In December 2001, the Chief of Staff of the Army tasked the Army War College to produce a report which identified Strategic Leader Competencies for the post 9/11 Army. Dr. Leonard Wong and four U.S. Army War College students prepared a report under the direction of the Director of the Strategic Studies Institute. That report produced a list of six meta-competencies.3 Although the title of that report and the materials presented here have a similar name, that report dealt with soldiers operating in a strategic environment, where tactical and operational level decisions can have strategic ramifications. This paper addresses more broad-based attributes, which in some instances are complementary to several characteristics described in the Chief of Staff of the Army's report, but this paper will be more focused on strategic leaders at the strategic level. The strategic leaders discussed here are those who deal with resourcing, policy, structure, and a host of other strategic issues. Strategic leadership is about cause and effect on a grand scale, especially in a fluid and unpredictable environment. This concept has been discussed in numerous military and academic publications. A literary review produces hundreds of works on the subject, which address in detail the requirements associated with developing strategic leaders. However, regardless of the source, there seems to be a familiar theme when describing the critical attributes for successful strategic leaders. Prior to analyzing the characteristics, specifically the knowledge, skills, and abilities required by strategic leaders, this paper will briefly discuss the concept of strategic leadership and later explore those attributes that best characterize the s... ... middle of paper ... ...d attributes listed in this paper described the qualities which best enable future strategic leaders to be successful in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous environment. Also addressed was the need to cultivate future strategic leaders; this method conflicts with traditional methods of placing individuals in strategic positions without utilizing a vetting process. Therefore, it should be concluded that strategic leaders should be developed and identified through experience and training and lastly channeled through a tailored education process. It is also important to note, that they need to know where they're going, (vision) they need to actively communicate (communication skills) this to both their subordinates and especially to those outside the bounds of their organizational structure all while having the fortitude to see thing through (persistence).
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.” (BAM, 2010, p.20) These words were first written down over 2,400 years ago by a Chinese general named Sun Tzu in his famous military strategy treatise known today as The Art of War. These words, in fact the entire book, are just as valid today as they were during Sun Tzu’s lifetime. He was one of the first truly visionary and ethical military leaders in the world. Despite the fact that there is not much known about Sun Tzu today other than his writings, in this essay, I intend to extract his essence from his treatise to prove he was a visionary leader. I will then continue to prove he was also an ethical leader. Finally, I will finish by detailing how his seminal work has inspired me to self-reflect on how I can be a better visionary and ethical leader in the 21st Century Air Force. So, what exactly is a ‘visionary’ leader?
Field Mannual 6-22. Army Leadership: Competent, Confident, and Agile. (2006).Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Army, Headquarters.
Background: In 2003, the Army published its guidance on the implementation of the principles of Mission Command (MC); the leadership philosophy adopted by the Army. The ideals and principles were discussed and implemented throughout the Army over the course of Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom and are still being implemented in Operation Inherent Resolve. In 2012, the Army published updated doctrine to further explain and codify the principles of MC in ADP 6-0. The Army War College developed the Key Strategic Issues List for 2015-1016 and asked students in the FA49 ORSA Q-Course to identify one key strategic initiative and draft a white paper to discuss it. This white paper will discuss issue #7: "What cultural changes are needed in the Army for it to meet future challenges while embracing" MC? In this white paper, I will discuss what embedding and reinforcing mechanisms the Army senior leaders need to put into place to change the culture.
Dess, G. G., Lumpkin, G. T., Eisner, A. B., & McNamara, G. (2012). Strategic Management: Text & Cases (6th Ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
The case study provides good examples of a commander working to develop his leaders. LTC Fullerton first scheduled interviews with his primary staff and senior NCOs to identify their skills, strengths, and weaknesses. Fullerton noted during the interview with MSG Regan that he had gaps in technical expertise regarding the battalion’s mission and made a note to address it in his personal leader development program. This is one example of how a commander ...
Fast Company,(139), 69-70,73,16. Retrieved from Research Library. Document ID: 1870795761. Wheelen, Thomas L. & Hunger, J. David, (2010). Strategic management and business policy.
ADRP 6-22: Army Leadership; Chapter 10: Organizational Leadership, HQ, Department of the Army, Washington, D.C, 10 September 2012
According Hughes, Beatty, and Dinwoodie’s ( 2014) work on strategy, all areas of an organization need to collaborate with each other to help bring strategy to fruition. They mentioned four elements of leadership strategy. (1) Leadership Drivers of Business Strategy. This is the identification of and the preparing of leaders to implement strategy. Certain skills, abilities and resources need to be in place prior to a strategies’ roll out. When the correct leaders have the proper skill sets are in place coupled with the backing of the organization this may create a dynamic situation. Hughes et al. (2014) describes these as “levers- that if pulled will catapult the organization toward success” (p. 236). (2)Leadership Culture, as mentioned
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 .
On the other hand we have the explanation of strategic leadership: Strategic leadership is the process of using well considered tactics to interconnect a vision for a group or one of its parts. Strategic leadership typically manages, motivates and persuades staff to share that same vision, and can be an important tool for implementing change or creating organizational structure within a
Mason Carpenter, G. S. (2013). Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases Second Edition. Harlow: South-Western Pub.
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.
Hitt, M., Ireland, R. & Hoskisson, R. (2010).Strategic Management: Competitive and Globalization, Concept and Cases. Mason, Ohio: Cengage Learning
The monumental consequences of strategic decisions call for individuals with unique performance abilities who can navigate the volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. inherent in the nature of those decisions. Aspiring leaders can rise to the challenge by undergoing self-assessment and personal.
What is strategic management? In this study we will view what a manager’s role is and the development of strategic management has an affect on their companies performance. We will examine strategic management, what the benefits and problems are when utilizing strategic management, and how to implement strategic management in the company.