Overcoming The Supervisor In The Military

Independent of the Army and country you serve, leadership is always an important subject. There are many civilian books and military manuals talking about leadership. The United States Army divides the subject leadership in three levels. These levels are Direct Leadership, Organizational Leadership, and Strategic Leadership. In this paper, the focus will be only about the first two levels. According with you rank, you will work more in one of these levels. Because of that, most part of time there is not much interaction between higher-level leaders and lower level leaders. Despite the limited interaction between higher level leaders like Brigade commanders with the lower level leader like company commander it’s not affect a satisfactory mission accomplishment.

During arduous combat operations coinciding with a high OPTEMPO unit cohesion may flux toward a detriment of mission success. This report will focus on the 56TH Armored Brigade Combat Team (ABCT) in order to address the critical leadership problem. In addition, focus will center on relevant facts and assumptions that led to the critical leadership problem and rectify the issues. Furthermore, a new ABCT vision will be published in order to restructure the organizational culture toward a unified purpose and an increase in esprit de corps. (Verify with lesson for correct purpose)

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.

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).

Officers are taught to lead by example which means learning from the officers who came before them. As a leader in the army, a solider is constantly watched and must uphold the army core values at all times. Setting a good example for the young, non commissioned officers (NCOs) in the battalion is vital to the battalions cohesion and morale. In order to lead by example an officer is taught different leadership styles to incorporate in the field For instance, participating leadership style is especially appropriate when there is time receive input, information, and recommendations of your subordinates. The primary goal of the army is to develop the leaders of tomorrow. Leadership can always be improved on throughout life.

Being a leader is always a challenge, and assuming a new command is challenging. There are a lot of expectations to me as a leader. The organization has selected me to a new position, and they believe I fulfill their standards for their leaders. The organization trust and expect me to lead, develop and achieve. My superiors and subordinates have a lot of expectations. They expect me to lead them in the best way to solve our assigned missions. In my new assignment as commander of 4th Armor Brigade Combat Team (ABCT), the main critical leadership problems are the lack of cohesive teams, ethical and work standards and the level of stress. I will through analyze explain and defend my selection of critical leadership problems and apply a model for solving them, including implementing and measuring my vision as the new brigade commander.

Transitioning to command from any other leadership challenge in the military requires that an officer experiences a mental shift in his/her approach to exercising the newly granted authority, responsibility and accountability for the unit. Army doctrine suggests that authority, responsibility, and accountability are inherent attributes of command. These attributes of command coupled with the expectations of the commander, demand a new and holistic approach to commandership, which is defined as exercising the art of command through leadership, management, and command.

As a Non Commissioned Officers we need to seek what is best for our soldiers. It is our duty to guide them through this Army process. How are we going to do this? By maintaining discipline, training soldiers and ensuring welfare.

This past year, I had the opportunity to serve as the acting Detachment SGT for 629th Military Intelligence Battalion. During my time as DET SGT, I began thinking about my leadership philosophy and what it would mean to my soldiers. I thought of a number of ideas, however the one word that came to mind was mentorship. Early in my career I had the privilege of being mentored by SGT Ronald Lott. He was an older NCO who was about to retire from the National Guard.

Summary: In this article the authors are addressing future leaders, and they immediately inform the reader that because there is more complexity considerably more complex issues and technologies than a century ago in the operational military environment, there is a great need for military leaders to achieve autonomy in terms of adapting to and learning about the evolving environment. In short, leaders must be smarter and better prepared for a changing world.

They want to become that fearless leader as you have shown them. Dr. Kaurin mentions how a leader good or bad affects their soldiers, “Kirkland argues that trust is the essential factor in maintaining ethical behavior and unit cohesion. If the soldiers can see their leaders share their and the institutional values, they are more likely to uphold these values on their own, which is more effective than coercion; in short, the leaders set the group identity and values” (Kaurin, 2006, p. 03-03). So the idea with loyalty is that if everyone is loyal to each other within a unit and amongst the junior enlisted and senior enlisted and that there is a unit cohesion, each solider will put in what was given out. Thus, the more you put in the more you will get out which will build upon teamwork and trust amongst each other.

The Brazilian Army has an increasing quitting rate by junior noncommissioned officers (NCOs). The Army is turning its attention towards this issue that is becoming worse year by year. Brazilian junior NCOs do not realize how important is to be a good leader, and how their demeanor should be. They think it is hard to develop positive attitude, and they get demotivated because something happens in their personal lives that affects their work as a Soldier or vice-versa. Junior NCOs lose focus very easily, they must be constantly monitored, and senior enlisted advisors must provide them feedback whatever positive or negative. They lack perseverance, patience, and purpose. They need guidance and counseling.

Becoming a new supervisor can be an exciting, but daunting experience. Determining what leadership style you embrace can set the tone for your career. Consequently, the leadership style that is selected will determine the willingness of subordinates to work for you or against you. A new supervisor will be confronted with issues and problems they were not aware of as a front line officer. The responsibilities of a new supervisor will increase substantially and they will be held accountable for their subordinates’ actions. One of the biggest challenges for any new supervisor is to gain respect and trust from the subordinates that are being supervised while ensuring the policies and procedures of the department are being followed.

This paper will discuss and help understand the best leadership style for a new supervisor. The leadership style that is selected will determine the willingness of subordinates to work for you or against you. A new supervisor will be confronted with issues and problems they were not aware of when they were a front line officer. The responsibilities of a new supervisor will increase substantially and they will be held accountable for their subordinates’ actions. One of the biggest challenges for any new supervisor is to gain respect and trust from the subordinates that are being supervised while ensuring the policies and procedures of the department are being followed.

Motivation has a strong behavioral component and it is important for managers because it is one of the elements that affect performance (Nahavandi, 2015, p.140). Being in the military “The Mission” always comes first. Leadership tends to forget employees are human beings. This contributes to the lack of motivation in the