Army Leadership Philosophy

Trust defines the ability to create a cohesive team in the first principle of mission command. Lack of trust between commanders, subordinates and peers develops a lack of confidence in everyone’s ability to accomplish

supporting them in their work as well as providing oversight. All directives given from me will be clear,

My leadership philosophy revolves entirely around the Army Values. In every action I take as a leader, I assess whether or not it lines up with the Army Values and the potential impacts. I have had a variety of leadership assignments during my career, all requiring a different leadership approach, spanning from team leader through platoon sergeant. My conflict resolution skills have greatly evolved through my twelve years in the Army, from rudimentary conversations to in depth problem solving. My professional development has had a profound effect on my leadership abilities, from NCOPD’s to mentorship from senior non-commissioned officers (NCO’s).

The primary challenge for leaders in the Army is taking a group of individuals and molding them into a team. The framework that is employed to the

The second area, I will be focusing on will be to ask more often for feedback from others around me on how my actions are affecting the performance of others. This Leadership Practice is found under Model the Way. This feedback will make sure that how I perceive things is in fact how others feel as well. Ensuring the values that I hold are in alignment with the organization is key to success of the team that I lead. Getting this feedback will allow me to ensure that I am still in line with this. This feedback, will also ensure that my leadership philosophy is being understood and if it is not being perceived clearly by others, this will be the information I will need to make those corrections so that I myself can lead others more

“You can do what I cannot do. I can do what you cannot do. Together we can do

The intent of this letter is to make the reader aware of my Leadership Philosophy. “An

in a manner that will encompass living the Army Values, as well as promoting the

Trust is vital when working in groups, both individuals have to commit to a certain level of openness. When both individuals are vulnerable it creates a mutual and safe atmosphere for them to discuss their opinions and ideas more openly without hesitation. However, when trust is broken, relationships are hard to repair afterwards. Even when both individuals appear to have made amends, there will always be that one person who will remember what happened and constantly use it against the other person. Similarly to what Runde writes, it is the leaders’ responsibility to create a safe atmosphere for individuals to show vulnerability in the team, without anyone trying to take advantage of

mandatory training, it will improve the strength of the Soldier in their MOS and the

Trust has to be earned and not automatically given. In order for this cross-functional team to operate cohesively, it is vital that trust is created within the department. This will not be a small task, seeing that “it takes years to build trust, but only a second to destroy it” according to Harvey Mackey. When employees trust management they are more involved and productive. (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2013). If trust is “having faith in others in a relationship,” then management must come up with a way of gaining the trust of this team. For example, a member on a football team practices hard, based on the assumption other members of the team are doing the same. His trust is a cognitive leap of his interactions with his teammates.

One of the many things we take for granted in this world, the most common is trust. We grow stronger bonds with people everyday, not knowing how easily that bond can be broken. Trust is usually easily won, but once gone could take everything to earn back. In some cases that bond and that trust are never repaired. Not everything is meant to be repaired.

The implications of not having trust within this relationship would result in the lack of communication and frustration between the two parties. My subordinates will not communicate their thoughts, goals or fears because they will not trust I care. If I don’t trust my

Trust is paramount in any work situation, and definitely in this situation with a cross-functional team due to the diversity of the group and different philosophies. Trust is based on relationships within the group, and is difficult when so much of the time we work as antagonists(Ettorre, 1997). Leaders must be focused, engaged, and self aware to promote positivity and encourage strong relationships.

A different habit of a thriving team is trust within all team members. “The lack of trust among team members constrained their individual and collective voices, restricting the sharing of knowledge, experience, and opinion…” by Linda Loehr.