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SMART 360 Coming to the Fleet

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS061102-16
Release Date: 11/2/2006 3:43:00 PM

By Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Casandra Newell, Fleet Public Affairs Center Atlantic

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (NNS) -- The Center for Naval Leadership (CNL) at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek put forth plans for a new leadership training system Oct. 31.

The purpose of the System that Measures Assesses and Recommends Tailored solutions (SMART) 360 is to provide data for leaders to make more informed decisions. SMART 360 also provides support for Navy leadership courses, Navy Knowledge Online (NKO) courses and mentoring programs by offering more feedback than traditional systems.

According to Cmdr. James Pfautz, project lead at CNL, SMART 360 will help train Sailors for leadership at all levels.

“Normally, the way a 360 is done is a very time-intensive classroom setting where your scores are discussed with a consultant or a professional. A SMART system uses an artificial intelligence system to replace the costly debriefer, so you get personalized individual results back to you in a less expensive manner,” Pfautz said.

SMART 360 has the unique characteristic of giving leaders throughout the fleet commentary from their peers and subordinates in order to decrease the number of potentially costly mishaps that take place at commands. The most costly of such mishaps stem from behavior deemed unsafe, endangering the lives of co-workers.

“The primary advantage is that you get an honest, anonymous feed back from people around you,” Pfaultz added.

SMART 360 has been in the testing stages since September 2004 under the name 360 Pilot. The stages were divided into a two-phase plan. The first phase, from September 2004 to January 2005, used eight ships, three shore commands and 183 surface warfare officers.

The second phase, from January 2005 to the present, used 16 ships, three shore commands and 560 participants.

“The aggregate results [from feedback] can be used at organizations like the Center for Naval Leadership to help us decide what is working well and what is not working well,” Pfautz said.

“The results are completely separate from our evaluation fitness report system. You are the only one who will see the results, unless you choose to share this with a mentor,” Pfaultz stated.

SMART 360’s NKO page has been accessed more than 10,000 times in the past six months.