The Three Pillars of Leadership Development: Lessons from the Army and CrossFit

On June 14, 2025, the United States Army will celebrate its 250th birthday. Since its founding in 1775, the Army has been a training ground for leadership, developing soldiers through formal education, real-world assignments, and personal initiative.

While revisiting the “Army Field Manual 22-100: Military Leadership” (circa 1983 — it’s been a while), I was struck by how much of it resonates not only with soldiers but also with athletes and coaches. One of the 11 Principles of Leadership is, “Know your soldiers and look out for their well-being.” A slight adaptation of this principle to CrossFit: “Know your athletes and look out for their well-being.” This version directly speaks to the core of our role as CrossFit coaches.

This realization got me thinking about how the Army’s leadership framework might help coaches develop themselves and their athletes. One model stood out: the Three Pillars of Army Leadership Development — Institutional Training, Operational Assignments, and Self-Development. Let’s look at each through the lens of coaching.

1. Institutional Training

In the Army, institutional training begins with formal schools like Primary Leadership Development Course (PLDC), Basic Non-Commissioned Officer Course (BNCOC), Advanced Non-Commissioned Officer Course (ANCOC), and ultimately the Sergeants Major Academy. Each step prepares leaders for higher levels of responsibility and influence. These courses provide knowledge, mentorship, and, most importantly, community. You meet instructors and peers who will shape your path for years.

CrossFit has a similar structure. The CrossFit Level 1 introduces new coaches to core principles. The Level 2 builds on that foundation. The Level 3 tests a vast body of knowledge and information mastery, and the Level 4 is a rare distinction, like the Sergeants Major Academy — a sign of practical mastery. These are not just credentials; they are gateways to mentorship, peer relationships, and a deeper understanding of coaching.

Whether in the Army or coaching in a gym, institutional training gives you the technical tools and network to grow as a leader. It’s a launchpad, not a finish line.

When I was in the Army, from basic training until the day I left, I ran into the same people repeatedly. These are the people who are as committed as you. Use these networks to grow. Through the CrossFit course structure, you can create relationships with instructors, fellow seminar attendees, affiliate owners, and many other CrossFit coaches with varied experience levels. There are numerous opportunities for mentorship and development. 

2. Operational Assignments

Training is only the beginning. In the Army, the next step is joining a unit, integrating into a team, taking responsibility, and applying what you’ve learned. You might start as a team member, but over time, you take on more leadership: squad leader, platoon sergeant, first sergeant. You might also serve in specialized roles like armorer or operations NCO. These real-world assignments build practical leadership through experience.

Coaching works the same way. After earning your CF-L1, you might start as an intern, shadowing classes and gaining exposure. Eventually, you begin coaching classes on your own, learning through trial and error, and refining your communication, presence, and ability to adapt.

With time, you may take on more responsibility and elevate into various roles — head coach, programming lead, or gym manager. Each new role helps you develop your voice and leadership style. You learn how to guide athletes through change, manage group dynamics, and set the tone for culture. 

Throughout your sessions, look for opportunities to demonstrate leadership. Some simple strategies to practice are:

At the Whiteboard: Rehearse your delivery of the initial workout brief prior to class so it is streamlined and clear. This will demonstrate that you have a full understanding of the workout and clear plans for taking care of each person and how the session is organized. When delivering the information, make eye contact with the class, smile, and use names when applicable. 

Set-Up and Organization: You are in charge. Be direct and specific about where you want the equipment placed to allow for the best vantage points for teaching, seeing, and correcting, while also ensuring the safest and most efficient environment possible. There will be times when setting up the class prior to it starting will be advantageous.

Specific Warm-Up: Practice and review your teaching progression before class, and strive to give a specific cue throughout each rep of your teaching plan. During the build-up time before starting the Workout of the Day, check in with each person to ensure the correct loads, scaling, etc., are understood, and provide direct guidance during this time. 

Timeliness: Your members’ time is valuable — consistent mismanagement of time is frustrating for busy people who need to make the most out of their training hours. Ensure you start and finish on time and are as efficient as possible with your time throughout the training session, so time is not wasted. There is also an element of showing up early to class or ensuring you are ready to coach once members show up. Being on time for class is showing up late, and finishing your workout as they are starting to arrive can be deemed as unprofessional. When members show up, you should be in your coaching gear and ready to welcome them.

Operational assignments are where knowledge becomes wisdom — where doing the work day after day teaches you what no book or seminar ever could.

3. Self-Development

The third pillar, often the most overlooked, is self-development. In the Army, self-development means taking initiative outside the chain of command. Reading a book on leadership or military history, enrolling in an outside class, or talking shop with a mentor over coffee are all forms of self-development. They show ownership of one’s growth.

In CrossFit, this might involve taking movement seminars from CrossFit HQ, studying anatomy or cueing, watching coaches you admire, or experimenting with how you run your classes. It could also involve building meaningful relationships, reflecting after each class, or practicing mindfulness to improve your presence on the floor.

Self-development is not just a supplement to institutional training and operational assignments — it’s the bridge that connects them. Without it, growth is reactive and limited. But with it, you become intentional, charting your own path and accelerating your leadership in meaningful ways.

Bringing It All Together

The Army’s Three Pillars aren’t just for soldiers — they’re a useful lens for any profession that values leadership, especially coaching. We’re on a shared journey of growth, and these principles can guide us.

• Institutional training gives you the foundation.
• Operational assignments give you the reps.
• Self-development gives you the edge.
  

Ask yourself these questions (and actually write down the answers). If you take this exercise seriously, you will get serious results, just like you do in CrossFit:

• What stage are you at in your coaching journey? Be specific. Why are you here? Is this where you want to be? What is the next stage you’re eyeing and why? What will happen for you when you do reach the next stage of mastery?
• Are you actively building skills through education or experience? How? With whom?
• What are you doing on your own to become a better leader? Be specific. Imagine someone is writing a book about you and your leadership skills. What are five leadership activities they would see if they were following you around and you’d want them to include in the book?
• How can you demonstrate your unique value to your affiliate owner or supervisor? When you get hired to do a job, there’s an expectation you can do what is required of you. But you can always do more. How can you make yourself so valuable that your owner would move mountains to keep you?
  

If you’re new, focus on learning and building relationships. If you’re experienced, look for ways to lead beyond the class — mentoring others, refining your systems, and deepening your practice.

The same principles apply whether you’re leading soldiers or athletes: Know your people and look out for their well-being, build your skills, and lead by example. 

Take a moment to reflect on your journey. What have you learned? How have you grown? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Have a question for a coach? Please submit that here.

About the Author

Jonathan Hopwood, CF-L1, has been doing CrossFit for six years, coaching for two, and is the operations manager at CrossFit Woodslawn in Portland, Oregon. Before finding CrossFit,  Jonathan served in the U.S. Army as an Arabic linguist. After retiring from military service, he followed his passion for food, graduating from a Le Cordon Bleu culinary school and running his own catering company, Jonathanchef. He’s also a part-owner of iHua Design, a graphic design studio where he handles business operations and strategy. Today, he brings a thoughtful, intentional approach to coaching. Whether he’s guiding a new athlete through an On-Ramp program, helping a veteran member refine their movement, or improving the systems that support his community, Jonathan leads with care, precision, and a deep belief in lifelong learning.