Combat Brigade Essay

The critical leadership problem affecting the ABCT climate derives from toxic leadership of the BCT command team. Careful assessment and thorough

Toxic leadership and climate defines the critical leadership problem within 4th ABCT. In conjunction, a lack of care for Soldiers and their families, favoritism, SHARP issues, and hazing have caused a unit to lose all trust in the previous Command Team. To correct these issues I will develop and implement my vision and a way ahead for the BCT using the 7 Step Model. Furthermore, I will place a great deal of emphasis on a specific portions of the Rocket Model, Organizational Culture “Iceberg”, and correcting the Five Dysfunctions of a Team

Poor leadership, or the more widely known phrase “toxic leadership”, has been a topic of concern throughout the history of the Army. The Army’s recently published leadership doctrine says that, “Army leaders motivate people both inside and outside the chain of command to pursue actions, focus thinking, and shape decisions for the greater good of the organization.” (ADP 6-22, 2012) There are many examples of leaders in recent years that have been relieved due to negative effects on their organizations. Poor leadership is commonly portrayed by telltale characteristics of those in leadership positions, revealed by detrimental effects on subordinates and mission accomplishment, and must be addressed through consistent education and

Toxic leadership and climate defines the critical leadership problem within 4th ABCT. In conjunction, a lack of care for Soldiers and their families, favoritism, SHARP issues, and hazing have caused a unit to lose all trust in the previous Command Team. To combat these issues I will develop and implement my vision and a way ahead for the BCT using the 7 Step Model. Furthermore, I will focus on specific portions of the Rocket Model, Organizational Culture “Iceberg”, and correcting the Five Dysfunctions of a Team to solve the problem.

LTC (P) Pete Owens is faced with numerous challenges and issues as he is preparing to take command of 4th Armored Brigade Combat Team (ABCT). The 4th ABCT has command climate issues and disengaged leadership that needs to be addressed immediately because failure to address and correct these issues has the potential for the unit to be unprepared for the Regionally Aligned Forced (RAF) mission.

a. The brigade S-1 organizes personnel functions and assigns specific personnel to an area of responsibility, this includes a leadership section consisting of the S-1, a warrant officer, and a noncommissioned officer. The S-1leadership performs and conduct HR planning and operations and supervises the execution of all human resources mission and tasks.

The 4th Armor Brigade Combat Team (ABCT) has undergone significant changes in the past three years. The brigade was once one of the best maneuver brigades in Forces Command (FORSCOM) but is now riddled with issues ranging from lack of a clear vision for the unit to low morale, and ethical concerns. As the incoming Brigade Commander, I have had 30 days to assess the unit and review historical information and an evaluation from the Centers for Army Lessons Learned (CALL). The most critical leadership problem in the 4th ABCT is the lack of a clear vision for the unit. I will use Kotter’s Eight Step Change Model and the Seven-Step Vision Process along with Kotter’s Eight Step change model to establish goals and implement organizational change. By implementing change using Kotter’s model and the seven-step vision process, I can alleviate some of the underlying morale and ethical issues while providing a picture of the future.

Too often in business as well as the military, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” (Powell, C #7). Too often the command as well as enlisted soldiers will use this analogy to continue to do what they have always done and fight change. Also this leads to allowing small details to be overlooked because it’s been allowed before, these small details, such as production schedules become larger details. These small little details will cause larger details to be overlooked in the future. This culture will foster reactivity instead of promoting proactivity (Powell, C #7). This type of culture is a struggle for leaders to change in the National Guard because of the hometown mentality, all though we strive to keep the since of community in our units as leaders we have to be the supporters of change. Be able to answer the “why” when it is necessary to move in a different direction, we have to be able to always look beneath the surface and not take situations at face value. When we have questions or concerns as long as they are morally and

The fifth step of the process is empowering broad-based action. The previous four steps help me build the determination among my brigade. The fifth step is to establishing decentralized control, training, listening, resourcing to support the changes, and implementing solutions to problems based on trust and commitment. I will empower, encourage leaders in my brigade to use their strength and proficiency to achieve the team and their individual goals. On the other hand, throughout communicating, I will identify the organizational structure barriers that hinder the performance effectiveness and try to eliminate them.

After conducting my assessment, I have identified the following issues that plague the 56th Armored Brigade Combat Team (ABCT); lack of culture, lack of overall discipline, poor planning, lack of a clear vision and lastly toxic leadership within the Brigade. Changing the culture is not an easy task and it will take a long period of time to develop, but I am committed to changing the current culture of this Brigade

Platoon tells the story of the Vietnam war from the eye of a young soldier, Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen). The film showed its viewers about the war and what it was. Not the overly dramatic parts of the war that they show on the TV that aren’t completely accurate. But the living hell that it actually was. Oliver Stone was the director of the film and also a soldier in the war.

Creating lasting change requires personnel at all levels of the chain of command to challenge their beliefs, or interpretations, of why this change is beneficial and necessary to the Special Warfare community. These beliefs shield them from the reality that a change is necessary and that they will need to be part of that change. Heifetz et al. (2009).

First and foremost, I will incorporate idealized influence measures. The team will see I am 100% committed to solving this problem and will do so without cutting corners. Second, I will make it clear that I cannot do this alone. Following the intellectual stimulation model I will communicate to them the need to come up with new ideas, but just as important, I want them involved in decision-making process. Third, I will address the morale issue by using the inspirational motivation model. They need to hear we will succeed. By using this technique I will convey to them that despite the awesome challenge that lies before us, we will succeed and save lives. This will be a theme throughout our problem solving process in order to eliminate self doubt and instill confidence. Finally, like any team in a sport or work environment, not everyone is the same and each person may require different levels of attention. Simply put, I need to know who these people really are. It is my responsibility to provide the proper feedback, guidance and mentorship to each of them using the individual consideration trait. In this role I will be developing safety experts today, who in turn, can spread their knowledge and successful techniques to the troops of tomorrow.

My subordinates will be able to use the concept by understanding that observation comes before suggesting a change. Additionally, they’ll understand how and why leadership establishes change. Allowing them to communicate process improvements to their leaders. My peers will benefit from applying this concept by developing a rapport with their subordinates and accurately identifying the need for change. Likewise, they’ll be able to match the needs of their people with the needs of the unit. Lastly, by utilizing this concept supervisors will have a clearer understanding of their teams needs to accomplish the mission, and how their actions enhance or hinder their team. They’ll be able to diagnose the needs of the Air Force and the people adequately, improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the

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