# Leadership Potential Assessment Course



## jricRN (4 Feb 2009)

Hi there. I am not yet enrolled in BMOQ but I couldn't help reading the week-to-week agenda for the training. In week 4, there is a Leadership Potential Assessment Course held in Farnham. What is this? If someone in BMOQ does not successfully complete this course what happens to them? Re-course? Dismissal? Any help would be appreciated.


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## Haggis (4 Feb 2009)

it is an innovative series of small party tasks requiring no military knowledge but designed to determine who has leadership potential.  You're not going to fail BMOQ at week 4 unless you do something monumentally stupid or show absolutely no aptitutde for leading people.


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## 4Feathers (4 Feb 2009)

Haggis said:
			
		

> it is an innovative series of small party tasks requiring no military knowledge but designed to determine who has leadership potential.  You're not going to fail BMOQ at week 4 unless you do something monumentally stupid or show absolutely no aptitutde for leading people.



You sound like an instructor on the course. For those on BMOQ that stick it out beyond week 4, what part of the course do you get the most failures on? I do not mean VR's or Recourses for medical and other reasons, simply based on leadership potential. Thanks.


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## jricRN (4 Feb 2009)

4Feathers  - that's a good question

My ex-girlfriend's brother joined BMOQ but somewhere along the line, he did not pass some leadership tests and was either sent/ or continued and became an enlisted signals operator.


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## Haggis (4 Feb 2009)

4Feathers said:
			
		

> You sound like an instructor on the course. For those on BMOQ that stick it out beyond week 4, what part of the course do you get the most failures on? I do not mean VR's or Recourses for medical and other reasons, simply based on leadership potential. Thanks.



A quick look at my profile would show that I'm not a BMOQ instructor.  But I do have significant interest in NCMPD.  Unfortunately, I cannot answer your question.


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## George Wallace (4 Feb 2009)

Haggis

With new site policies, to prevent Spam Artists, he can't view your profile until he has a bit more TI.


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## jricRN (4 Feb 2009)

I have a relatively vague question pertaining to the same subject: When evaluating you on your skills, PT and other things, do the instructors constantly have on the back of their minds "is this OCdt a good leader" or is that only evaluated on certain tasks (IE Farnham). Thank you in advance


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## 2fly (5 Feb 2009)

jricRN said:
			
		

> I have a relatively vague question pertaining to the same subject: When evaluating you on your skills, PT and other things, do the instructors constantly have on the back of their minds "is this OCdt a good leader" or is that only evaluated on certain tasks (IE Farnham). Thank you in advance



One of the things you learn quickly is not to get too worked up over things you do not have direct control over (instructors thoughts).  What you do have control over is how you perform the task at hand and that is what the candidates have to keep in mind.  Keep your mind on the game and you will do just fine.  As for the actual evaluation...  Each candidate takes turn being in charge of their respective group and is graded on leadership (as it was taught to you in classes).  The candidates that are not in charge are not graded but yes... The instructors remember if you screw up or make life hard for the person in charge.


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## Eye In The Sky (5 Feb 2009)

2fly said:
			
		

> The candidates that are not in charge are not graded but yes... The instructors remember if you screw up or make life hard for the person in charge.



So do the other candidates  >, and what goes around comes around.  If you screw someone over when they are in the hot seat (being assessed), you can expect to have the favour returned at some point.


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## ltmaverick25 (6 Feb 2009)

As someone mentioned, I would not worry about the private thoughts of the instructors.  In my experience, the reg force staff at leadership training establishments are extremely professional.  They wont let personal thoughts like that affect judgement.  Your evaluations while on the BMOQ are comprised of a series of PO checks.  PO means Performance Objectives.  Basically, a PO is a test, either written or practical.  The BMOQ comprises a number of written and practical tests.

In terms of failures, in my opinion, the highest failure rates will come from the practical tests in the field.  The BMOQ comprises of two components, the IAP (Initial Assessment Period) and the BOTP (Basic Officer Training Plan).  The BOTP is field heavy.  In that portion you will be expected to lead a patrol, lead a section attack, lead a defensive and be an overall competent field soldier.  The small party tasks are the precurser to doing patrols, and the other leadership tasks in the field.  The small party tasks take place during the IAP portion.

The patrol seems to be where people have the most difficulty.

I wouldnt worry about it too much though.  The training is good, and you will be provided with ample training prior to being tested on any PO.  As long as you put forth a solid effort, and dont lose composure while under leadership stress you should do fine.


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## Celticgirl (7 Feb 2009)

jricRN said:
			
		

> Hi there. I am not yet enrolled in BMOQ but I couldn't help reading the week-to-week agenda for the training. In week 4, there is a Leadership Potential Assessment Course held in Farnham. What is this? If someone in BMOQ does not successfully complete this course what happens to them? Re-course? Dismissal? Any help would be appreciated.



It is an all-day exercise in Farnham where in groups of 6 or 7 you will be expected to take turns being the leader and coming up with a plan to accomplish a difficult task. (It is outdoors and involves simulated military equipment and obstacles, so use your imagination). It is physically exhausting for all and stressful when you are the one leading, but a great exercise nonetheless. You will be told if you passed or failed immediately after each exercise for which you are the leader, but technically there is no pass or fail. Failing the LPAC is not a PO failure. The results just give the staff an idea of your leadership potential and you an idea of what you need to improve on in order to become a more effective leader.

Dress warmly if you go in winter, though. I ended up with mild frostbite on my face from being outdoors from 0730 to 1630.


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## 2fly (7 Feb 2009)

Celticgirl said:
			
		

> Failing the LPAC is not a PO failure. The results just give the staff an idea of your leadership potential and you an idea of what you need to improve on in order to become a more effective leader.



Oh, I would not go so far as to say that.  I have seen people punted from the course based on perfomance in the field.  It can be a show stopper if bad enough, but dont let that scare you it is the exception not the rule.


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## Celticgirl (7 Feb 2009)

2fly said:
			
		

> Oh, I would not go so far as to say that.  I have seen people punted from the course based on perfomance in the field.  It can be a show stopper if bad enough, but dont let that scare you it is the exception not the rule.



That is what our staff told us and no one on our platoon got punted, although I don`t know if any failed, let alone the exact number of passes and failures (I did not poll them for their results ). In any case, I would say just give it your all. You have one crack at it and you want to impress the folks who are evaluating you. They know what to look for and give excellent feedback, so pay close attention.


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## Neilio (8 Feb 2009)

Celticgirl is right, it is not a pass/fail, just an instrument for the instructors to see what kind of leadership potential you have.  In hindsight, it is really more of a practice for the big tests in the field, just to get you used to small party taskings.  No one will get sent home for this.  People I was on course with got a 1/5; maybe even one or two with a 0/5, and no one got the boot.  You can't fail it.


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## 2fly (8 Feb 2009)

I guess those two candidates I can name where all in my head.  Oh well, even if it was real, two people in three years is not all that bad....  Time to see the doc. lol


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## ltmaverick25 (8 Feb 2009)

2fly said:
			
		

> Oh, I would not go so far as to say that.  I have seen people punted from the course based on perfomance in the field.  It can be a show stopper if bad enough, but dont let that scare you it is the exception not the rule.



There are some tests that are referred to as a hard assess.  These are the ones you would get sent home for if you failed them more then once.  What they are talking about is the first small party task that junior officers are asked to perform after an entire 4 weeks experience in the CF.  The purpose of this particular test is train and develop.  Later in the course, there will be field POs that include a formal small party task, leading patrols, section attacks ect...  These are the formal field tests that you must pass.


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## ruckmarch (10 Feb 2009)

Again..LPAC is not a PO failure. What you don't want to do is screw your section mates over, if you do, the instructor makes a note of this and trust me other instructors would get to know you and give you a hard time.

Wk 8 is when things start to get interesting, if you don't pass your C7 test, you ain't going to the range, if you make it to the range in wk 9, you have to perform there too.

Yes there are only 2 written exams ( leadership, the other one being about writing up a battle procedure). Some people don't make it at the end of IAP, if you pass IAP, then you are golden.


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