INTRO
In order to have an effective organization there is a need for capable leader that is able to apply and adopt the correct technique, approach and has the knowledge aligning to the contemporary environment and the asymmetrical warfare in order to effectively run the organization.
THESIS STATEMENT
This essay will discuss on the different levels of commanders and look at which attributes best suit these commanders and how and when it needs to be introduced to commanders.
Types of Leader
Both in the military and business world there are three levels of commanders that leads the organization or unit, which comprises of Tactical, operational and strategic. According to W B Howieson and H Kahn these three levels are interlinked with each other and W has highlighted that with the limited resources and responsibility has increased has pushed leaders to develop in order to lead and prepare people effectively. It is seen that there is a need to improve on Management and leadership development. Howieson and Khan also states that with the abundant references and resources available on these three fields, the military has stressed and studied more on leadership and command but there is very little references available on management and likewise with the business domain, which has focused more on leadership and management and very little resources on command.
Leadership, Management and Command: The Officer’s Trinity. W B Howieson and H Kahn.
WHY Development is required?
Development is required to meet the ever drastic changes in this contemporary world as we have faced four types of war generation, according to William S. Lind is began with the signing of the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648 which is the start of the 1st Genera...
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...n with subordinates and soldiers.
The highest level of command is the strategic level leadership where according to US ADRP -622 Strategic Level Leadership are leaders at the Major Command at DOD level where they are responsible for large organizations and establish force structure, allocate resources, communicate strategic vision and prepare their commands and the Army for future roles. And from the views of British JWP 0-01 Military Strategic Level where leaders are more focused on Maintenance of political independence, territorial integrity, wider national interest and developing as well as employing military forces comprising Prime Minister, cabinet and Chief of Staff.
There has been a considerable attention to strategic leader development b various organization as numerous studies and articles has been devoted on strategic leaders development especially.
“Military leadership qualities are formed in a progressive and sequential series of carefully planned training, educational, and experiential events—far more time-consuming and expensive than similar training in industry or government. Secondly, military leaders tend to hold high levels of responsibility and authority at low levels of our organizations. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, military leadership is based on a concept of duty, service, and self-sacrifice; we take an oath to that effect.”
Dwight David Eisenhower (1955), the 34th President of the United States, gave an explicit definition of leadership, “The job of getting people really wanting to do something is the essence of leadership….” The Army, like any other civilian organization, defines different levels of leadership depending on a size of a unit a leader is in command of. Tactical and organizational leaderships are two first interconnected levels of leadership in the Army. Both levels of leadership have many commonalities regarding duties and responsibilities; yet they are very different in the way the leaders develop themselves, train, and take care of their soldiers.
Looking at a simple definition of each terminology, then we will know each force behind all leadership theories. To better understand the fundamental principles preceding leadership philosophy, we have to understand the theory of leadership development and its essential characteristics. Hence, some of the leadership theories are explained in this paper.
In a recent verbal bout with my History of the Military Art professor, I contended that the true might of a nation may be inversely proportional to the size of its military during peacetime. My thinking, though perhaps idealistic, was that the maintenance of a large military during relative international tranquility is an overt admission of weakness and increases the likelihood of unnecessarily employing that force—it is contextually irrelevant. Instead, I proposed that a strong and stable economy is the best metric of national prowess, for such an economy can resource many opportunities as they arise. On the contrary, a robust standing military has a much narrower utility. To be sure, this author is not one that intentionally seeks to take an interdisciplinary approach to academia, but the connection seems relevant given the nature of this assignment. Whereas a nation may accomplish a strategic goal through military force, a leader may accomplish a task relying upon coercive power; whereas a nation may transform and develop the world through its economic strength and versatility, a versatile leader may transform others through the employment of one or many leader development principles—both theoretically based and experientially acquired. This piece serves to describe acquired PL499 course concepts and their relevance to my project team and the West Point Leader Development System (WPLDS). Only through a...
My leadership can expect a top tier performer who strives to be one of the most competent Non-commissioned Officer’s within the unit. I will do this by adhering to the regulations, unit sop’s and any other guidance which governs my section. I will ensure my soldiers do the same, holding them to strict but attainable standards and expecting nothing less. I will teach, coach, counsel, and mentor these soldiers-teaching them what a leader is and grooming them to be leaders also.
Being the tactical expert is no longer enough; you need to be able to translate the vision and objectives of those above you at the highest levels, which is often not definitive and is fuzzy, to those below you in the organization. They are the ones who are going much of the heavy lifting and they need more direction to make it happen, often times they are viewing the world through their own soda straw and do not realize it. General Powell used a great analogy to explain how unit level commander does not know what they do not know when he expressed that a brigade commander knows about as much about the formation of army policy as a worker in the Chevy factory knows about what goes on at the General Motors headquarters. This does not mean lower level command jobs are needless; on the contrary, they develop one as a leader and provide them with the skills needed to succeed at the more senior levels. Powell stated he was chosen for Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) for several reasons; one was he had the right military commands previously. Unlike Powell I have not spent vast amount time in National Capital Region; he was in and out of various jobs ever since he was a Lt
Leaders with transformational leadership behavior can direct their organization toward effectiveness and productivity (Hur, 2011). Leaders can direct human resources toward the strategic objectives of the organization and ensure that organizational functions are in line with the external environment (Riaz&Haider, 2010). Furthermore, capabilities of effective leaders are predicting the future probabilities and planning strategies to satisfy uncertainties (Riaz&Haider, 2010). They can lead and supervise organizations to success by paying attention to changes especially environmental changes, which helps them set suitable goals and objectives.
As an officer in the United States Army, it has been imperative for me to understand every facet of leadership and why it remains important to be an effective leader. During this course, I have learned some valuable lessons about myself as a leader and how I can improve on my leadership ability in the future. The journal entries along with the understanding of available leadership theories have been an integral part of my learning during this course. For all of the journals and assessments that I completed, I feel it has given me a good understanding of my current leadership status and my future potential as a leader. All of the specific assessments looked at several areas in regards to leadership; these assessments covered several separate focus areas and identified my overall strengths and weaknesses as a leader. Over the course of this paper I will briefly discuss each one of these assessments and journal entries as they pertained to me and my leadership.
Leadership is a simple word that easy to say but in reality difficult to apply it. The fact as we can always found, there is still problems about leadership in either military or governmental and civilian. Those who are not able to distinguish between commander and boss will encounter many problems in their leadership. The complexity challenges that they face right now are higher rather than the old times, and the challenges in the future will become more complex. Eventually, if a leader cannot perform his/her leadership by right, it will give bad effect to the members, culture and organization.
All soldiers, especially leaders, are highly recommended to keep a certain set of values that radiate throughout the entire U.S. Army. They are challenged to keep them near and dear to their hearts and to define and live them every day. A leader is one who takes these challenges serious and abides by
Leadership, command, and management are three overlapping activities which are often difficult to differentiate and easy to confuse. An individual can be doing all the three at anyone point in time; all the three are always required in varying proportions for the successful accomplishment of a mission, duty or respnsibility. Understanding how the three competences relate or how they tend to be similar or different helps us to understand their relevance especially in as far as they contribute singularly or in concert to the prosperity of organisations both in the corporate and military world. Steven Bungay defines the difference between management and leadership, and borrowing from the military, proposes a third concept of command, which is essential for providing the direction of an organization’s activities .
Many Scholars characterize the core qualities and skills necessary for an effective leader. Useem defines leadership as “Creating a vision and translating that vision into actions”. Historically, an effective leader was assumed to be exceptionally knowledgeable, authoritative, and dominate. Those leaders applied the command and control method to lead an organization. With the passage of time, this definition has been changed. The modern definition of an effective leader is honest, courageous, trustworthy, inspirational, and result-oriented. Today’s leaders create shared values and vision, and empower others to achieve their targets.
“An Army leader is any one who by virtue of assumed role or assigned responsibility inspires and influences peoples to accomplish organizational goals. She or He motivates people both inside and outside the chain of command to pursue actions, focus thinking, and shape decisions for the greater good of the organization.1” But for him to do that effectively and efficiently , he has to be prepared, shaped and refined. There are few institutions to prepare such leaders and CGSC is one of those institutions which are mandated, organized and equipped to prepare such leaders. In implementing its mandate, CGSC has programmed ILE common core C 100 to provide foundations for effective leadership development. The lessons covered in this block of instructions are important pillars of leadership development and impact on officers differently depending on the fields/specialties and the level of positions held. This paper therefore attempts to discuss the relevance of critical thinking and problem solving, group decision making, overcoming biases, planning and order production lessons on my future assignment as a logistics staff officer.
Leadership, without doubt, is a significantly important function of management. It helps to aggrandize efficiency and to fulfil an organization’s goals. Leadership is the ability of a manager to induce the subordinates to work with confidence, determination, courage and zeal. It is also defined as ability to influence a group towards the realization of a goal. Leaders should have the capability of developing future visions, and to drive the organizational members to want to attain the visions. This paper states my points in which I duly believe, justifies the importance of an outstanding leader in any organization.
Every good leader has successful skills to accomplish a common goal within an organization. Although the term leader is often intertwined with the manager; a leader’s characteristics are rarely the same in responsibilities. Leaders are developed by the type of organizational cultured that they are derived in. Thus, bringing the skills to designed changes rather than only promote changes as often may be seen in managers. Leadership is then the support of employees by offering a clear concise understanding of an organization needs and therefore brings balance to the task and the relationship of the employees. So what is the purpose of the leadership? To serve others while transforming the company’s mission into actually obtainable goals while all the while overcoming situational