards for inclusion in the training cadres are age and possession of a high school diploma. Initial education and training are given to the instructors to align them with the organization's culture, as discussed in Chapter 1, emphasizing officer skills, military writing, dress, and drill. Very little education is given on instructing youth or methodology, except in previously discussed instruction manuals.
Senior command officers can empower instructional cadre officers to adapt, model, and deliver the education and training material to meet the needs of the members in attendance, as they have the empowerment positionality to do so. The training cadre can use a more enhanced framework for delivering the material, such as the universal design of learning (Rose, 2000; Sherlock-Shangraw, 2013). The universal design of the learning framework is a suitable model for delivering the theoretical education and fieldcraft components for the OIP corps. Including the universal design of learning will provide a recognized framework that is beneficial for all learners, which is currently absent in the organization.
The universal design of learning for youth has benefits in allowing instruction cadres multiple means of engagement, representation, action, and expression in teaching. The engagement, through attention, invoking curiosity, interest, optimism, and passion of learning, will increase satisfaction levels with the adaptive process of presenting learning material that will capture a broader base of learners. This engagement is more inclusive and equitable in its delivery to various members (Story et al., 1998). As early as 1998, Storey et al. recognized the benefits of the universal design of learning for promoting equality and equity while being flexible in its use, as demonstrated by their "principle one: equitable use" (p. 36). This benefit is still current, as explained by Dewi and Dalimunthe in their paper "The Effectiveness of Universal Design" (2019), and will suit the requirements of a strategy to correct the teaching and learning gap.
Adapting to a better educational framework, such as the universal design of learning, will consider various learning characteristics and abilities, and improve OIP corps members' quality in the learning process (Dewi et al., 2018). This positive experience will inspire positive discussions internally and externally. Using the members and instructors for collaborative input into the design concepts of the learning material will promote further sustainability by retention. This collaboration will also drive zeal to achieve further improvement (Kouzes & Posner, 2017).
Using multiple technologies in teaching is not only supportive of a more in-depth understanding of the material being presented (Criollo-C et al., 2021), but it also makes the "learning processes more entertaining" (Ghory & Ghafory, 2021, p. 168). A more substantive change in the use of technology will support this strategy in improving sustainability. The current use of overhead transparencies is outdated and no longer acceptable for displaying information for learners.
As recognized and stated previously, teaching can be complex, and it may be challenging to elevate cadet members' interests in learning and effectively cultivate their expressive abilities. A short-term strategy to create a quick win will be implemented to correct the learning gap in training cadre members. There are various methods of lesson planning. A recognized and accredited model through peer review is the BOPPPS model (Ma et al., 2021). BOPPPS is an acronym for lesson plan and delivery using the headings of significance and focus: bridging, outcomes, pre-assessment, participatory learning, post-assessment, and summary. The BOPPPS model allows the instructor to use constructivist and communicative interaction in the learning environment, better suited for interactive and fun learning environments, with the endorsement of using such a framework from higher learning institutions such as Western University (Planning Online Lessons, 2022), York University (Fenner, 2022), and Queens University (BOPPPS Model for Lesson Planning, 2022). This short-term improvement is to educate and deliver the BOPPPS training, or instructional skills workshop as it is titled, to the instructor cadre to standardize the delivery format via lesson plans and improve the current satisfaction of corps members.
Analysis of the Proposed Three Solutions
To determine which strategy is most beneficial to focus on the OIP, a comparison analysis that considers the proposed solutions' impact on the organization is used. Impact considerations, or factors to consider, that were covered previously will be used to evaluate the three solutions. They are resources, financial impacts, cultural impacts, and areas within social justice elements such as ethics, diversity, inclusion, and decolonization (EDID).
Resources
Resources include equipment, kinds, and types, as well as personnel. Two of the three solutions have a minor improvement in the outputs, as achieved through further education and training. Solution 3 has a more significant impact as the improvement with certification in ISW and UDL is achieved with the solution.
Financial
All three solutions have a minor increase associated with initiation. The increase is a one-time minor adjustment to allow a subject matter expert to deliver the required education and training. The financial factor is always a consideration in any government program, especially at the federal level (Hajnal & Trounstine, 2010). Solution 3 benefits more than the other two due to the certification received in ISW that will have longer sustainable effects. The impact of this longevity will also impact the culture of the organization.
Cultural
As denoted in the previous chapter and as expressed by English (2004) and Halvorism (2010), the organization's culture is firmly based on transactional leadership versus transformational leadership. Two solutions will minorly impact the organization's shift from transactional to transformational. Solution 3 will have a more significant impact because of the shift in allowance within the domains of education and training, specifically adaptability and flexibility with the delivery methodology in lesson plans. As I phrase it, this cultural maturing will directly impact the internal stakeholders.
EDID
The EDID aspects of the organization will benefit more from solution 3. As noted in Table 1, ethics, diversity, and inclusion will be more affected than decolonization. The impact is again from implementing a higher expectation and model for education and training within the organization that will also be ingrained in the OIP corps cadet members.
The selection of solution 3, based on qualitative analysis and aligned with the prioritization established and relayed in Chapter 1, is the best option to attain a transformation within the OIP corps. As right and wrong are strong components in any organization, ethical leadership must be a consideration with the change.
Ethics and the organization's values must be considered in leading the change within the organization (Armenakis & Harris, 2009). Burnes (2009) expresses that the values of an organization form the core and the culture, which is apparent in the OIP corps, as relayed in Chapter 1. There is an expectation that the corps leadership exhibit and represent non-military, civil values, and the military (Chief of Defence Staff, 2005). The modelling of leaders' actions and behaviours indicates their ethics and moral needle, which the corps members will mirror (Chief of Defence Staff, 2005, 2007). Ethical superior leadership is desired and expected. This modelling is further aligned with the military ethos.
A visual demonstration that combines the three solutions with the three factors of resources, financial, and cultural is exhibited by Table 1. The table also includes the impact of the three solutions within EDID.
Table 1
Proposed Solution Analysis Matrix
| Solutions | Resources | Financial | Cultural | EDID Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Solution 1 Meeting Specific Needs of Cadet Members |
No significant change in quantitative Minor positive change in qualitative |
Low financial impact via education/training | Minor impact |
|
Solution 2 Changing Attitudes |
No significant change in quantitative Minor positive change in qualitative |
Low financial impact via education/training | Minor impact |
|
Solution 3 Creativity in Program Planning |
No significant change in quantitative Moderate positive change in qualitative |
Low financial impact via education/training | Moderate impact |
D - minor |
Note. Comparative analysis of the proposed solutions with the three major contributing factors and EDID.
Reflection on the change approach must also occur to ensure leadership abuse does not occur during the process, and that empowerment does not gravitate to narcissism, megalomania, and poor decision-making (Tourish, 2013). Tourish, through case examples, explains how a transformational leadership style can lead to the negative attributes mentioned if it is not held in check.
Chapter Two Summary
This chapter showed the leadership approach to the change required in the organization to improve the retention of corps members. The transformational and servant leadership styles will complement the blended framework of Kotter’s 8-step change management model and Cawsey’s change path model. Several viable solutions were considered and evaluated to formalize the action plan for the OIP, with creativity in program planning being selected as a better solution because of its more all-encompassing strategy that is aligned with current research from various scholars (Dauenhauer et al., 2022; Ferrari & Turner, 2006; Protheroe, 2006). The allowance of associated tactics within the creativity of program planning will increase cadet membership retention in the OIP corps, with an additive of a successful paradigm shift in the organization’s leadership.
Chapter 3: Implementation, Communication, and Evaluation
Chapter 2 examined a blended change framework model that uses both Kotter's 8-step change management model (Kotter, 2007) and Cawsey's change path model (Cawsey et al., 2016) to address the trend of retention loss within the OIP corps. Implementation of the OIP includes a multi-faceted plan, including relevant additional training for corps training cadre and staff members, along with some minor individual corps-level directives. The end state is one of a more engaging, diversified, and all-encompassing leadership team that is self-aware of individual corps membership learning and motivational styles. Chapter 3 will outline the steps for implementation, monitoring, evaluating, and communicating the change plan, aligned with Kotter's 8-step change management model and Cawsey's change path model. The empowerment and elevation of critical internal stakeholders, the training cadre, and identified corps members will ensure the success of the OIP. Further education and providing supportive tools such as the universal design of learning design principles (Dewi et al., 2018) and ISW templates for delivering the material will be milestone steps in the change implementation plan. This strategy aligns with the organization's leadership, diversity, equality, and retention strategies (National Defence, 2022).
Change Implementation Plan
This section will examine specific actions, strategies, and tactics to advance the OIP by implementing the required changes through various phases as planned. The change implementation plan defines the actions identified in Chapter 2 from start to sustainability for the OIP. The section will examine how the change plan aligns with the OIP corps strategy, including the mission, vision, and values, and how I will manage the transformational change considering stakeholder involvement and communication.
Awakening
The starting point for implementing the OIP will be the awakening phase, aligned with the Cawsey change path model. Also at this stage are the inputs of Kotter's 8-step change management model in creating urgency and team building. Supplying the internal meso-leadership team with the data displaying the downward trend of retention in the corps will inspire the team, as explained in Chapter 2, with a call to action. The goal at this stage is to create a unified, purposely driven team, recognize the need for action and improvement via the change process (Dudar et al., 2017), and guide the communication routes with required adaptations if required. This collective first stage of implementation is the required action for transformational change. There may be potential barriers or hindrances, but these will be minimal and mitigated with the strategy of the change implementation drivers, the commanding officers.
I am a peer to many officers in the training cadre. The organization's culture accepts senior officers, who give direction, commands, and orders, but not to peers unless assigned special team leader status (Atwater & Yammarinol, 1993). This reluctance, because of recognized authority, requires that the two senior officers of the OIP corps, the commanding officer and training officer (second-in-command), as displayed in Figure 1, Chapter 1, be the directing officers of the OIP, while I will act as the change agent and manager. In the first stage, awakening, the commanding officer will deliver the report of the recently released Canadian Armed Forces Retention Strategy (National Defence, 2022). This sharing will initiate discussion and awareness of the issues, allowing collaborative strategic building, which I will guide as delegated by the training officer. This strategic model should overcome the potential barrier, as peer-to-peer instruction or order initiation is usually unaccepted. Brainstorming will occur regarding what strategies, aligned with the report from the National Defence (2022), will support retention within the corps and mobilization, the second stage. This awareness of the PoP will sit with members until September when we reconvene. It will launch the implementation.
Mobilization
As the training cadre will have received information, direction, and what they will regard as a directive from a senior officer, the second stage of the change implementation plan, mobilization, should be transitioned quite easily. This stage will give other training cadre members a chance to have input and participate in the collaborative process with the strategic plan of the OIP. Areas to be covered will include education and training enhancement, such as that of universal design of learning (Dewi et al., 2018; Hartmann, 2015; Hitchcock & Stahl, 2003), as well as the new lesson plan model for their use in instructional delivery as learned through the Instructional Skills Workshop (ISW) Network (2023). Once the education and training are received, the personnel will implement them. Once the training cadres understand the end vision state, the OIP will transition to the acceleration stage (Cawsey et al., 2016). The focus of this stage is to educate and train all staff in the concepts of UDL, and then provide further education and training in the ISW framework of lesson plans in delivering educational models that encompass UDL concepts. This phase is relatively quick to achieve, as the deliverables can be accomplished within two weeks.
Acceleration
In the third stage, elements of Kotter's 8-step change management model will be established, including setting short goals and wins, empowering others, and recognizing and putting mitigation strategies and tactics to overcome barriers into practice. This stage will maintain the momentum of improvement by celebrating victories, increasing empowerment, and rewarding recognized accomplishments organizationally and individually. Members of the training cadre will reflect on the improvement of the engaged corps members in their classes, constantly improving on what they have delivered.
The corps ambassadors, the senior cadets of the organization, are tasked with supporting training when on-field exercises. These exercises involve the OIP corps setting up in an isolated wooded area, similar to a camping adventure. The senior cadets are then tasked with teaching and training the other cadets in field craft. The field craft includes pitching a tent correctly, using a compass, GPS and other associated outdoor wildlife survival skills. The ambassadors receive coaching and mentoring during this stage by officers, particularly those from the training cadre. Like the training cadre, as ambassadors of the program, the senior cadets will receive an abridged instruction on the concepts of UDL and the ISW framework. Once their training is complete, the ambassadors will initiate the framework in their delivery to the junior cadets when teaching field craft. They will continue to be monitored by observation, coached and guided by already-trained officers. This third stage will also see the further empowerment of internal stakeholders, including senior corps members responsible for coaching, mentoring, and guiding junior members, using current technology, such as Kahoot on smartphones, as a pre-assessment and post-assessment tool. According to Dewi et. al., (2018) and other scholars (Hartmann, 2015; Hitchcock & Stahl, 2003), this engagement is beneficial in engaging youth and promoting zeal.
Institutionalization
The fourth and final stage of institutionalization (Cawsey et al., 2016) will support the continuity and sustainability of the changed model with embedded improvement and continuous demand for improvement by individuals and the corps. This model, which will serve as a model for other Cadet corps, will launch a cultural paradigm shift in how we can transform into a forward-thinking, collaborative, empowering organization that prioritizes the needs of its stakeholders. At this stage, the corps' inherent change will be evaluated to ensure that any gaps are mitigated with appropriate measures. This action will be backed up by monitoring and evaluation, which will be covered later in this chapter.
Plotting and Outcomes
As Eppler and Platts (2009) explain, visual representation of the strategy process can support cognitive, social, and any possible emotional challenges and also highlight barriers that may be present in a process such as the OIP. Further, a visual representation supports the communication process by visualizing timelines and associated actions.
A detailed plan that allows visual integration of the actions will support internal stakeholder synergy and keep the momentum of positive change moving forward. This enlistment of other stakeholders as champions for the organization's change aligns with Kouzes and Posner's (2017) explanation of exemplary leadership through a transformational leadership style and modelling by inspiring a shared vision, challenging the process, and enabling others to act. The enlistment of internal stakeholders, such as the training cadre, will accomplish this momentum, leverage the leaders of the corps membership, the senior cadet members, and ambassadors for the transformational change, and also use those we serve as a further servant leadership extension.
Table 2 supports the implementation plan and will provide a visual aid for stakeholders. Actions are those required by individuals specific to the plan and will be colour-coded for each individual. Each step of Cawsey's change path model accurately encompasses the phases and will provide milestone events.
Table 2
| Action | Timelines | Awakening Outcomes |
Mobilization Outcomes |
Acceleration Outcomes |
Institutionalization Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The commanding officer, second-in-command, and change manager meet and discuss the plan. | September | Recruitment and confirmation of critical organizational leaders who will direct the change. | |||
| The commanding officer and second-in-command have an all-officer meeting to discuss the plan and direction with all officers/committee/cadets. | September/ October |
Create a sense of urgency with the team in lack of retention. Alignment with members on plan – strong coalition. |
|||
| Input from other officers. | September/ October |
Building of team, and coalition, through collaboration. | Initiates call to action. Development of vision. Empowerment to primary internal stakeholders. |
||
| Officers receive and deliver education/training on UDL. | November/ December |
Empowerment of training cadre in understanding organizational improvement -short term goal/win. |
|||
| Officers to receive and deliver ISW education/training. | December/ January |
Enhancement of training cadre in delivering lesson plans – short-term goal and win. | Illustration of improvement. Recognize the benefits and achievability. |
||
| Abridged education and training of UDL and ISW delivered to corps senior leaders who will deliver when in the field. | Every March/April | Analysis and mitigation of barriers. Further empowering other leaders in the organization. |
Initiation of cultural paradigm shift. | ||
| Corps directive to implement every intake with training cadre with refresher education/training and identify OIP corps senior members. | Every yearly intake - September | Continuity and sustainability. Cultural paradigm shift maintained. |
Change Path Steps and Change Priorities with Outcomes
Goals and Priorities
One of the more critical elements of this OIP is the instructional leadership requirement to diversify and be flexible in delivering educational and training material for corps members. Diversifying teaching styles and mediums, as is instructed through the universal design of learning concepts (Dewi et al., 2018; Hartmann, 2015; Hitchcock & Stahl, 2003), will give the educational and training classes more impact and allow for individualistic takeaways. This diversity and flexibility will ensure that most corps members will be accommodated based on their learning differences in their educational and training environments. Technology such as cellular phones, tied in with Wi-Fi, will also be initiated in the learning development of corps members, using learning games like Kahoot (Kahoot!, 2023). Including modern technology and interactive learning will elevate the learning experience for corps members. As Kahoot uses the recognition of accomplishments in displaying top scores, this competitive injection will further elevate learning with peer competitiveness and a drive for recognition that may occasionally be rewarded through the commanding officer announcing such accomplishments at the closing parade of the corps. The parade is an event in which all corps members gather in a systematic and organized fashion in columns and rows to listen to and receive directions from a commanding officer. Including modern technology in lesson plans and delivery, which corps members have typically been prohibited from using during their time at the corps, will further support the ISW (2023) concept of pre- and post-assessment.
This implementation will require all training cadre members to be educated and at the same level of understanding of the importance and use of universal design learning concepts (Dewi et al., 2018; Hartmann, 2015; Hitchcock & Stahl, 2003) in their instruction as well as the ISW (2023) lesson plan framework. This education for training cadre members will occur during stage one of the OIP mobilization, with abridged versions for senior corps members occurring during stage three, acceleration. The education and empowerment of senior corps members to be utilized by training cadre members in lesson delivery will further promote the OIP, gaining momentum and having other corps members aspire to be part of this team.
This tactic of using corps members as ambassadors and empowering these senior officers promotes equality. As most members of the corps will eventually cycle through the various ranks, pending retention, including senior positions, all members will have an opportunity to be participatory, collaborative members through the continuity of the next intake of recruits and educational and training cycles.
The effectiveness of the delivery of the new UDL concepts and ISW frameworks will be evaluated through the pre-and post-assessments and an annual year-end evaluation by both officers and cadet members, with an allowance of suggestions for the next term beginning in September.
Potential Barriers and Strategies to Mitigate
Potential issues and limitations throughout the plan will occur. As the scope of the OIP is within the OIP corps, involvement from more senior levels within the Department of Defence associated with the cadet corps is low. One area that the Department of Defence may challenge is delivering education and training material through a framework of universal design of learning techniques and ISW lesson plans. Regardless, the organization's two senior leaders have the authority to initiate pilot projects that still adhere to the strategic initiative of the Department of Defence (National Defence, 2022), so the risk of this being a significant barrier is low.
The continuity of endorsement with the senior leadership of the OIP corps is high. The current training officer is the former commanding officer, another captain with whom I have a strong friendship, and he is expected to remain with the corps for at least another five years. The commanding officer was appointed in 2022, so there is an excellent likelihood of the commanding officer remaining in this position for the duration of the OIP corps.
The financial impact is low, with the ISW (Instructional Skills Workshop Network, 2023) portion of training cadre members to be delivered by an internal member who is a trainer in ISW. Concepts of the Universal Design of Learning (Hitchcock & Stahl, 2003; Rose, 2000) and benefits will be delivered by a co-worker of mine who is very fluent in its application and instructs it to new hires at higher learning institutions and internationally, with an additive of an understanding of implicit bias within education and training (TNT Statement on Anti-Racism and Equity, 2023). This additive for training cadre officers will support the newest strategic plan (National Defence, 2022) and further support community leaders in being formally educated in equity, diversity, and inclusion.
Resistance to change from internal stakeholders such as the training cadre is minimal due to the tactic of having the two senior commanding officers of the corps direct the implementation, which promises, based on the organization's culture (English, 2004), that adherence to this direction will be followed. As Ford and Ford (2009) point out, understanding one's self through reflexivity and using any opportunity of a questioning mindset as an opportunity to understand further opportunities will support the collaboration of the OIP. Acknowledging all input with openness and a positive mindset may lead to other causal factors contributing to the PoP, and further advance improvement once recognized and mitigated.
This section explained the critical steps in implementing the OIP through a narrative and a supportive table. It showed the alignment of the implementation with the current organization's just-released strategic vision. Based on the organization's culture, critical strategic selections of those directing the change were considered and will be used to overcome cultural barriers and minimize resistance. An analysis of potential barriers was considered and will be continually monitored as part of the analysis and implementation. Critical to any project or plan is communication. Communication is not simply drafting a standard informative directive or an information memo; it, like the implementation phase, must have strategic direction and inputs. We will explore this aspect in the next section.
Plan to Communicate the Need for Change and the Change Process
Communication is essential to everyday interaction with colleagues, peers, subordinates, and superiors. It is critical to convey details that will hopefully empower stakeholders to endorse the change’s implementation and become collaborators (Beatty, 2015). According to Beatty (2015) and Hirsch (2018), effective communication is crucial for success. However, it can also hinder progress if not properly planned, considering factors such as message frequency, detail, intent, and target audience. Demonstrative evidence obtained over 35 years of experience in high-risk organizations and institutions corroborates authors such as Beatty (2015) and Hirsch (2018) in their findings and is noted as an area for constant improvement. The simple communication of stressing the importance of two-way and three-way communication will be highlighted in all stakeholder exchanges.
This section will include a communication plan to ensure that a practical framework accompanies the change implementation plan, which, as explained by Lavis et al. (2003), is an essential component. Communication is not only verbal and non-verbal exchange, but also active listening. For this OIP, formal communication refers to the dialogue and interchange of information in settings such as written directives, issued directives, orders, and commands in the OIP corps. Informal communication will be the exchange of dialogue that may be spontaneous or settings not adhering to the chain of command, such as that exchanged through gossip, rumour, or grapevine dialogue (Johnson et al., 1994). Stakeholder engagement, alignment, and collaboration are further advanced by listening to all questions and concerns that may be tabled formally or informally (Beatty, 2015; Bull & Brown, 2012).
Communications Strategy
Clear and precise dialogue is crucial in military culture to ensure accurate messaging is received (Hirsch, 2018). The use of redundancy and various forms of messaging is, as Klein (1996) relayed, a sound strategy to put to work in the communication framework, accomplishing a transformational mindset. Using various mediums to convey repeated messaging and achieve redundancy will support the transference of vision, action requirements, and follow-up.
Line management will initially be in charge of the direct conversations with internal stakeholders. This line of management in the OIP corps is the commanding officer and second-in-command, as displayed in Figure 1. This direct line manager communication exchange is a proven best practice strategically, as relayed by Klein (1996): “Direct supervision is the expected and most effective source of organizationally sanctioned information” (p. 34). Communication strategies will be embedded in the blended change framework identified in Chapter 2, Kotter’s 8-step change management model, and Cawsey’s change path model, such as awakening, as discussed in the next section.
Awakening
The first communication aligned with the blended model's awakening phase will be delivered by the commanding officer taking the lead as primary and the second-in-command as secondary. The communication will be in a formal meeting with all officers of the OIP corps. There will be several vital messages the two officers will relay at this meeting, using multiple mediums to support them via visuals and graphs. As Jensen et al. (2018) relay, this opening communication will garner and initiate the shift from transactional to transformational. Urgency will be realized because of the identified lack of retention and possible financial non-support from the parent organization. This initial exchange will generate a shared vision to improve organizational sustainability and continuity of existence. Appendix C describes who will be in charge of the various conversations, messages, results, and techniques.
Redundancy in messaging is an excellent strategy for achieving transformational change through communication (Klein, 1996). Various tactics will be used to communicate the urgency of the OIP since the PoP is with all internal staff. The need for improvement will not be communicated to the OIP corps cadets, but will rather see just a change in format and methodology that can better serve them. A reiteration of positive change will propel the cadet members into a more interactive, fun, collaborative, and collective environment that will be communicated by the second-in-command at parades and reiterated to ensure redundancy by training the cadre.
Storytelling is a proven and sound strategy (Beatty, 2015; Klein, 1996) and will be used by the commanding officer at the initial meeting and will continue to be practiced by him in the sharing of good news stories about how the military culture has supported his and other officers' current success in the community. The commanding officer will again be the primary deliverer of the OIP to the civilian oversight committee, strictly as an information-sharing exchange relaying the required need and an executive overview of the OIP. He will tailor the face-to-face communication with a quick project plan delivered through multiple mediums, including whiteboards, PowerPoints, and newspaper articles. This tailored delivery by the commanding officer to not invite input, but rather a matter of fact, is a required tactic for this internal stakeholder group because of their characteristic interference. As Beatty (2015) relays, tailoring messages is a required strategy in organizational change, depending on the person or group to which the message is being delivered. An overlap between awakening and mobilization will strengthen the collective effort to achieve the OIP.
Mobilization
The mobilization stage is a significant communication component for the OIP corps’ internal stakeholders, primarily the training cadre. The smaller gatherings will allow more discussions on the benefits of training cadre members to be instrumental in the OIP, and is a required action for achieving success in the transformational paradigm shift from transactional in military culture and after-school programming enhancements. The training cadre will understand and appreciate their critical role in achieving success while the change leadership, commanding officer, second-in-command, and Change Manager foster a collective commitment to garnering a coalition to success idealized with critical pragmatism and the ethnography of philosophies of education (Feinberg, 2015). A visual model of the change process communications plan within the mobilization phase is displayed in Appendix D.
The ownership of the problem will be realized in the mobilization phase. Through the OIP and the various strategies and tactics in the awakening and mobilization phases, stakeholders will understand the connectivity and improvement that the OIP is achieving and how it aligns with the corps' values (Begley, 2001; Queen’s Printer, 2012). The officers and training cadre will identify the contributing causal factors that have led to the PoP. Allowance of improvement via inputs by the stakeholders, officers, and training cadre will empower them in the transformational change process, giving momentum to positive change. As Bayraktar and Kabasakal (2022) relay, this one-on-one, tailored messaging is essential to success. This tailoring will continue throughout the communication process.
Within transformational and servant leadership, seizing the energy associated with positive change is further improving trust, awareness, collaboration, and enhancement with all internal and external stakeholders (Kouzes & Posner, 2017). It is achieved internally through their development, which is transferred to cadet members and then reciprocated by society. Energization will occur with realizing the importance of internal stakeholders' increased impact on the OIP because of their responsibility to achieve this success (Gilley et al., 2009). This two-way communication with officers and training cadre members, who are usually not invited to participate in methodology or operational discussions, will allow for a more trusted and refined vision and plan (Jensen et al., 2018), again building on the transformational paradigm shift. This momentum leads us into the third phase of the change path.
Acceleration
This phase builds on mobilization and propels organizational improvement. A strategic insertion in this phase is the improvement of officers and training cadre in areas of ISW, as displayed in Appendix E. Feedback will be constant in the process, along with an analysis of each stage to identify and rectify any gaps and barriers through action assignments. This stage will focus on the internal efforts and purpose of those leaders, such as the training cadre and ambassadors, for implementing the OIP at the micro level. This collective capacity for building self-efficacy among leaders, such as the ambassadors, will be continuously built upon for continuity with internal stakeholders and is a positive trait (Bandura, 2012).
Similar to the mobilization phase, the communication in this phase will be tailored for the focus groups, trainers, and ambassadors. Monitoring, discussed in a later section, will allow feedback via coaching and mentoring on achievements and opportunities for improvement. Celebration of the small wins and the accomplishment of goals is achieved through this monitoring period as relayed through communication by leaders within the OIP corps. It allows the universal sharing of good news stories, propelling the OIP (Kouzes & Posner, 2017) and transformational change.
The commanding officer and second-in-command will continue highlighting the organization's positive transition through continuity and sustainability. Constant evaluation through monitoring and progress, as recorded on the project map, will provide a visual aid of accomplishments for all internal stakeholders. This allowance of open weekly sessions to answer questions and address challenges will maintain the improvement pace, sustain timelines, and give an opportunity to dispel any rumours or uncertainties that may arise (Mazzei et al., 2012). This management allows us to advance into the next stage.
Institutionalization
The new state of achievement is a success story that will be shared, but the actions and associated communication will remain. This end state is achieved by careful monitoring and evaluation that has been occurring since the first stage and, as discussed in the next section, will allow for the required communication to occur within each stage, including the institutionalization stage, to ensure the improvement is within the fabric of the organization (Cawsey et al., 2016). This state of constant improvement must be maintained to ensure sustainability (Cardon & Philadelphia, 2015). This sustainability will be encouraged by command elements that will monitor regularly and, through the motivation of others, ensure the energy levels that are prone to decreasing over time are maintained (Whipp, 2006). Continuous support, acknowledgement of accomplishments, and recognition from the senior officers within the OIP corps will propel the OIP and allow the internal stakeholders to serve as change managers for further improvement at regional and national levels. This continuous support and improvement will further the internal stakeholder's persistence in improvement and continuity (Cardon & Philadelphia, 2015).
The communication plan is intertwined with the blended change framework. The communication plan and change framework do not function independently. Further, they have additional components, monitoring and evaluating each stage of the process on the path to transformative change. Monitoring and evaluation are discussed in the next section.
Change Process Monitoring and Evaluation
The two broad functions of monitoring and evaluation are required steps in organizational improvement plans and program development (Markiewicz & Patrick, 2015). These two functions will individually and collectively contribute to the achievement and effectiveness of the OIP. Monitoring refers to the systematic and continuous collection of information, including data, to provide feedback to the improvement plan team and key stakeholders, indicating the progress and achievement of the plan with compared objectives and expectations (Markiewicz & Patrick, 2015). Evaluation is “the process of determining merit, worth, or significance; an evaluation is a product of that process” (Scriven, 2007, p. 1). This overlap with monitoring can be gauged as successful or unsuccessful for most of the milestones for this OIP.
Using a monitoring and evaluation framework is critical to success in the OIP, as it will support the progress of the improvement process and results. As relayed by Markiewicz and Patrick (2016), the critical framework involves defining the scope of the actions related to monitoring, which is a continuous process and evaluation that delineates data analysis from actions. The results are evaluated at all four stages of the Blended Model, as displayed in Figure 2, in Chapter 2, an adaptation of Cawsey’s change path model and Kotter’s 8-step change management model. Several steps in monitoring and evaluating must be considered:
Establish clear and measurable goals and outcomes for improvement.
Identify key performance indicators (KPIs) that can be used to measure progress and, ultimately, success.
During the collection of the data, define what tools will be used.
Ensure resources and personnel are tasked to collect, analyze and report on the data of the KPIs.
Ensure communication is in place to report on progress with all stakeholders.
All the items noted will be used in the blended model, with iterations within the process and learning.
Various tools can be used to measure progress and track and assess changes in supporting the OIP, such as performance reviews, feedback surveys, metrics, benchmarking, SWOT analysis, and process analysis. Using Cawsey’s change path model as a standard for monitoring and evaluation during the four phases will help guide the monitoring and evaluation plan. For this OIP, the use of the Kirkpatrick model (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2015) will be the primary tool for evaluation at each of its phases.
Kirkpatrick Model
The Kirkpatrick model is a globally recognized method of evaluating the results of educating, training and learning (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2015). It also had a broader application that applies to this OIP in being used as an evaluation tool because of the learning process with the OIP (Alsalamah & Callinan, 2021). The Kirkpatrick model will provide a blueprint for determining the value and effectiveness of several milestones in our blended model of Cawsey’s change path model and Kotter's 8-step change model, especially within the mobilization and acceleration phases.
There are four levels to the Kirkpatrick model: reaction, learning, behaviour, and results. This systematic approach is compatible with the principles of andragogy (Knowles et al., 2014) for our officers and training cadre. Once delivery and analysis take place for learners using the assessments explained in the applicable phases further in the paper, the deliverables' end state will cause an evaluation consistent with Bloom’s taxonomy (Forehand, 2010). The model will support gathering data on how the officers and training cadre can improve and refine the educational and training sessions with the OIP corps and those cadet members who will be ambassadors. The do portion of the PDSA cycle will encompass the first three of Kirkpatrick's four levels of evaluation (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2015).
Awakening Monitoring and Evaluation
The awakening phase is the building block for setting up the OIP corps for success. The initial recruitment of critical leaders is easily achieved because it involves all officers and members of the training cadre. The advisement of laying out the project from the commanding officer to all staff, focusing on creating an urgency for change, will also use the Kirkpatrick model to ensure knowledge and comprehension have occurred when the information is relayed to the officers and training cadre. The evaluation will occur by the commanding officer, second-in-command, and myself, assessing the staff responses at the initial meeting with open dialogue once the statistical data on the retention decline is explained verbally and visually. The evaluative discussion will segue into a collaborative, guided conversation about the next steps, such as that developed with the solution in creating program planning.
Mobilization Monitoring and Evaluation
The mobilization phase has some critical milestones with the delivery of the UDL principles and ISW framework with officers and training cadre. Most training programs have a similar goal, to produce tangible results that prove the worth and success of the program, as noted in the cadet program (National Defence, 2020) and with Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2015). As we are not different, we will use the Kirkpatrick model to monitor and evaluate the provision of education for the officers and training cadre, and their delivery to the cadets once educated in the UDL principles and the ISW lesson plan framework is completed.
The Kirkpatrick model is a simple process with limited variables to measure and easy evaluation criteria. It has no requirement to collect data and learners’ previous performance, and it is independent of individual and environmental variables. The Kirkpatrick model uses four criteria levels to assess the success of training deliverables in both formal and informal settings: reaction, learning, behaviour, and results (Alsalamah & Callinan, 2021). Table 3 demonstrates the methods and tools that will be used to evaluate all deliverables associated with education and training in the OIP. Of particular interest is aligning the methods and tools with UDL principles and using aspects of the ISW framework in the methodology, such as pre-and post-assessments.
Table 3
Evaluation Matrix of all Training Deliverables in OIP
| Measure | Evaluation Description | Methods/Tools | Timings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reaction | Understanding how participants felt about the instructed material | Evaluation form for training module | At the end of the training |
| Learning | Measurement of instructed material | Pre and post assessment | At the beginning and end of the training |
| Behaviour | Measuring how participants apply their knowledge and skill | Facilitator observation, feedback, and interview | 2-3 months after training |
| Result | Measured effect on the organization. Measure success. | Facilitator observation and interview | 2-3 months after training |
Note.The Kirkpatrick model is well suited for monitoring and evaluating the education and training deliverables. Further, it is not only an apt tool that will be used for triggering monitoring with evaluation, but it will also reinforce the ISW framework with the officers and training cadre. The officers will support sustainability and institutionalization as supported by the work they will be doing, as described by Shove (2012) and Verplanken (2011), who explains that repeated actions are habit forming.
Acceleration Monitoring and Evaluation
The acceleration phase is similar to the mobilization phase in that cadet ambassadors and OIP corps members will receive an abridged version of UDL and ISW by the training cadre and the lead instructor, myself. The ambassadors will apply the learned material into the field, with officers and other training cadre officers assessing the effectiveness of the deliverable through observation and field reporting. The Kirkpatrick model will once again be used as an evaluation tool.
Institutionalization Monitoring and Evaluation
As Shove (2012) and Verplanken (2011) relay, continuous acts are habit-forming. The cycle of applying the plan every year will be continuously repeated, with new senior cadet members becoming ambassadors, as the OIP corps cycle through natural attrition because of age. It will become an ingrained process in the OIP corps.
The measurable is improved job performance, with officers and training cadre demonstrating UDL concepts and practicing ISW frameworks. When stakeholder satisfaction increases due to the plan, then improvement has occurred, and this milestone can be stated as being achieved. The associated measurable will be evaluated through various tactics. One will be 360-degree feedback that Bracken and Rose (2011) explain benefits an organization and individuals, including other training cadre members, the commanding officer, and the second-in-command. The other measurable tactic will be self-evaluation. As Andrade and Valtcheva (2009) relay, self-evaluation versus an allotted grade effectively assesses strengths, weaknesses, opportunities to improve or expand, and possible threats or barriers to improvement. Further evaluation tools and methodology will include participant feedback forms (Appendix G), verbal reactions that will be noted and analyzed, post-training surveys, and written reports from senior cadet members with the rank of warrant officer. The tools and methodology are consistent with Kirkpatrick's Level 1 reaction. Level 2 learning will encompass pre- and post-assessments of knowledge content and open dialogue before, during, and after deliverables.
Chapter Three Summary
Chapter 3 examined the practical and logical look at how the implementation plan will occur, elements of communication, and monitoring and evaluation tactics within the implementation plan that will achieve and ensure success. Success here is defined as organizational improvement, and the overall desired outcome of the OIP. The plan and associated factors of communication, monitoring, and evaluation through a transformational and servant leadership approach allow for the growth of internal stakeholders, expanding to offsets of external where the community and country can be better served. This forward-thinking, visionary approach allows us to examine what the next steps and future considerations should be.
Next Steps and Future Considerations
This OIP has addressed the retention of cadets within a single corps. Despite the acknowledgement and call to action, numerous factors, including political barriers, have impeded the parent organization from mitigating the problem. The causal factors have been demonstrated to lack progression in several critical areas, including current pedagogy methodology and deliverables. This pilot project will overcome these barriers and be a testament to the paradigm shift required in the Canadian military to address the retention problem in the cadet corps adequately.
Using transformational and servant-led leadership approaches, this OIP leads the way to sustainable organizational improvement and change, supporting the retention needed in the OIP corps. The plan includes empowering various internal stakeholders by expanding their education and training and allowing flexibility in their teaching. This expansion also includes senior cadet members. This OIP will be a benchmark model.
Positioning, or positions of change and influence, is a usual requirement with any change (Wood, 2017). To ensure institutionalization sustainability, the pilot project should be elevated to a broader scope, one that is regional, provincial, and national. The two senior change agents, the commanding officer and the second-in-command are in positions of influence at the regional and provincial levels. These two senior officers can communicate the transformational change that occurred at the OIP corps, and perform a call to action to implement it at other corps across the region and province. This communication will have a domino effect due to the continuous research and its application when put into practice at other corps. Within the pilot project, there have been some initiatives with a policy scope, such as education and training. As Markiewicz and Patrick explain (2015), if sustainability is desired, there must be consideration given to policy adjustments. Policies will be considered when initiating this project at regional, provincial, and national levels. The three change agents, the commanding officer, second-in-command, and I, are all ideally positioned to manage the required changes and adaptability. Similar to how we synthesized our monitoring and evaluation to produce a summary of best practices, we would include evidentiary results and then disseminate, transfer, and share the experiences with other corps, researchers, and knowledge users. This process can be defined as a knowledge mobilization plan (KMP). It will magnify the transformational change in the parent organization by applying the process to change in other provinces, which can then be adapted with the required changes to suit the demographics and geography of their area, particularly those in remote areas. The KMP is represented in Appendix G.
The KMP mimics a wheel that is in constant 360-degree evolution. Communication is the wheel’s hub that gives it strength, and is critical to its continued rotation. Communication is an iterative, two-way process that allows learning at all levels (Cawsey et al., 2016). The outer components are the hard and soft strategies demonstrated through the visual and can be cast off if desired. The actions are in the inner belt; the execution of the strategy is aligned with the communication. As it is a wheel in motion, self-awareness through constant monitoring and evaluation of the trend must occur, as a cultural paradigm shift will also be in motion.
Managing by a crisis state, versus being proactive and addressing the issue at its roots, is not the best-case model; this OIP will be a proven example. It is always preferred to be proactive and visionary in organizational sustainability. This sustainability involves examining the various causal factors, as explained in this OIP, such as social and political, within the demographics of all stakeholders. social and political state is constantly evolving, and the organization must be constantly evolving along with it. This OIP has a vision of being adapted nationally, once successful, with small wins at the OIP corps, regional, and provincial levels.
Conceptually, the OIP can also be adapted to initiate an organizational improvement plan for recruitment. Although recruitment is outside the scope of this OIP, there will be common strategies and actions that can be used to improve this problematic area for the cadet organization.
OIP Conclusion
The Canadian Armed Forces and the Royal Canadian Cadet organization are failing to maintain cadet enrollment in their cadet corps (National Defence, 2020). This OIP examined the causal factors associated with retention in OIP corps. The culture of the organization was found to be a significant contributor to the failure with its transactional leadership style (Brewster, 2021; English, 2004; Ivey & Kline, 2010), which can be adapted into a more transformational approach in times of change. As a leader in the organization, I acknowledge that the military culture needs to be transformed. Although a transactional leadership style may be well suited in times of crisis and conflict, it is not the best for long-term collaboration, cooperation, and three-way communication.
A collective, collaborative team approach using tools that have proven to be successful in maintaining youth zeal in after-school programs, such as UDL and ISW pedagogy frameworks, with an allowance for the use of more modern technology will lead to positive organizational improvements within the OIP corps. The change agents (the commanding officer, second-in-command, and myself as the change manager) are ideally suited to initiate and succeed in this paradigm-shifting transformational change with proper research-based preparedness, planning, and implementation. Communication is integral to success, with constant monitoring and evaluation occurring at each stage. The OIP corps, being ready for change, will use a blended framework that combines the Cawsey et al. (2016) change path model and Kotter’s (2007) 8-step change model, to bring about this improvement.
This OIP will be a short-term win. This short-term win will allow for scope expansion that aligns with both how the OIP was planned and leadership theory (Kouzes & Posner, 2017) in making change possible. This OIP will provide a benchmark and, hopefully, best practice for other corps and the Canadian Department of Defence.
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Appendix A
OIP Corps Parent Organizational Chart
Appendix B
OIP Corps Readiness for Change Matrix
This tool is to evaluate and raise awareness concerning the readiness for change. Scoring is achieved by reading the question and, if answered with a positive response, capturing the score as noted in the readiness score. If an answer is captured to the negative of the questions, score a 0. The OIP corps readiness score is reflected within this appendix.
| Readiness Dimensions | Readiness Score | OIP Corps Tally | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Previous Change Experiences | ||||
|
If yes, Score + 1 | 1 | ||
|
Score – 1 | 0 | ||
|
Score + 1 | 1 | ||
|
Score – 2 | 0 | ||
|
Score - 1 | -1 | ||
| Executive Support | Readiness Score | OIP Corps Tally | ||
|
Score + 2 | 2 | ||
|
Score +1 | 1 | ||
|
Score +1 | 1 | ||
|
Score – 1 | 0 | ||
| Credible Leadership and Change Champions | Readiness Score | OIP Corps Tally | ||
|
Score + 1 | 1 | ||
|
Score +1 | 1 | ||
|
Score + 2 | 0 | ||
|
Score + 1 | 1 | ||
|
Score + 2 | 2 | ||
|
Score + 2 | 2 | ||
| Openness to Change | Readiness Score | OIP Corps Tally | ||
|
Score + 1 | 0 | ||
|
Score + 1 | 0 | ||
|
Score + 1 | 1 | ||
|
Score – 1 | 0 | ||
|
Score – 1 | 0 | ||
|
Score + 1 | 1 | ||
|
Score + 1 | 1 | ||
|
Score – 1 | 0 | ||
|
Score + 1 | 0 | ||
|
Score + 1 | 0 | ||
|
Score + 2 | 2 | ||
|
Score + 2 | 2 | ||
| Readiness Dimensions | Readiness Score | OIP Corps Tally | ||
|
Score + 2 | 2 | ||
|
Score + 2 | 2 | ||
| Rewards for Change | Readiness Score | OIP Corps Tally | ||
|
Score + 1 | 0 | ||
|
Score – 1 | 0 | ||
|
Score – 1 | -1 | ||
| Measure for Change and Accountability | Readiness Score | OIP Corps Tally | ||
|
Score + 1 | 0 | ||
|
Score + 1 | 0 | ||
|
Score + 1 | 0 | ||
|
Score + 1 | 1 | ||
| Total Score | 23 | |||
Appendix B. Adapted from Cawsey, T., Deszca, G., & Ingols, C. (2016). Organizational change: An action oriented toolkit. Sage, p. 108-110.
Appendix C
Communications Plan – Awakening Phase
| Person Responsible | Audience | Messaging | Outcomes/Objectives | Tactics | Cross Reference to Change Path Steps and Change Priorities with Outcomes – Table 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Change manager | Commanding officer/second-in-command | Confirmation of OIP initiation. Describe milestones and associated strategies to achieve. |
Discuss the urgency and associated requirements. Predict end state and achievement of OIP. |
Face-to-face discussion. OIP (if required). References (if required). |
Creating awareness to crisis Team building. |
| Commanding officer | All internal staff | Convey the trend of decline in retention of OIP corps members. The Status quo is not enough, it needs to change. World in constant change/improvement, OIP corps must mimic this. |
Recognize urgency for OIP. Discussion on change vision. Recognize the mind shift from transactional to transformational. |
Whiteboard/PowerPoint. Display data – DOD, scatter graph. Newspaper articles. Open discussions on – brainstorm, storytelling of who we are because. |
Creating a sense of urgency and alignment. Building a solid coalition with internal stakeholders and alignment with members. Developing shared vision and strategies. Communicating the change vision. |
| Commanding officer | OIP civilian committee | Advisement of OIP, urgency and allowance to do so. Provide an executive summary of key milestones in adaptive changes. |
Recognize the requirement of OIP. Discuss the end state and future path. |
Same tactics as internal staff plus. Project plan (OIP) status board. |
As mentioned above, with adaptation to suit the audience. |
| 2IC | OIP corps cadets | Relay positive changes occurring in OIP corps. Stress the importance of feedback. Give a vision state of using members to achieve OIP. |
Recognize the change forthcoming. Relate the change to being positive and inclusive |
An announcement at the parade by second-in-command for three weeks. Redundancy by training cadre in classrooms. |
As mentioned above, with adaptation to suit the audience. |
Appendix D
Communications Plan – Mobilization Phase
| Person Responsible | Audience | Messaging | Outcomes/Objectives | Tactics | Cross Reference to Change Path Steps and Change Priorities with Outcomes – Table 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commanding officer, second-in-command, Change Manager | All Officers/training cadre. | Reiteration of urgency for improvement. Model to achieve – UDL, ISW IT supportive aids. Transformational in nature. Brainstorming asking for input, additives to plan. |
Allow stakeholders to be heard, have input. Manage negativity, cynicism. Apply additives, changes to the plan. Initiation of cultural leadership shift. |
Face-to-face discussion. OIP reference (if required). References (if required). PowerPoint. Videos. |
Further building of a team, shared vision, and strong coalition through collaboration with a call to action. Developing primary internal stakeholders |
| External SME | All Officers, training cadre. | Formal education in theory and application of universal design of learning principles. Applying UDL principles to education and training in a military setting. |
Demonstrate principles of UDL. Explain the benefits of UDL principles in the military deliverables of education/training. Evaluate the benefit of UDL principles in the OIP corps. |
Whiteboard. PowerPoint/Video/ Lecture/Discussions. Practical’s. |
Empowerment of advanced understanding through education and training. Demonstrative of small wins. |
| Change Manager | Training cadre, All officers. | Formal education of ISW Concepts. Applying ISW principles to the methodology of instruction, coaching, guiding, and tutoring . |
Practice ISW framework for education, training. Compare the benefit of ISW vs DOD Guides for stakeholders. |
Whiteboard. PowerPoint/Video. Lecture/Discussions. Practical’s. |
As mentioned above, with another small win. Building of synergy. |
Appendix E
Communications Plan – Acceleration Phase
| Person Responsible | Audience | Messaging | Outcomes/Objectives | Tactics | Cross Reference to Change Path Steps and Change Priorities with Outcomes – Table 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commanding officer, second-in-command, change manager. | All Officers/training cadre. | Formal education of ISW concepts. Applying ISW principles to the methodology of instruction, coaching, guiding, and tutoring. |
Recognize the benefits of the ISW framework as/in the delivery of lesson plans. Practice ISW framework for education, training. Compare the benefit of ISW vs DOD Guides for stakeholders. Demonstration of use. |
Face-to-face discussion/directive. Whiteboard. PowerPoint/Video. Lecture/Discussions. Practical’s. Demonstration of use |
Illustration of continuous improvement and continuous cycle within corps on improving. |
| Training officers, change manager. | Selected senior cadets who have role in education, training, mentoring for junior cadets. | Abridged and tailored delivery of UDL and ISW to ambassadors of OIP corps. Demonstration of ISW in practice. |
Demonstrate principles of ISW in delivering field coaching and mentoring, teaching, and training. Explain the benefits of UDL principles in the military deliverables of education/training. Evaluate the benefit of UDL principles in the OIP corps. |
Whiteboard. PowerPoint/Video/ Video. Lecture/Discussions. Practical’s. |
As mentioned above, with further expansion on self improvement. |
Appendix F
Communications Plan – Institutionalization Phase
| Person Responsible | Audience | Messaging | Outcomes/Objectives | Tactics | Cross Reference to Change Path Steps and Change Priorities with Outcomes – Table 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commanding officer, second-in-command, change manager. | All Officers/training cadre. OIP corps senior cadets – ambassadors. |
Discussion on UDL and ISW for senior cadet members. Delivery of and reinforcement of use of UDL and ISW for senior cadet members. |
Reinforce the benefits of the ISW framework as/in the delivery of lesson plans. Practice ISW framework for education, training during delivery. Compare the benefit of ISW vs DOD Guides for stakeholders. Demonstration of use for cadet delivery. Mimics acceleration for training cadre but with a focus on senior cadet members who will be ambassadors of project. |
Face-to-face discussion/directive. Whiteboard. PowerPoint/Video. Lecture/Discussions. Practical’s. Demonstration of use for new lessons and training. |
Cultural paradigms shift at OIP corps level. Insurance of sustainability. Repeated every intake for OIP corps – September. |
| Commanding officer, second-in-command. | All Officers/training cadre. | Written OIP corps directives to reinforce use of UDL and ISW frameworks for lesson plans and teaching methodology. | Demonstrate principles of ISW in delivering field coaching and mentoring, teaching, and training. Explain the benefits of UDL principles in the military deliverables of education/training. Evaluate the benefit of UDL principles in the OIP corps. |
Directives/orders. Face-to-face discussion. |
Continuity and sustainability of OIP. Repeated every intake for OIP corps – September. |
Appendix G
Example of Feedback Form
Training cadre members and officers may adapt the items to suit their learning and deliverable.
The responses should be received anonymously.
| Questions? | Strongly Disagree | Somewhat Agree | Neither Agree or Disagree | Somewhat Agree | Strongly Agree |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I was satisfied with the education/training overall. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| The education/training increased my knowledge of the subject matter. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| The education/training was fun and engaging for me personally. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| I will my friends at school what I did and learned. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| The instructor used words, video, pictures, and group work with handout material during the session. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| The content was interesting. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Other participants or I asked questions during the teaching. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| This education/training is having me think more about the military as a career. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| I am really enjoying the army cadet program. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| I am a current _____ star cadet. | Green | Red | Silver | Gold | Master |
| I have suggestions. | |||||
Appendix H
Visual of Knowledge Mobilization Plan
This is a visual representation of the knowledge mobilization plan. It includes the change within the OIP corps and the visionary end state with the parent organization. It is a continuous cycle, similar to a wheel in a rotation where research-based and strong communication are the hub, with resulting actions enacted with hard and soft strategies, as noted by the off-casts.
Figures (4)
More details
- License: CC BY
- Review type: Open Review
- Publication type: Article
- Submission date: 20 October 2023
Citation
Collins - DBM, LLM, MSc, C. (2023). Improving Retention in Royal Canadian Army Cadets: Organizational Improvement Plan [preprint]. Orvium Community.
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