Application of Leadership Concepts to the Military Organization
Military leaders are challenged daily with the charge of affecting positive change in their organizations. Throughout this essay, several ways in which traditional leadership theories, as well as how various leadership styles are used to satisfy this demand will be explored. Also explored will be the use of transactional and transformational leadership styles associated with military leaders as well as the roles that military leadership plays in an organization’s vision, mission, and strategy.
Leadership Theory Applied to Military Leaders
Looking throughout history, if one were to look at the great military leaders, many would most likely associate the Great Man theory with
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Situational leadership theory states that instead of using just one style, successful leaders should change their leadership styles based on the maturity of the people they 're leading and the details of the task (Blanchard, et al. 1993). Since the situational approach is “ based on the premise that leaders will match their directive and supportive styles to meet followers’ level of development” (Weiss, 2011) it is the theory best suited to serve today’s military leaders the best. Military leadership, as well as members in general, is developed through sequential events of combat training, education, as well as technical and practical-based events (Hussain & Hassan, 2015). Situational leadership allows leaders to use the necessary approach, be it directive, supportive, or empowering dependent on the situation (battlefield or classroom) and the audience (new recruit or seasoned …show more content…
Empowering leadership shares power with subordinates in an effort to increase their autonomy and encourages expression of ideas. Empowering leadership also promotes innovation through decision-making collaboration and information sharing. This type of leadership is typically used in the military when a task is not time critical or when the goal is to have the best possible outcome by exploring all options available. Empowering leadership is also used in stages as members progress through the ranks as it tends to create task ownership and a higher degree of efficacy and commitment. As members gain higher rank, they are provided more responsibility commensurate with their grade. For example, a junior non-commissioned officer is given the responsibility of supervising 1-10 subordinates and ensuring routine everyday tasks are accomplished. The amount of subordinates and responsibility increases to the point where the highest ranking military member (The Chief of Staff) is responsible for the actions and well-being of all service members as well as ensuring that all global taskings (peace-time, war-time, humanitarian, or otherwise) are being met as economically as possible. Whether empowering or directive leadership is used, professional military members are typically receptive providing the correct approach is used for the situation. The responsibility
Natural born leaders are almost nonexistent in today’s military. Military members have to complete numerous leadership classes as you progress through the military ranks whether you are an enlisted or as an officer. There are many attributes that people would have to possess to be considered a great leader. Some of those attributes include honesty, respect, trustworthy, and enthusiasm just to name a few. There have been many leaders I have worked with or for over my past 19 years in the Army. One of the most important one would have to be honesty. Honesty is important because if the people that work for you cannot believe what you tell them, they will never trust you or support you. Employees can make or break their supervisor. If they do not like or trust the manager they will not respect them and they will only do the least amount possible. When your employees believe that, you value their opinion and their work ethic. Like you and trust, you they will do anything you ask of them. Whether the decision is right or wrong it is a decision, a leader never want to leave their subordinat...
Part 1, The Basics of Leadership, Chapter 1 covers Fundamentals of Leadership while Roles and Relationships are covered in Chapter 2. This section describes and depicts levels of Leadership. We as a military are set apart from other non-military professions in that Soldiers must be prepared to use deadly force and have the courage required to close with and destroy the enemy. All leaders, from non-commissioned officers and warrant officers, to commissioned officers, inherently possess a great responsibility. The repercussions of decisions and actions impact the lives of Soldiers and their families. Additionally, these decisions affect the battlefield environment including enemy and non-combatants, both military and
Leadership can come in many forms and from many perspectives. In the heat of combat, the leadership from a Navy Seal is much different than that of a leader in a high school dorm. Through reading Extreme Ownership I found how leadership completely changes depending on the perspective. Leadership in combat is completely dependent on quick, decisive execution, whereas leadership in the dorm is more dependent on taking time to work with everyone before arriving at a solution.
The most notable difference between these two levels of leadership is the part that leaders take in soldiers’ training. Both types of leadership are actively involved in the training process. Tactical Leaders participate directly in the training process on a daily basis, whereas organizational leaders act more as supervisors. Tactical leaders always are close to the front, right next to their subordinate soldiers both in the barracks and on the field. They mostly exert their leadership by personal presence and “lead by example” model. The organizational leaders will be more involved in providing a broad vision, developing concepts, setting up the goals and guidelines, and planning the training process rather than executing it. These different dimensions of responsibilities require different levels of education accordingly.
Introduction “Leaders have always been generalists”. Tomorrow’s leaders will, very likely, have begun life as specialists, but to mature as leaders they must sooner or later climb out of the trenches of specialization and rise above the boundaries that separate the various segments of society.” (Gardner, 1990, pg. 159). The. 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 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.
The purpose of this memorandum is to outline my view point on leadership. As a Drill Sergeant, it is my responsibility to transform civilians into well discipline, physically fit, and competent scouts. I am entrusted to uphold the Army standards, live the Army Values and Warrior Ethos, and instill Esprit de corps.
There are many excellent takeaways that Army leaders at all levels of war can implement when making a change. Lessons learned by many companies were thoroughly discussed and clearly highlights the pitfalls and traps leaders fall victim to when making a transformation. Therefore, Leading Change is a must read for military professionals because there are two critical tools that all leaders need to put into their kit bag, the eight reasons why change initiative fail and the eight-stage process to lead the organization through successful
ADRP 6-22: Army Leadership; Chapter 10: Organizational Leadership, HQ, Department of the Army, Washington, D.C, 10 September 2012
As our forefathers before us stated, ‘‘No one is more professional than I. I am a Noncommissioned Officer, a leader of soldiers. As a Noncommissioned Officer, I realize that I am a member of a time honored corps, which is known as “The Backbone of the Army (“The NCO Creed writing by SFC Earle Brigham and Jimmie Jakes Sr”). These words to Noncommissioned Officer should inspire us to the fullest with pride, honor, and integrity. The NCO creed should mean much more than just words whenever we attend a NCO’s school. For most of us this is what our creed has become because we learn to narrate or recite. The military from the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard has an overabundance of NCOs who fall under their pay grade of E-5, E-6 and etc. Yet somehow there still not enough leaders. I believe that the largest problem afflicting the military today is our lack of competent leaders, ineffective leader development, and how we influence our subordinates under us who are becoming leaders.
The Great Man Theory was a further developed and explained my historian Thomas Carlyle. This theory suggests that great men are a born and not developed. Their ability to galvanize and motivate others is based on their charismatic persona that often rises up from occasions or situations. This theory in the early 19th century became popular mostly
Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Theory (SLT) asserts that a leader’s effectiveness is dependent upon the readiness, or ability and willingness, of the leader’s followers to complete a task. This leadership style is an amalgamation of task-oriented and relationship-oriented characteristics that are employed depending upon the situation and the followers involved. According to the SLT, as followers increase in readiness the leader’s style is to adapt accordingly (Kinicki & Kreitner, 2009).
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.
Certainly, an army would not be able to battle in the war without a commander who in charges of the whole strategy. Correspondingly, any organisations cannot function without leaders. Leader is the most substantial element of successful organizations. Becoming outstanding leaders, leadership skill is vital in order to drive the organizations forward. Several leadership principles are extensively used these days. Burns (1978) identified two types of leadership comprise of transactional and transformational leadership. Hence, leaders should be capable to indicate which theory should be applied in accordance with organization’s culture and objectives. This essay aims to evaluate the resemblances and the differences between transactional and transformational leadership as well as the feasibility to utilize a mixture of them by giving the definitions and examples followed by the supporting researches and studies.
The Situational Theories of leadership explain how leadership style must be tailored to the demands of the task and the qualities of subordinates.