Military Leader Development

The intention of this paper is to introduce my leadership philosophy. I will start off defining leadership as well as explaining my leadership philosophy. I will then share a summary of an interview with a Squadron Commander about a difficult situation that he needed to use his philosophy to work through and analyze how my philosophy applies to the same situation followed by a brief summary.

In today’s Army, there are three levels of Leadership. We are going to talk about Direct and Organizational levels of the Army leadership. Direct leadership starts at the lowest level with the team leader of which has the most direct influence with Soldiers. Organizational Leaders have a staff to help them make decisions on a daily basis and provide the resources for the direct leaders to accomplish their mission. After 13 years of conflict, Mission Command could not have not even been more important than it is now. Both Direct and Organizational leaders must provide their subordinates intent and purpose in order for them to operate with in Mission Command.

For the next 10-15 years, leadership development is critical within the military. Training to develop agile leaders will yield a competitive advantage within both private and public organizations. Importantly, leadership training should mirror as if one would fight in the new Era International Security Environment. Such tenacity will confront limited engagements in the next 10 years, plus a great deal of offensive operations in the 15 years. Therefore, trained leaders are flexible to their changing missions, roles, and responsibilities, thus are more adaptive to compelling new conflicts.

Leadership goals should always contain methods of a continuous process of learning through education, training, and individual experiences that help ensure that the message will be communicated in a confident and competent manner when leading troops. Soldiers tend to follow leaders that demonstrate and live the Army values, while displaying their confidence in every decision that affects change. Leaders are not born as organizational or tactical leaders; but grown by their genetic determinism, which is inside and the characteristics they work toward; that mold is which type leader they will become. Not just anyone can lead; you must have the desire to lead, be willing to make the commitment to being a leader, and prepare yourself properly, then you have the desire to become a leader. (Fulton, 1995).

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

Our nation’s military continuously evolves to ensure success in future operations. This change is only be possible if our top leaders work in concert towards a common goal. The purpose of this document is to highlight how General Stanley McChrystal changed the manner in which the U.S. Military operates and communicates in an ever-changing environment.

There are a number of significant difficulties for today’s military - the Global War on Terrorism or what has recently been termed the “Long War;” weapon system acquisitions and personnel draw downs. The focus of this paper is on one strategic component of the military quest—Leadership. More specifically, it will center on servant leadership and its impact on the military’s vision.

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

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

The development of the adaptive Army leaders for a complex world is the most important Army strategic priority today. The Army must be able to preserve the peace and security of the homeland and to conduct assigned tasks effectively in the dynamic geopolitical environment too. Therefore, the adaptive Army leaders’ are necessary to react to the fast changing threats within the United States and abroad as well.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss how my legacy leader’s use of the Army’s leadership attributes and competencies contributed to my development and leadership philosophy. When it comes to leadership in the Army there are some who are good leaders and others that need some work. Everyone at some point in their career will be in a leadership position and it is important to understand what it takes to be a good leader in the Army. Luckily for us the Army has a guide for us to use that tells us what attributes and competencies make up a good leader (Headquarters, Department of the Army (HQDA, 2012). While we are provided these attributes and competencies

By reflecting on leadership techniques and methods exhibited throughout history, a more "situational" soldier can emerge, ideally being able to: analyze a given situation, potentially compare it to any knowledge of prior situations that might be parallel in nature, and respond to it appropriately and concisely with a vast arsenal of leadership experience. In this way, qualities of character and competence become reinforced over a large spectrum of individuals within the military. The many leadership traits that George Washington has since been renowned and celebrated for are becoming standardly indoctrinated in our current generation of servicemen and women (ADRP 6-22, 2012; Harvey,

1. Currently there is a lack of leadership development courses in place for junior enlisted

The ambitious goals and the responsibility in front of the country make strategic leading in the Armed Forces an exciting but challenging role. A Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous (VUCA) environment also characterizes the complex context in which military forces operates. Therefore national security senior leadership requires precise key skills and knowledge, beyond the ones needed at tactical and operational level, in order to be successful. This paper is a personal critical self-assessment of the ability to lead at strategic level as it stands today, at the beginning of the Air War College (AWC) course. Gaining self-awareness is the first step to maximize the outcome of this course that is just focused to educate the future

Adaptive leadership is becoming widespread in the United States Army amongst junior officers in leadership positions that require quick thinking and innovation. Leonard Wong discusses how the versatile and unpredictable enemy and situations in Iraq produces adaptable junior officers. These officers are learning to make decisions under chaotic conditions and are becoming more mentally agile. The Army is changing. The Army is transforming its capabilities in the war in Iraq to be effective and successful. General Schoomaker states that we will not accomplish our goals as a nation in the 21st century unless our Army becomes much more agile but with the capacity for long term, sustained level of conflict. The Army is in the process of