Adaptive Leaders Over the years, there have been many brave men and women serving in the military, but there will always be those service members who go beyond their piers to accomplish the mission, those individuals are adaptive leaders. In the following paragraphs, we will discuss, what is an adaptive leader and who can we consider among the many to be a good example of an adaptive leader. Also, what are the characteristics of an adaptive leader, and how do you mentor or shape adaptive leaders, to make this Battalion better. The key to change is an adaptive leader. Adaptive leader’s must be capable of having the mental stability to maintain tactical patience or won’t allow the situation to take control over them but for them to take control …show more content…
We can start Building an adaptive leader by beginning with the mastery of basic knowledge of ambiguity, complexity, and change. Ambiguity we need to accept that there is no one way to solve a problem, but many different means to provide a solution to a problem. With ambiguity an easy way to understand how this needs to be understood and accepted is that our prior experience and standards may not work with the new environment, but that we still need to use those prior experiences to establish a new method that fits our current environment. One example within our Battalion to describe complexity is during one training cycle we may be Training one class on the importance of advising allied forces in Iraq one cycle and within a week switching gears and training another class on the importance of advising another branch of service, such as the U.S Navy or Air Force on their roles of advising and mentoring in Afghanistan. With complexity we have to be flexible to any immediate change in plan or mission in order to be successful. Change of course, there is change and will always be change this is what we are accustomed to the most in the military, however accepting this change without skipping a beat and being productive within our environment is arguably the most important of all. We need to allow our subordinates to be challenged and tested in practice and real world in order for them to build experience …show more content…
As history has taught us an Army at war is stretched and stressed in some cases similarly to a rubber band ready to break. In today’s Army we have a large number of Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers who have learned or have been taught to be comfortable with ambiguity, complexity, and change. While we do not appear much different than our predecessors we carry our wisdom and savvy that can only be gained from our obstacles experienced through multiple deployments fighting an enemy hidden within the cities, intermixed with innocent civilians, and no distinctive means of recognition. We have faced variables that constantly change noted throughout our military history such as; weather, terrain, civilian population, ever evolving enemy, and different dynamics. To continuously improve the leaders today in adaptability we need to be constantly tested, and pushed to our limits in order to overcome our impasse. Through my research on developing adaptive leaders I have found a statement from a former Chief of Staff of the Army General Eric Shinseki and he set the stage for change by chartering the Army Training and Leader Development Panel (ATLDP) in his anticipation
In discussion forum 9, leaders are challenged through situations of crisis and are given ways to confront those challenges which allows them to overcome setbacks and face adversity. In the book “Resilient Leaders”, written by Major General Robert Dees, he provides leaders with his personal experiences of the battlefront and home front and what he had to do in order to cope as well as overcome each situation he was placed in. Major General Dees discusses his foundational ideas on leadership in Chapters one and two. The three concepts that our group decided on are Selfless Service, Character and Risk Management.
The adaptive Army leaders play critical role to fulfill the assigned task for the headquarters and combat units. First at all, the Army Staff have assigned task to ensure the preparation of the land forces but his size is limited by law. Therefore, we must ensure the development of the adaptive Army leaders to obtain the qualitative performance from the every member of the staff with purpose to realize our nation interests within the complex
The first of the leadership qualities that I will mention being proactive versus reactive. According to the Holden Leadership Center at the University of Oregon (2009) being proactive is that “The exceptional leader is always thinking three steps ahead. Working to master his/her own environment with the goal of avoiding problems before they arise.” During the movie the soldiers are simulating being dropped off in a hot area. LT. Colonel Moore saw an issues that involved a “what if” situation. He walked up to a plane and tells the officer you’re dead and then asks the next man what to. He told his troops to learn the job of
Leadership, according to the Army doctrine, represents individuals’ ability to influence people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation while operating to accomplish the mission and improving the organization (“Leadership” FM 6-22). However, the varying characteristics of individuals that the Army attracts may instill this doctrine in many different ways, leading to different representations of leadership. Some individuals choose to lead their subordinate in a stern matter, only displaying matured emotions and a “tough-loving” attitude to guide them in the right direction. Others
Leadership development in the military is critical to its mission and objectives. Understanding and embracing leadership will foster an agile culture and facilitate attainment of strategic goals. People desire quality leadership to assist with achieving their goals, albeit personal or professional development. Having a clear vision and the motivation to perform at high-levels influences others to work synergistically together to achieve organizational goals. Insomuch, employees value being treated respectfully, fairly, and ethically. Leaders serve people best when they help them develop their own initiative and good judgment, enable them to grow, and help them become better contributors.
The main points of this article relate to the changing nature of warfare (think terrorism and advancements in technology) and the adjustments military leaders are obliged to make. Hence, according to the article, leaders must: a) be trained in critical thinking skills; b) be "committed to life-long [and self-directed] learning"; c) be willing to take the initiative to "diagnose" their goals, needs,
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
Heraclitus stated, “Change is the only constant.” Noncommissioned officers are tasked to lead and progress through change to accomplish ever-evolving Air Force missions. Module 5 introduced the Adaptable Leader. This leader is able to embrace, navigate through, promote, and influence change effectively. In order to become an adaptable leader understanding and implementation of Change Management is imperative.
Nowadays, leaders has one important function in any organization, mainly in the Army. For this reason, it is necessary understand the dare to them in switch of the junior leaders for the senior leaders, changing their attributes and confront other challenges. Knowing their strengths and weakness, leaders in any level serve as a mirror. On that account, they need focus on the objectives, and develop good communication skills in order to transmit their advices and orders. Furthermore, leaders can work training new soldiers to be leaders in the future and to having an effective organization climate. Thereby, a leader has to understand his purpose and confront the issues during the shift of the direct leaders to organizational leaders.
My theory of an effective leader is having the ability to influence others to do something by obtaining results. After 10 years of being a Soldier without a mentor or a reason to excel in the military, I wanted responsibilities. During the beginning of my eleventh year, I took control of my destiny as a Soldier and started seeking ways to become a leader. My service has always been selfless; for that reason, I wanted every junior Soldier whom I encountered to have an idea of what his or her purpose is in this organization.
Another key way to become an adaptive leader is to have a Deliberate Development Plan. We all need goals. Developing a deliberate plan for those you influence will keep them motivated and goal focused knowing that someone is interested in seeing them succeed. It also allows you to create milestones and monitor the effectiveness of the plan.
Out of all the leadership styles found in Northouses’ textbook I classify my interviewee as having an Adaptive leadership style. “ It (adaptive leadership) focuses primarily on how leaders help others do the work they need to do, in order to adapt to the challenges they face” (Northouse, 2015, p. 258). The O.R. Supervisor discussed many times about everyone helping each other out to accomplish their goals. Even in her free time she would go to other areas, such as pre-op, PACU or with techs, to help them with what ever they needed. She clearly deals with the mix technical and adaptive problems when new policies and procedures are put into action. As the book states, the leader may act as a resource for others and provide support, but the people need to do the work- they need
Change models involve complex processes and in order to make sure that this change is successful there has to be a leader in places that has certain skill sets (Kin, Kareem, Nordin and Bing, 2014). The important aspects drawn from this model are that before initiating change, there has to be a recognition of a need for change. Then the change process has to be started and this can happen back setting a clear vision and creating a plan with which to implement this vision (Kim et. al, 2014). The second important aspect is preparing for change. Overcoming resistance to change is what happens at this stage and removing obstacles. Momentum develops towards the followers executing the change. The leader must be equipped with the necessary skills, and have the trust of the followers.
“Adaptive Leadership focuses on the adaptations required of people in response to changing environments” (Northouse, 2016, p.257). In considering the ever-changing expectations for teaching and learning, it hardly seems plausible to lead under any other approach. As fast as one set of mandates is rolled out, the next set is awaiting an appearance. The ship moves onward, twisting and turning along the way, to bigger or better sights. Interestingly enough, education and its’ process has been described as ‘a slow moving train’. However slow that train moves, the regulation and legislation is constantly in upgrade mode under the auspices of improvements to student achievement outcomes. As an adaptive leader in a changing environment, I would encourage
With a big picture view, vision, or goal, a leader conveys their goals, and influences and inspires their team members to overcome obstacles (Robbins & Judge, 2009, p. 385). In a dynamic world, leadership requires adapting to the environment and coping with change (Robbins & Judge, 2009, p. 385). My organization is tasked with maintaining and flying various types of military