Strategic Leader Development for a 21st Century Army

Strategic Leader Development for a 21st Century Army PDF Author: James M. Hardaway
Publisher: Createspace Independent Pub
ISBN: 9781481142960
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 60

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Book Description
As the nature of warfare evolves, the Army must produce leaders who comfortably interact with diverse populations and embrace complexity. This emerging truth dictates a need for change in how Army officers are trained and selected to lead at the highest levels in order to regain the initiative in managing today's fluid operational environment. The concept of strategic leadership, therefore, must be examined closely in Army doctrine. Social, cultural, and complex problem-solving skills are becoming a priority and must be developed in young officers to provide enough knowledge for senior leaders to leverage later in their careers. Rarely does the typical Army career prepare someone to succeed in the strategic arena where the non-military elements of national power carry greater effects than large numbers of troops and equipment. The basic question addressed in this study is “how effective is the U.S. Army at developing strategic thinkers capable of leading decisively in complex and adaptive environments?” To answer this question, three distinct areas are analyzed: (1) the ability of the Officer Education System (OES) to distinguish critical abilities deemed necessary to succeed in the modern security environment, (2) the ability of the Officer Evaluation Reporting System (OERS) to measure an individual's dedication to self study and lifelong education, and (3) the ability of the same OERS to measure individual skills acquired through operational experience. The Army's current OES pushes the most complex topics to the final stages of an officer's educational career. As a result, few officers get a chance to expand their intellectual boundaries through critical and creative thinking prior to their field grade experience. Doing business this way denies the opportunity for junior level officers to develop the requisite skills needed to excel in the strategic arena. The Army must promote advanced educational opportunities as healthy and necessary to a young officer's career. As the key process for reporting a leader's abilities and potential for advancement, the OERS focuses primarily on current performance and provides little incentive to highlight an officer's dedication to career-long professional development. The over-valuing of short-term success negates the potential benefits of continuous learning, a long-term endeavor. The result of such short-sightedness stifles innovation while entrenching a “business as usual” approach to leadership development ignoring the changing operational environment. The personnel management system continues to emphasize combat deployments, regardless of skills acquired, over an officer's need for professional development. The current version of the OER fails to utilize the leader development aspects it was designed to accomplish. The Army must look into traits and attributes particular to leaders at the senior levels in order to develop context-based evaluation systems. Junior and senior level leaders should not be evaluated on the same scale. A way to accomplish this is to establish qualitative standards for branch qualification based on operational experiences, not just on the number of months assigned. To force a change in the culture and career progression of leaders prepared for 21st century warfare, the officer education and evaluation methodologies must adapt to reflect the complexities of the contemporary operating environment. To accomplish this, the Army must adjust its leader development systems to recognize and promote strategic thinking much earlier than in past generations.

Strategic Leader Development for a 21st Century Army

Strategic Leader Development for a 21st Century Army PDF Author: James M. Hardaway
Publisher: Createspace Independent Pub
ISBN: 9781481142960
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 60

Get Book Here

Book Description
As the nature of warfare evolves, the Army must produce leaders who comfortably interact with diverse populations and embrace complexity. This emerging truth dictates a need for change in how Army officers are trained and selected to lead at the highest levels in order to regain the initiative in managing today's fluid operational environment. The concept of strategic leadership, therefore, must be examined closely in Army doctrine. Social, cultural, and complex problem-solving skills are becoming a priority and must be developed in young officers to provide enough knowledge for senior leaders to leverage later in their careers. Rarely does the typical Army career prepare someone to succeed in the strategic arena where the non-military elements of national power carry greater effects than large numbers of troops and equipment. The basic question addressed in this study is “how effective is the U.S. Army at developing strategic thinkers capable of leading decisively in complex and adaptive environments?” To answer this question, three distinct areas are analyzed: (1) the ability of the Officer Education System (OES) to distinguish critical abilities deemed necessary to succeed in the modern security environment, (2) the ability of the Officer Evaluation Reporting System (OERS) to measure an individual's dedication to self study and lifelong education, and (3) the ability of the same OERS to measure individual skills acquired through operational experience. The Army's current OES pushes the most complex topics to the final stages of an officer's educational career. As a result, few officers get a chance to expand their intellectual boundaries through critical and creative thinking prior to their field grade experience. Doing business this way denies the opportunity for junior level officers to develop the requisite skills needed to excel in the strategic arena. The Army must promote advanced educational opportunities as healthy and necessary to a young officer's career. As the key process for reporting a leader's abilities and potential for advancement, the OERS focuses primarily on current performance and provides little incentive to highlight an officer's dedication to career-long professional development. The over-valuing of short-term success negates the potential benefits of continuous learning, a long-term endeavor. The result of such short-sightedness stifles innovation while entrenching a “business as usual” approach to leadership development ignoring the changing operational environment. The personnel management system continues to emphasize combat deployments, regardless of skills acquired, over an officer's need for professional development. The current version of the OER fails to utilize the leader development aspects it was designed to accomplish. The Army must look into traits and attributes particular to leaders at the senior levels in order to develop context-based evaluation systems. Junior and senior level leaders should not be evaluated on the same scale. A way to accomplish this is to establish qualitative standards for branch qualification based on operational experiences, not just on the number of months assigned. To force a change in the culture and career progression of leaders prepared for 21st century warfare, the officer education and evaluation methodologies must adapt to reflect the complexities of the contemporary operating environment. To accomplish this, the Army must adjust its leader development systems to recognize and promote strategic thinking much earlier than in past generations.

Leader Development Strategy for a Twenty-first Century Army

Leader Development Strategy for a Twenty-first Century Army PDF Author: U.S. Army Command and General Staff College
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Leadership
Languages : en
Pages : 15

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Book Description
This leader development strategy seeks to restore balance and prepare for a future of full spectrum operations by introducing a series of imperatives which will become the "touchstone" for policies, processes, and resources to support Army leader development programs. The strategy discusses the way in which the Army will adapt and develop its leaders, describes the challenges of the operational environment, the implications of the operational environment on leader development, and the mission, framework, characteristics, and imperatives of the strategy. This leader development strategy seeks to develop the agile, adaptive, and innovative leaders for the Army within a flexible, relevant, and enduring framework. An uncertain and complex future security environment demands that Army leader development prepare leaders to operate with competence and confidence in ambiguous, frequently changing circumstances. Army leaders deserve the best possible leader development process to enable them to effectively lead soldiers and protect and promote national interests. In this era of persistent conflict, the Army must increase its efforts to develop each of its leaders, and must ensure that it is managing its most talented leaders to lead the Army into the future.

Strategic Leader Development for a 21st Century Army

Strategic Leader Development for a 21st Century Army PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 59

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Book Description
As the nature of warfare evolves, the Army must produce leaders who comfortably interact with diverse populations and embrace complexity. This emerging truth dictates a need for change in how Army officers are trained and selected to lead at the highest levels in order to regain the initiative in managing today's fluid operational environment. The concept of strategic leadership, therefore, must be examined closely in Army doctrine. Social, cultural, and complex problem-solving skills are becoming a priority and must be developed in young officers to provide enough knowledge for senior leaders to leverage later in their careers. Rarely does the typical Army career prepare someone to succeed in the strategic arena where the non-military elements of national power carry greater effects than large numbers of troops and equipment. The basic question addressed in this study is "how effective is the U.S. Army at developing strategic thinkers capable of leading decisively in complex and adaptive environments?" To answer this question, three distinct areas are analyzed: (1) the ability of the Officer Education System (OES) to distinguish critical abilities deemed necessary to succeed in the modern security environment, (2) the ability of the Officer Evaluation Reporting System (OERS) to measure an individual's dedication to self study and lifelong education, and (3) the ability of the same OERS to measure individual skills acquired through operational experience.

Bridging the Gap in Strategic Leader Development

Bridging the Gap in Strategic Leader Development PDF Author: Nelson G. Kraft
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Career development
Languages : en
Pages : 28

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Book Description
The 2013 Army Leader Development Strategy (ALDS), coupled with recommendations from the 2013 Chief of Staff of the Army (CSA) Leader Development Task Force Final Report, provide an excellent road map to develop leaders for the future. However, there is a challenge in the development of strategic leaders that neither the ALDS, nor the CSA's task force take into account; the time it will take to develop a strategic leader before the ALDS and CSA's task force's recommendations are fully implemented. In essence, a gap of time exists where strategic leaders remain underdeveloped. Bridging this gap is crucial for the Army in order to have strategic leaders in the near term. Additionally, a distinction between senior and strategic leaders and their development is needed to bridge this gap and improve leader development for the Army leadership that will face the challenges of the twenty-first century. This paper offers a strategy to fill the near-term gap in the Army's development plan for strategic leaders serving at the ranks of Lieutenant Colonel and Colonel and recommends a way ahead to improve the development of officers in the same ranks that have not been earmarked for service as strategic leaders.

Learning Agility

Learning Agility PDF Author: David F. Hoff
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780692995365
Category : Executive ability
Languages : en
Pages : 178

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Book Description
Learning agility is not a new concept, but it took years of research to prove that it really does exist, and can be quantified on an individual level. Out of that research came the introduction of the Burke Learning Agility Inventory¿ (Burke LAI) as the first reliable, theoretically grounded way to measure learning agility. This book explains how learning agility is measured, and explores the ways that this information can be developed and applied by individuals and organizations.

Developing Resilient Leaders of Character for the 21st Century

Developing Resilient Leaders of Character for the 21st Century PDF Author: David C. Foley
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Character
Languages : en
Pages : 24

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Book Description
Character development is the starting point to build prototypical leaders committed to the Army's enduring purpose and charter. As the Army envisions the Land Force of 2020, it must cultivate prototypical Army leaders to meet the indeterminate demands of the 21st Century. Within its current design and intended purpose, the Army leader development strategy lacks the approach necessary to develop professional prototypical leaders of character who are committed to the Army profession and strategic vision, and reflect institutional values. This paper surveys the Army's archetypical development model as an instrument for professional growth, analyzes the need for committed prototypical leaders of character, and offers prescriptive and descriptive recommendations to the Army's leader development strategy for senior leaders to consider as they continue to shape and influence leader character and institutional behavior. To meet the unique demands of the transnational security community, the Army must invest time, energy, and resources in character development across the institutional and operational domains of leadership.

Adapting the Army's Training and Leader Development Programs for Future Challenges

Adapting the Army's Training and Leader Development Programs for Future Challenges PDF Author: James C. Crowley
Publisher: Rand Corporation
ISBN: 9780833076380
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 118

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Book Description
In addition to the defeat of conventional enemy forces, Army units and leaders must be able to defeat unconventional forces, develop partner forces, protect local populations, and support civil functions. This report examines the adequacy of the Army Training and Leader Development (ATLD) system management processes, identifies areas for improvement, and develops directions that the Army could take to improve its ATLD management processes.

Four Decades and Five Manuals

Four Decades and Five Manuals PDF Author: J. Keith Purvis
Publisher: Createspace Independent Pub
ISBN: 9781480017238
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 58

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Book Description
This monograph analyzes the history of United States Army leadership doctrine from 1983 through 2011 to identify the evolution of strategic leadership theory and practice in Army doctrine. Using leadership doctrine, the focus is on the analysis of the articles, reports, opinions, studies, and research papers surrounding each doctrinal publication. This research uses an analytical approach across the timeline of leadership doctrine by understanding each approved doctrine, reviewing the intellectual debate within the Army institution and across other leadership disciplines, examining the doctrinal changes in the published documents, and exploring the future of proposed strategic leadership doctrine. Beginning with the renewed emphasis on tactical, direct leadership attributes published in 1983, the omission of operational and strategic leadership in the doctrine identified a gap in addressing leadership at all levels within the Army. Following executive level leadership discourse in the 1980s, the publication of FM 22-103, Leadership and Command at Senior Levels in 1987 established the first doctrinal framework for command and leadership above the direct, tactical level for the Army. Coupled with the 1993 AR 600-100, Army Leadership, Army leadership policies became a better codified part of training and leader development, specifically in recognition of different levels of leadership including: direct, senior and executive. The consolidation and reorganization of Army leadership doctrine in 1999 placed the three levels of leadership together in one doctrinal reference; however, differences still existed between definitions of the levels. FM 22-100, Army Leadership: Be, Know, Do used direct, organizational and strategic, while the 1993 regulation used direct, senior and strategic. By 2007, the newly published documents finally agreed, providing clarity of purpose and better understanding for all Army leaders as they progressed through the different leadership levels. Strategic leadership thought and its importance to Army leaders continued to evolve and remained a much discussed, researched, and published topic into the twenty-first century. National military and government leaders addressed the need to improve strategic leaders' ability to understand and prepare for future conflicts while presenting the ways strategic leadership fits into overall leadership doctrine. The planned forthcoming updates to the 2006 Army Leadership: Competent, Confident and Agile manual continues those linkages for strategic leaders. The monograph concludes that strategic leaders must understand the strategy of the organization, where the organization fits in the complex environment, and what the organization must do to be successful. Through inclusion of strategic leadership references in consolidated Army doctrine, the academic theories and methods surrounding strategic leadership became more widely spread across the force, further improving the understanding necessary for a successful organization. The leadership traditions of the United States Army, better known for the direct leadership examples executed in every conflict, continues to have a codified description of the strategic leadership attributes necessary for continued success, accessible to all leaders, from the newest to the most senior.

ALDS

ALDS PDF Author: Raymond F. Chandler (III)
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Command of troops
Languages : en
Pages : 24

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Book Description
Leader development is fundamental to our Army, particularly to an Army of preparation. We are currently out of balance given the emphasis we have had to place on warfighting. This strategy will help the Army re-balance the three crucial leader development components of training, education, and experience. This Army Leader Development Strategy (ALDS) provides vision and guidance on ends, ways, and means for developing leaders of all cohorts that exercise Mission Command while planning, preparing, executing, and assessing Unified Land Operations to meet the challenges of the 21st Century. Leaders must understand the strategic environment, be able to think critically and creatively, visualize solutions, and describe and communicate crucial information to achieve shared understanding, collaborate, and build teams.

Removing Barriers to Strategic Leader Development

Removing Barriers to Strategic Leader Development PDF Author: Jason J. Jones
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Leadership
Languages : en
Pages : 33

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Book Description
The Army must develop strategic leaders who can excel in a future operating environment marked by complexity and uncertainty. The questions becomes, is the Army developing officers that are prepared to serve as future strategic leaders? Unfortunately, operational demands placed on the military since 2001 created a culture that precludes this from happening. This culture rewards tactical experiences over the pursuit of broadening assignments and shaped a cohort of senior leaders that mentor subordinates to maximize time at the tactical level. These issues, combined with limited opportunities in an officer’s career timeline to pursue broadening assignments, created a miss-alignment between the Army Officer Professional Development Program and career management system. This research paper highlights those issues that led to this misalignment, offer recommendations that will alter the Army’s culture, change mentors attitudes, and increase time in an officer’s career timeline to pursue broadening opportunities. The application of these recommendations will realign these programs and lead to the development of diverse strategic leaders able to lead the Army into the twenty-first century.