Strategy Research Project

LEADERSHIP CORE COMPETENCIES

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USAWC CLASS OF 2008

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Strategy Research Project

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Leadership Core Competencies

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Philip Gay, Sr.

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U.S. Army War College ,122 Forbes Ave.,Carlisle,PA,17013-5220

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USAWC STRATEGY RESEARCH PROJECT

LEADERSHIP CORE COMPETENCIES

by

Lieutenant Colonel Philip W. Gay, Sr. United States Army National Guard

Colonel Duncan B. Baugh Project Adviser

This SRP is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Master of Strategic Studies Degree. The U.S. Army War College is accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, 3624 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, (215) 662-5606. The Commission on Higher Education is an institutional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. The views expressed in this student academic research paper are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Army, Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government. U.S. Army War College CARLISLE BARRACKS, PENNSYLVANIA 17013

ABSTRACT AUTHOR: TITLE: FORMAT: DATE: KEY TERMS: Lieutenant Colonel Philip W. Gay, Sr. Leadership Core Competencies Strategy Research Project 21 March 2008 WORD COUNT: 7,409 PAGES: 36

Strategic Leadership, Influence, and Leaders Development

CLASSIFICATION: Unclassified

The United State Army, Air Force, and Navy must develop leaders to meet the volatile and ambiguous requirements of the twenty-first century. To meet this challenge, the military Services must search internally and externally for leadership ideals and concepts to stimulate the evolution of its core leader competencies. As the fundamental building block of leadership, behavioral competencies serve the vital purpose of improving individual and organizational processes by defining and establishing leadership requirements and performance expectations. Although each service developed its competencies based on its unique mission requirements, ultimately, their different approaches led to a very similar understanding of what is required to develop leaders and achieve mission success.

LEADERSHIP CORE COMPETENCIES

If you are a leader, your people expect you to create their future. They look into your eyes, and they expect to see strength and vision. To be successful, you must inspire and motivate those who are following you. When they look into your eyes, they must see that you are with them. 1 General Gordon R. Sullivan Hope is Not a Method (1996) Transformation is the process of change through which military organizations are acquiring the necessary structure and doctrine to meet the volatile and ambiguous requirements of the twenty-first century. To meet these changing needs, the United State Army, Air Force, and Navy must continue to develop leaders; they must look internally and externally for leadership ideals and concepts that will stimulate the evolution of its core leader competencies. As the fundamental building block of leadership behavioral competencies serve the vital purpose of improving individual and organizational processes by defining and establishing leadership requirements and performance expectations. This paper utilizes the framework of the Armys core competencies as the primary comparison tool in order to analyze and discuss definitions of leadership and the core competencies of the U.S. Army, Air Force, and Navy. In doing so, it explores commonalties and external concepts and practices aimed at enhancing and facilitating leadership transformation. 2 The Army defines leadership as influencing people to provide purpose, motivation, and direction while operating to accomplish the mission and improve the organization. From this definition, the Army extracts three fundamental goals leading others, developing the organization and its members, and accomplishing the mission. These three goals ultimately define and express the Armys Core Leader

Competencies. The Core Leader Competencies emphasize the roles, functions, and activities used to define what a leader must do. These competencies consist of the following: Leads Others, Extends Influence Beyond the Chain of Command, Leads by Example, Communicates, Creates a Positive Environment, Prepares Self, Develops Others, and Gets Results. The Air Force defines leadership as the art and science of influencing and directing people to accomplish the assigned mission. Within the Air Force, leadership is broken down into three components: core values, competencies, and actions. Core values are the guiding characteristics that Air Force members must demonstrate at every level of leadership. Leadership competencies are occupational skills developed by Air Force leaders as they progress to higher levels of responsibility. Leadership actions refer to influence and actions taken by leaders to improve their organization and accomplish the assigned mission. Elements of the Air Force core values combine to form what the Air Force refers to as Enduring Leadership Competencies. 3 These enduring leadership competencies are broken down into three categories: personal leadership, leading people/teams, and leading the institution. Under these three categories, the Air Force identifies sixteen subcategories; these sixteen subcategories generally equate to the Air Forces equivalent of the Armys core competencies. The Air Forces competencies consist of: Exercise Sound Judgment, Adapting and Performing Under Pressure; Inspire Trust, Lead Courageously; Assess Self, Foster Effective Communication; Drive Performance through Shared Vision, Values, and Accountability; Influence Through Win/Win Solutions; Mentor and Coach for Growth and Success; Promote Collaboration and Teamwork; Partner to Maximize Results; Shape Air Force

Strategy and Direction; Command Organizational and Mission Success through Enterprise Integration and Resource Stewardship; Embrace Change and Transformation; Drive Execution; and Attract, Retain, and Develop Talent. 4 The Navy defines leadership as the art of influencing people to progress towards the accomplishment of a specific goal. The Navy identifies three fundamental elements that make an effective leader: moral principles, personal example, and administrative ability. 5 Extrapolated from these elements, are the Navy Leadership Competency Model (NLCM) and the Principles of Naval Leadership. The NLCM applies to all levels and positions of leadership and helps to define behavior, describe excellent performance, and provide a clarification of standards and expectations for job roles, positions, and functions. The NLCM consists of five competencies: Accomplishing Mission, Leading People, Leading Change, Working with People, and Resource Stewardship. 6 The Principles of Naval Leadership help to define what a leader must be, know, and do to succeed at a given task. 7 The NLCM, Principles of Leadership, and excerpts from other Navy leadership publications are combined for the sake of creating a comparative model to that of the Armys eight core leader competencies. At first glance, a core competency comparison seems simple, three military services with similar core values and definitions of leadership. However, after analysis of the three their distinct differences become apparent. Each service develops competencies based on unique mission requirements; consequently, their approaches to core competencies take varying paths that are sometimes in seemingly different directions. For example, all the services address strategic leadership, but only the Army extensively analyzes and differentiates between the responsibilities and challenges of

leaders at different levels. While any of the three services core competency frameworks could function as the primary comparison tool, the strategic distinctiveness of the Armys competency structure led to its selection. The following explores, compares, and/or contrast the Air Force and Navy leadership characteristics to that of the Armys eight core competencies. Leads Others Army leaders lead by influencing, motivating, and inspiring their internal organizations and the external environment around them. As a leader, the ability to lead others is the most fundamental of the core competencies. To help achieve success, leaders establish a clear vision, and develop realistic supporting goals and objectives that answer who, what, and why. 8 Once goals and objectives are established, leaders use the appropriate level of influence to motivate and inspire others. Clausewitz wrote just as it takes a powerful archer to bend the bow beyond the average, so it takes a powerful mind to drive his army to the limit. 9 Todays leaders comprehend the limitations of their resources, balance mission requirements, understand risk, and maintaining the welfare of their soldiers mission first, people always. Army leaders must always maintain and reinforce the important role of professional standards in all endeavors, and inspire and motivate others to follow. The Air Force equivalent to Leads Others encompasses two of their enduring leadership competencies, Drive Performance through Shared Vision, Values, and Accountability, and Exercise Sound Judgment. Driving performance through shared vision, values, and accountability generally refer to leader responsibilities to establish a desired goal or end-state and actively work and influence subordinates to achieve

organizational objectives. Air Force leaders influence their people by tailoring their behavior to each individual Airmans need for motivation, achievement, and a sense of belonging, self-esteem, and self-control. 10 Through this approach, Air Force leaders improve their organizations through creation of an environment that fosters personal and organizational excellence, sets high standards for performance, and conveys confidence in others ability to achieve goals and overcome obstacles. Being an effective Air Force leader requires knowledge, discipline, and the ability to exercise sound judgment. In the air and on the ground, leaders must be able to comprehend critical information, while considering the interrelationships between issues and the implications and consequences to other Air Force stakeholders. 11 Within the Navys leadership framework, the competency equivalent of Leads Others translates into Leading People and Leading Change. Leading People requires the ability to design and implement strategies that maximize personnel potential, leverage diversity, and promote high ethical standards to achieve the organizational vision, mission, and goals. Simply stated, good leaders set the example, manage tasks, and are morally responsible. Much like the other services, the Navy leaders have the responsibility to develop and shape sailors into cohesive teams that utilize technical skills to achieve success in crisis and combat situations. Within the Navy, Leading Change encompasses the ability to develop and implement changes through strategic and organizational visions. Visions serve the vital function of integrating Navy program goals, priorities, and values to balance change and create a work environment that encourages flexibility, innovative ideals, and creative thinking. 12

A significant common element that all three services incorporate in this competency is vision. Many military leaders establish and provide their personal visions to their organizations with the noble goal of establishing purpose, direction, motivation, and commitment. In reality, this approach usually achieves compliance but rarely commitment. A personal vision derives its power only from the individual, whereas a shared vision derives energy from the collective group. To achieve commitment, military leaders must establish a shared vision, one that their subordinates believe in and adopt as their own. Shared vision inspires and compels individuals to fully commit themselves and become advocates of the vision. It builds a sense of ownership that perpetuates and reinforces itself throughout the organization. Establishing a shared vision is an area where leaders at all levels often fail or fall short. By transforming their visions to reflect the thoughts and ideas of their subordinates, military leaders can use the energy of the collective to achieve greater results and gain full commitment to the vision. 13 Extends Influence beyond the Chain of Command Influence causes individuals and organizations to conform and change their behavior. When influence is employed correctly, it efficiently moves people in positive directions. Those who wish to create and sustain positive change in others need to understand how the influence works. Extending influence requires Army leaders to understand their roles, boundaries, demands, constraints, and expectations of other departments and agencies. With an understanding of these roles, leaders apply the tools of persuasion, empowerment, motivation, negotiation, conflict resolution, bargaining, advocacy, and diplomacy in their efforts to influence and gain the desired result. 14 Army leaders extend influence to various Joint, Interagency, Multi-national, and

Intra-agency (JIMI) organizations. 15 Within the JIMI environment, Army leaders work to master the art of peer leadership rather than positional authority, and respect the contributions of all coalition partners involved in order to reach a desired end state. Negotiation skills are a necessity for obtaining cooperation and support. Leaders actively listen and communicate a clear position while conveying a willingness to bargain on negotiable points. To gain cooperation, support, and reach an acceptable conscience, Army leaders forgo self-recognition for the common good, demonstrate a degree of humbleness, and not take credit for every good idea. 16 The Air Force extends influence beyond the chain of command by Partnering to Maximize Results and Influencing through Win/Win Solutions. Air Force partnering occurs internally and externally through a system of cultivated networks and relationships. To extend influence, Air Force leaders rely on the use of persuasion and compelling rational arguments. The Air force negotiates by accommodating a variety of interpersonal styles and perspectives, while promoting their ideals, proposals, and positions to essential stakeholders. Through influence and the leveraging of their partners, Air Force leaders negotiate to achieve integrated solutions, remove barriers, and meet their overall objectives while obtaining a win/win solution. 17 The Navys best facsimile to the competency of Extends Influence Beyond the Chain of Command is Working with People. Working with People evolves around the Navys ability to consistently explain, advocate, and express facts and ideas in a convincing manner. Through oral and written communication, the Navy negotiates and collaborates with individuals and groups that are both internal and external to their

organization. By influencing and partnering with other organizations, Navy leaders build coalitions and gain the political awareness and influence needed for success. 18 The common denominator among the services for this core leader competency is influence. Influence is what causes people to conform and change their behavior. When influence is employed correctly, it efficiently moves people in positive directions. To create and sustain positive change requires an understanding of how the influence works. 19 In Robert Cialdinis book Influence, he identifies six basic social and psychological principles that lead to successful strategies for achieving influence; these are the Rule of Reciprocity, Commitment and Consistency, Social Proof, Liking, Authority, and Scarcity. The Rule of Reciprocity is much more powerful than the notion of Quid pro Quo. Reciprocity can spur unequal exchanges by creating an uncomfortable feeling of indebtedness. This feeling can often lead to an individuals agreement to a request for a substantially larger favor, than the one first received. Individuals generally like consistency; therefore, they are more willing to agree and commit themselves to goals, activities, or requests that are consistent with their beliefs. An individuals desire to appear consistent can easily motivate and influence social behavior. Social Proof is essentially monkey see, monkey do, meaning that individuals tend adopt the behavior of others as being appropriate when in situations of uncertainty. Liking refers to physical attractiveness, similarity, and praise. Physical attractiveness provides an advantage in social interaction. Research has shown that physically attractive people are more persuasive in terms of getting what they want and in changing the attitudes and opinions of others. Similarity refers to an individuals liking of others who are similar to themselves, and therefore are generally more agreeable to the request of similar

people. Simple stated: we like people who are like us; therefore, we are more willing to agree to their requests. Praise generally refers to giving compliments to individuals with the goal of enhancing affection or Liking. Influence through authority comes from the social perception that obedience to authority figures constitutes correct conduct. Due to this perception, individuals will create what is a pseudo decision-making shortcut, and will sometimes obey authority figures in a mindless fashion. According to the Principle of Scarcity, people place more value on opportunities and items when they are rare. The lack of availability tends to influence individuals and groups to make hasty decisions. Cialdinis builds his six basic principles of influence upon an individuals social and psychological preferences. By applying some or all of Cialdinis principles of influence, military leaders may improve and extend their ability to influence internally and externally to their organizations. 20 Leading by Example The Armys core competency of Leading by Example is essential to effective leadership. Army leaders are always under the watchful eyes of their Soldiers and the public. As such, they must always set the example by maintaining high standards of duty, personal appearance, bearing, and above all, ethical behavior. Leaders exemplify loyalty and commitment to the nation and provide their Soldiers with decisive decisions, directions, motivation, and a sense of self-worth and value. Regardless of responsibility level, all Army leaders demonstrate values of Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage. 21 Within the Air Force, Leading by Example compares to the enduring leadership competencies of Inspire Trust, Adapt and Perform Under Pressure, and Lead

Courageously. Inspiring trust within subordinates begins with maintaining high standards of integrity. To the Air Force, integrity is the single most important aspect of individual character. 22 General Charles A. Gabriel, Chief of Staff of the Air Force, 19821986, emphasized the importance of integrity in his statement; Integrity is the fundamental premise for military service in a free society. Without integrity, the moral pillars of our military strength, public trust, and self-respect are lost. 23 In addition to integrity, Air Force leaders establish open, candid, and trusting relationships with subordinates. They endeavor to treat all individuals fairly, with respect, and set aside personal ambitions in order to achieve success and demonstrate loyalty to the unit and the chain of command. Air Force leaders aspire to adapt to new environments, manage change, and set a positive example for subordinates. Regardless of the magnitude of a task or new requirement; Air Force leaders maintain composure when under pressure and continue to work and lead constructively. Leading courageously requires Air Force leaders to frequently display moral and physical courage, take risk, make decisions, and accept responsibility for their actions. Air Force leaders are persistent and focused when facing challenges; they place personal interest aside and meet adversity with confidence. 24 While the Navy does not have a competency level equivalent for Leading by Example, it does emphasize the importance of this competency in its Elements of Leadership. The Elements of Leadership consist of Moral Principles, Personal Example, and Administrative Ability. Moral principles refer to honesty, integrity, and loyalty. These three fundamental principles define the Navys expectation for moral character, and emphasize the importance of applying and demonstrating these principles in actions

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and decisions. The Navy views moral responsibility as a precursor to leading by example. The Navy does not emphasize any particular leadership style or trait, but instead focuses on the importance of earning and maintaining the respect and confidence of subordinates by setting the proper example. Administrative ability is much more than just preparing and filing paperwork; it refers to good management practices. Navy leaders manage time and resources and master the ability to manage, organize, and work with people to achieve organizational goals and objectives. 25 A primary concern of military leaders in all the services is to provide the motivation necessary to accomplish the mission. Motivation is often difficult to convey for leaders whose actions are contrary to their words. Effective leaders walk the way they talk. They do not merely say they will to do the right thing; they actually do it. Leaders who set this type of example demonstrate commitment. 26 Commitment is the single most identified factor for individual success. It consists of two fundamental components having a sound set of beliefs, and an equally appropriate set of positive actions and behavior. Society often hails successful people as visionary leaders, but upon closer inspection, they are simply individuals who hold the line against the easy route of compromise. It is the strength of their commitments, religiously followed, that lead to them to success. As true as this is for the corporate world, it applies even more to military leaders. By effectively demonstrating commitment to others and their organizations, military leaders can have a profound impact on the development of subordinates. Of course, paying the price of commitment comes with a few rewards the commitment of others and a good reputation for integrity. 27

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Communicates Characteristics of the Army competency of Communicates differ significantly at the tactical and strategic levels. At the tactical level, communication relates to a leaders ability to establish open, two-way communication that conveys thoughts and information and achieves a shared understanding of issues and solutions. Without clear communications, leaders are infective in their ability to lead, supervise, build teams, counsel, coach, and mentor subordinates. 28 At the strategic level, Army communication is a proactive and continuous process that focuses on a much larger audience. At its heart, it supports the national security strategy by identifying and responding to strategic threats and opportunities with information-related activities. The ability to communicate effectively with internal staffs, operational components, and external agencies is a critical core competency for all leaders. In addition to the fundamental communications requirements of clearly expressing ideas and actively listening, strategic leaders must also posses the ability to communicate at the departmental level and above. Army Strategic leaders use broad-scoped messages designed to address specific audiences and deliver a persuasive message. Through symbolic communications, strategic leaders use words, actions, decisions, and examples that often carry greater meanings and consequences beyond those of leaders at lower levels. 29 The Air Force refers to this competency as Foster Effective Communication. Air Force leaders ensure the flow of information and communication up, down, across, and within their organizations, and they understand communication refers to both what leaders say and do. Through actively encouraging and listening to subordinates, the Air Force fosters ideas that are clear, concise, and delivered with the desired level of impact to communicate their message effectively. 30 The Air Force defines strategic 12

communication as Informing and appropriately influencing key audiences by synchronizing and integrating communication efforts to deliver truthful, timely, accurate, and credible information. 31 Similarly to the Army, the Air Force views strategic communication as both internal and external with the objective of delivering information and messages intended to have a specific effect on its audience. 32 While the Navy does not recognize a separate competency for communication within the Navy Leadership Competency Model, it does address the vital importance and potential risk to ship-born operations, if communications fail. Admiral Arleigh Burke said, A glance at a globe is all it takes to appreciate the meaning of control of the sea in the nuclear age. 33 The Navy identifies two categories of communication: internal and external. Internal communication refers to the exchange of information between individuals, divisions, and departments onboard a single ship. External communication concerns information exchange between two or more ships, stations, or commands. 34 Recognizing the importance of strategic communications and the role it plays in shaping the battle space and operational outcomes, the Navy published Playbook 2005, Navy Strategic Communications Plan. The purpose of the Playbook is to align and orient the leadership of the Navy in order to communicate its priorities to sailors, families, the American people, and the world. Simply stated, the goal of the Navy is to communicate one message in many voices to multiple audiences. 35 Despite the Services emphasis on communication over the past several years, the U.S. government has not succeeded in integrating its strategic communication efforts. The 2004 Report of the Defense Science Board Task Force on Strategic Communication identified that strategic communication was in crisis and in need of

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major reform. 36 The 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) highlighted additional short falls in strategic communications and stressed the importance of credible communications with interagency partners, allies, and foes. The QDR also included a spin off study on Strategic Communication. This study, rather than responding to policy failure, produced a roadmap addressing strategic communications planning, resourcing, and coordination in conjunction with policy development. The QDR points out that Victory in the long war ultimately depends on strategic communications by the United States and its internal partners. To achieve success, military leaders must work to develop communication plans to overcome impediments and to establish seamless communication goals. 37 Creates a Positive Environment Army leaders have the responsibility to establish and maintain positive expectations and attitudes both within and outside their organizations. To accomplish this, leaders must learn from the experiences of others, apply that experience to the present, and prepare for the future. General Douglas MacArthur once said, A good soldier, whether he leads a platoon or an army, is expected to look backwards as well as forward; but he must think only forward. Army leaders must demonstrate and promote the Army values of loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage, and ensure that these values remain fundamental to the Armys institutional culture. By maintaining the institutional culture, Army leaders shape the Armys customs and traditions using doctrine, policies, regulations, and philosophy. Through the maintenance of a healthy culture, leaders develop cohesion and inspire large and diverse organizations to meet Army standards and accomplish the mission.

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Army leaders embrace and integrate new technology into the force structure in order to keep pace with evolving threats. Maintaining a positive environment with constant change requires a commitment to life-long learning. To keep pace with change and the present-day operational environment, senior leaders must use information technology and distributive learning to rapidly incorporate the best ideas to reach the goals and objectives of todays Army. The Air force places a great deal of emphasis on face-to-face, interpersonal relations, and the need for a positive work environment. This is clearly demonstrated in three Air Force leadership principles: (1) Mentor and Coach for Growth and Success, (2) Promote Collaboration and Teamwork and (3) Shape Air Force Strategy and Direction. The Air Force seeks to guide the development of junior Airmen to develop their talents, skills, and aspirations to achieve a successful Air Force career. Part of this development process includes assessments and appraisals of individual strengths and weaknesses. With these appraisals, the Air Force is able to recognize individual success, provide constructive feedback to reinforce efforts and progress, and identify potential career opportunities. Similarly, Air Force leaders promote collaboration and teamwork in much the same way. Leaders facilitate and encourage cooperation among team members, recognize and share credit for success, and work with peers and subordinates to establish a group identity through mutual goals, common team practices, and structure. By cultivating individual and team development, Air Force leaders instill the enduring values that build, shape, and energize their organization. To maintain this environment, the Air Force must analyze economic, social, and political trends while assessing their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Through

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this process, leaders establish long-range success factors and goals aimed at obtaining mission and organizational advantages and shaping the strategic direction of the Air Force. Through proper application of these enduring leadership principles, the Air Force works to establish its strategic direction and a compelling picture of future opportunities within the Air Force. 38 There is no Navy Leadership Competency equivalent for Creates a Positive Environment; instead, the Navy places a great deal of emphasis on maintaining morale and discipline. To achieve high morale requires naval leaders to take an active interest in the welfare of their people. Naval leaders frame this objective as treating people with dignity and respect, and creating a recognition culture that offers the opportunity for everyone to excel. Recognition culture is simply acknowledging and recognizing individuals. By frequently recognizing and rewarding right behavior, leaders unleash work potential, motivate, and energize their organizations. To maintain discipline requires that a leader know when and how to reprimand. Leaders must be objective in their approach and understand that the purpose of a reprimand is to teach and redirect, not to embarrass. By maintaining morale and discipline, the Navy develops individuals and teams to be disciplined, motivated, and fully capable of accomplishing their goals and objectives. 39 Motivating and maintaining morale can often be difficult to convey, depending upon an individuals particular style of leadership. The Blake and Mouton Managerial Grid, serves to assist leaders in determining their personal leadership style. The Grid identifies the distinct leadership styles of Authoritarian, Team Leader, Country Club, and Impoverished.

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Authoritarian Leaders are generally autocratic, task oriented, and usually hard on their workers. These types of leaders allow little or no accord for cooperation or collaboration. They tend to be structured, maintain strict schedules, and expect people to do what they are told without question or debate. Toxic at times, authoritarian leaders tend to respond to the unexpected by focusing on who is to blame rather than on what is wrong and how to correct the problem. These types of leaders always believe they are right and will not tolerate disagreement; consequently, they tend to stifle creativity and subordinate contribution. Team Leaders seek to foster a team environment in which all team members can reach their highest potential, both as team members and as individuals. They lead by example, encourage team members to reach goals, and work to strengthen the relationship between team members. Team Leaders normally lead very productive teams. While team leaders are participatory leaders, Country Club Leaders tend stand back and reward with power in order to maintain discipline and encourage the team to accomplish its goals. These types of leaders usually lack the backbone to use their legitimate authority to discipline their subordinates. This unwillingness stems from their fear of jeopardizing relationships with the other team members. Unlike country club leaders, impoverished leaders delegate and disappear. Lacking commitment to the cause and an unwillingness to take ownership, this type of leader allows his or her team to do whatever it wishes. Often the results are internal power struggles and loss of unity within the team.

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While the Team Leader appears to be the most desirable leadership style, certain situations might call for one of the other three managerial styles. Impoverished Leader, sometimes allow teams to gain self-reliance, while Authoritarian Leaders sometimes instill a sense of discipline in an unmotivated worker. The essential point is that a good leader can adapt his or her leadership style to a given situation in order to motivate, affect the situation, and achieve success. 40 Prepares Self Army leaders draw on their self-awareness and conceptual abilities to understand the complexity of todays world and prepare for the challenges of tomorrow. To meet these challenges, leaders must learn from their vast experiences. They must draw from history, geography, and from their personal frame of reference. Just as the diamond requires properties for its formationcarbon, heat, and pressuresuccessful leaders require the interaction of three propertiescharacter, knowledge, and application. Like carbon to a diamond, character is the basic quality of a leaderBut as carbon alone does not create a diamond; neither can character alone create a leader. The diamond needs heat. Man needs knowledge, study, and preparationThe third property, pressure,acting in conjunction with carbon and heatforms the diamond. Similarly, ones character attended by knowledge, blooms through application to produce a leader. 41 Concurrently, they must keep pace with rapidly changing circumstances and events, be innovative, and anticipate the direction we must take to ensure success. Leaders use wisdom and knowledge to analyze events, see patterns, and determine appropriate actions. Using their frames of reference as a guide, Army leaders develop a thorough understanding of their organizations subsystems. This understanding enables leaders to guide their organizations through complex and uncertain situations. Army leaders understand the roles, boundaries, and the expectations of other departments and

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agencies. By understanding the interdependencies of agencies outside the Army, leaders can make better decisions for their programs, systems, Soldiers, and the Nation. The Air Forces enduring leadership competency Accesses Self is the mirroring competency to the Armys Prepares Self. Air Force Leaders understand how personal leadership style and skill influence decisions, and they are aware of their strengths and the weaknesses they must compensate for and overcome. Institutionally, the Air Force uses its force development model to assess values, personal strengths, and weaknesses along with performance preferences and learning style. 42 From these assessments, Air Force leaders create individual leadership development plans to provide insight, improve leadership performance, and ultimately match the right individual with the right job, at the right time. 43 The Navy does not have a specific competency equal to Prepare Self. However, within the Principles of Naval Leadership, the first principle, Know yourself and seek self-improvement performs the same function. Similar to the other services, Navy leaders evaluate themselves to determine their strengths and weaknesses and seek the opinions of their peers and superiors. This principle also tasks Naval leaders with taking advantage of history and learning from the successes and failures of others. With a personal understanding of ones self and knowledge of history, Naval leaders are better prepared to determine individual goals and to develop a roadmap for achieving those goals. Lastly, this principle encourages a reading program with emphasis on professionally related material and topics to help them understand individual and group behaviors. 44

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Developing effective leaders is a top concern for both private industry and the military services. While the military services use different tools and take different approaches to develop leaders, the majority of private industries are using 360-degree feedback. In use by over 90% of the Fortune 500 companies, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the U.S. Army War College, this program is helping to make effective leaders. The 360-degree program is helping to evaluate and enhance senior leader development and growth by identifying individual strengths and weaknesses from the perspectives of supervisors, peers, and customers. Since the feedback is generally anonymous, with the exception of the supervisors feedback, the rating reflects a greater amount of accuracy. While originally designed for high-level mangers, 360-degree has evolved into a tool for organizational change and improvement, and for enhancing team processes and interdependencies. When compared to traditional sole source evaluations, employees generally view the feedback as fair, accurate, credible, and motivating. The 360-degree program is helping to increase employee involvement, ownership, and acceptance of new processes, ideals, and policies. As a result of 360-degree feedback on behavior and work performance, individuals have become aware of their selfperceptions, and have the opportunity to self-reflect, grow as a leader, and improve their general outlooks on life. 45 Develops Others Developing leaders is critical to the future success of the Army. Army leaders must accept the responsibility to develop subordinates and staffs by coaching, mentoring, and intellectually challenging them with increased responsibility. Through the development of others, leaders become enablers to their subordinates and the Armys

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future success. Given the constant state of flux and the operational tempo of todays environment, military leaders seem to have less time for deliberate planning and analysis. To compensate for these limitations, leaders must place increased importance on building cohesive and competent staffs and command sections. Army leaders need staffs that will openly engage in dialogue, discuss alternative points of view, and explore all facts and assumptions. Leaders must have confidence in subordinates and respect their ideals and opinions. In the absence of formal development programs for future strategic leaders, current leaders must coach subordinates on what to study, where to focus their efforts, and how to succeed. Strategic leaders prioritize and resource programs, projects, and institutional development in order to meet the demands of the Army. They make decisions on how to shape the institution of the Army for the future. To shape and accommodate the future needs and capabilities of the Army, leaders at all levels must invest their time and resources to coach, mentor, and intellectually challenge those in their charge. 46 The Air Force develops others through its enduring principal of Attract, Retain, and Develop Talent. Utilizing their force management doctrine, the Air Force assesses needed capabilities and determines the talent and skill sets needed to properly achieve the desired results and performance. Once the systems are in place, the Air force seeks to attract high caliber candidates in order to begin building their leadership benchstrength. The Airforce retains experienced Airmen by creating an environment that encourages personal achievement, continuous learning, creativity, and promotional opportunities. 47

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The Navy does not have a corresponding leadership competency or principle for Develops Others. However, the Navy does place a large amount of emphasis on mentoring its Sailors to ensure success. The Navy is formalizing a process that will hold leaders accountable for the development of their subordinates. By formalizing this process, the Navy hopes to establish a clear understanding of what mentorship is and how it works, with the goal for everyone to have a mentor and be a mentor. "Each one of us in a leadership role, whether by experience, or position, has a responsibility and obligation to mentor the Sailors who work for us or with us, to help them be successful at what they do." 48 The one constant in todays world is change. While the last decade has brought dramatic changes in the workplace, the changes that will occur over the next decade will be even greater. During the next ten years, all aspects of the workplaceits size, age, types of jobs, products and services, and income distributionwill change. In order for corporate leaders to succeed in an increasingly competitive and rapidly changing global economy, they will need to adapt management and leadership styles. Like managers of today, those of tomorrow will also need to do more with less. They will have increased responsibilities and will manage a wider span of control and more people. Managers will need to direct less and become better coaches and motivators. They will also need to empower their people and build teams that are more selfdirected. To be successful, self-directed team leaders must balance job experience with patience, learn to share power, admit ignorance, and know when and where not to intervene. In addition to coping with a changing work force, business leaders will also need to develop a broader understanding of their businesses. Leaders of tomorrow will

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need to become multifunctional and knowledgeable experts in all areas and aspects, ranging from pricing and manufacturing to distribution, customer demographics, and population trends. 49 Resistance to change is a dead-end street...for you and the organization. 50 Preparing military leaders to meet the demands of the next decade will require mentoring. 51 Mentors serve a vital role in the career developing of subordinates by sharing knowledge and experiences and providing support, friendship, encouragement, educational assistance, and career counseling. 52 Military organizations and leaders are not immune to the changes that will occur. To meet national military objectives in an ever-changing global environment will require the military leaders of tomorrow to embrace change while modernizing and adapting the force for success. 53 Gets Results Like leaders in other organizations and businesses, Army leaders measure success by their ability to accomplish the mission and produce results. In order to consistently and ethically achieve success, Army leaders must employ reliable feedback systems to monitor progress, build upon success, and ensure adherence to organizational values and ethics. They also evaluate the successfulness of their policies, operations, and visions as a means of assessing themselves, their leadership styles, and their strengths and weaknesses. To achieve an accurate measurement requires the development of performance indicators to monitor success, know what success demands and when it is achieved. Feedback systems serve to provide Army leaders with vital statistical information, developing well-reasoned positions, and providing views and advice to national leaders who seek to determine what is important

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now and in the future. Using these tools, Army leaders at all levels of responsibility provide clear vision; plan operations; leverage joint, interagency, and multinational resources; maximize and leverage technology; and ethically accomplishes the mission. Army leaders seek to provide direction and guidance by judging the future and incorporating new ideals, technology, and capabilities. Through this process, leaders develop a clear vision for the organization that instills a sense of purpose, direction, and motivation. Through vision, Army leaders gain the needed commitment of subordinates to obtain positive results. Army leaders use planning and critical thinking in their decision-making process to establish realistic priorities and to communicate decisions. To develop and maintain these skills, Army leaders must stay current on the changing strategic environment, monitor, and assess future threats, allies, national goals, and strategies. Leveraging joint, interagency, and multinational resources have become a fundamental requirement for Army leaders in todays post 911 environment. Army leaders must maintain the relationship between their organic organizations, while integrating external organizations, assets, and resources to create a defensive force for the Nation. The expectation also exists for Army leaders to provide sound military counsel to both internal and external agencies. Likewise, Army strategic leaders maintain the required military capability needed to implement national policy. They project and present their organizations resource requirements and develop strategies to support national objectives. Strategic leaders maintain a well-rounded joint and multinational prospectus while working to overcome communication barriers between services and multinational organizations. They reconcile differences with other agencies

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and leaders, and develop objectives that reflect U.S. policy and the interests of their organizations. When operating within a multicultural context, strategic leaders must establish a cultural bridge between multinational partners. Leaders must overcome complex command and control arrangements while maintaining their lines of communications with their respected nations. For successful integration, leaders must be respectful and awareness of cultural sensitivities. Results are also dependent upon leveraging technology. Technology is essential to the success of the military operations today and in the future. From developing technology, Army leaders envision desired future capabilities. Leaders must be willing to break paradigms and rethink the shapes and structures of organizations to take advantage of new processes and technologies. To achieve strategic success, Army leaders keep one eye focused on the present, and the other on prioritizing, allocating, and balancing critical resources to maintain a technological advantage for tomorrow. Army leaders measure success in their ability to accomplish the mission and produce results. The dynamic and complex environment of the U.S. military additionally requires its leaders to define success and monitor progress using the tools of evaluations, observations, and discussions. Using these tools, Army leaders at all responsibility levels provide clear vision; plan operations; leverage joint, interagency, and multinational resources; maximize and leverage technology; and ultimately accomplishes the mission. 54 Air Force leaders get results through the three enduring leadership principles of Embrace Change and Transformation, Drive Execution, and Command Organizational and Mission Success through Enterprise Integration and Resource Stewardship. Air

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Force leaders embrace change and transformation as a means to evolve and ensure the dominance of U.S. air power. Leaders work to develop an understanding of essential economic, social, and political trends both domestically and globally. They assess strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, and design strategies for coping with all practical possibilities. Leaders continuously streamline processes and adopt best practices while creating an environment that supports innovation and continuous improvement. Air Force leaders drive execution to accomplish the mission at every level. They translate strategies into operational results and identify the critical long-range success factors and objectives necessary for achieving their goals. To drive success, leaders must communicate and align their personnel with processes and resources; they ensure that the proper measurement systems are in place to track results and hold individuals accountable. In order to achieve command organizational and mission success, leaders ensure the integration of their enterprise resource systems. The integration of these systems helps to ensure effective prioritization, management, and the integration of mission requirements and resources across varying environments and situations. Forward-looking leaders must ensure the deployment of people, equipment, and the maintenance of essential funding to ensure organizational and mission success. 55 The Navys Leadership Competencies associated with Get Results are Accomplishing Mission and Technical Credibility Resource Stewardship. Mission accomplishment is inherent in all the principles, traits, and competencies of the Navy. While this competency is centered on the ability to accomplish the mission, it emphasizes the importance of making timely and effective decisions, and producing

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results through strategic planning. In pursuit of mission accomplishment, Navy leaders solve problems, manage risk, and make decisive decisions. They implement and evaluate programs and policies while stressing the value of accountability and continuous improvement. Like wise, Technical Credibility Resource Stewardship covers the issues of acquiring and administering human, financial, material, and information resources. As implied, it deals with leveraging technology and instilling public trust in the ability of the Navy to make decisions and accomplish its mission. 56 In the process of accomplishing the mission or getting results, leaders often encounter ambiguous problems that do not have a simple right or wrong solution. These types of situations can sometimes present the decision-maker with moral or ethical dilemmas. Figuring out what to do can sometimes pose a significant problem. While not always apparent, there are a couple of acceptable approaches to resolving ethical dilemmasanalyzing the consequences and analyzing actions. Analyzing the consequences argues "no harm, no foul"; analyzing the actions argues that some actions are simply wrong. Assuming there are a variety of legal options, the first step is to consider the range of both positive and negative consequences associated with each option. A leader must analyze each option and answer the following questions: who is helped or hurt; what types of benefits or harm will result; what are the long and shortterm consequences and the cost of these consequences. After reviewing the answers to all the options, a leader needs to determine which option offers the best mix of positive and negative consequences. The alternative approach is to analyze the actions without regard to the consequences. While focusing strictly on individual actions, a leader must answer

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these questions: how does this action measure up against moral principles (honesty, fairness, equality, individual rights, etc); do any of the considered actions "cross the line" of decency or ethical principles; are there any conflicts between principles where one would take precedence over another? When finished, a leader must review the possible actions and select the least problematic option. While a solution to ethical dilemmas may seem simple on paper, an ethical dilemma is rarely simple. Philosophers have debated the merits of these two approaches for centuries and have yet to reach a solution. 57 Conclusion A tremendous amount of work has been done to prepare the Army for the next century, but the job is not finished and never will be. Change is a journey, not a destination 58 Transformation is not just about force structure and doctrine; it is about developing leaders to meet the future needs of America. To meet these changing needs, the Army, Air Force, and Navy must continue to develop its leaders; it must look both internally and externally for leadership ideals and concepts that will stimulate the evolution of its core leadership competencies. As the fundamental building block of leadership, behavioral competencies serve the vital purpose of improving individual and organizational processes by defining and establishing leadership requirements and performance expectations. Although each service developed its competencies based on its unique mission requirements, ultimately, their different approaches led to a very similar understanding of what is required to develop leaders and achieve mission success.

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Endnotes
U.S. Department of the Army, Army Leadership, Army Regulation 6-22 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of the Army, 12 October 2006), 11-3.
2 1

Ibid., A-1.

U.S. Department of the Air Force, Leadership And Force Development, Air Force Doctrine Document 1-1 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of the Air Force, 18 February 2006), 1-12.
4

Ibid., 41-44.

Leadership & Supervision, in NAVEDTRA 14325, Military Requirements, Basic (BMR) linked from Navystorekeeper.com at Chapter 21: Leadership & Supervision, available from http://www.navystorekeeper.com/14325_ch21.pdf; Internet; accessed 17 January 2008. Navy Leadership Competency Model, available from http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc /awcgate/navy/navy-ldr-comp.htm; Internet; accessed 14 December 2007. Principles of Navy Leadership, available from http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate /navy/leadership_principles.pdf; Internet; accessed 14 December 2007.
8 7 6

U.S. Department of the Army, Army Leadership, A-2.

Carl Von Clausewitz, On War, trans. Michael Howard and Peter Paret, (Princeton, N.J.; Princeton University Press, 1989), 115.
10

U.S. Department of the Air Force, Leadership And Force Development, 11. Ibid., 41-42. Navy Leadership Competency Model,.

11

12

Peter M. Senge, The Fifth Discipline, the Art & Practice of The Learning Organization (New York, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1994), 206-227.
14

13

U.S. Department of the Army, Army Leadership, 11-2.

Stephen A. Shambach, ed., Strategic Leadership Primer, 2d ed. (Carlisle Barracks, PA: U.S. Army War College, Department of Command, Leadership, and Management, 2004), 40-41.
16

15

U.S. Department of the Army, Army Leadership, 11-2 -11-3. U.S. Department of the Air Force, Leadership And Force Development, 42-43. Navy Leadership Competency Model,

17

18

Influence at Work: The Psychology of Persuasion Home Page, available from http://www. influence atwork.com/; Internet; accessed 6 February 2008.

19

29

Robert B. Cialdini, Influence (Quill, NY: HarperTrade 1984, Rev. 1993), available from http://www.rickross.com/reference/brainwashing/brainwashing20.html; Internet; accessed 18 January 2008. This information on this website is based upon the summary notes within the book.
21

20

U.S. Department of the Army, Army Leadership, 11-3 11-4. U.S. Department of the Air Force, Leadership And Force Development, 5. Ibid., 4. Ibid., 41. Leadership & Supervision, in NAVEDTRA 14325, Military Requirements, Basic (BMR)

22

23

24

25

Richard M. Ayres, Leading by Example: How We Learn About Leadership, available from National Executive Institute Associates (NEIA) Home Page at Article Index, available from http://www.neiassociates.org/leadbyexample.htm; Internet; accessed 18 January 2008. Paper Presented at the NEIA Annual Conference Sun Valley, Idaho June 9-13, 2004. Welcome to Prism Ltd., What is Commitment, available from http://www. prismltd.com/commit.htm; Internet; accessed 19 January 2008.
28 27

26

U.S. Department of the Army, Army Leadership, 7-14. Ibid., 12-8. U.S. Department of the Air Force, Leadership And Force Development, 42.

29

30

Air Force definition, as of January 2006, as verified by SAF/CM on 3 Nov 06, linked from Strategic Communication(s) available from http://www.au.af.mil/info-ops/strategic.htm# definitions; Internet; accessed 14 December 2007.
32

31

U.S. Department of the Air Force, Leadership And Force Development, 9.

Communications, in NAVEDTRA 14325, Military Requirements, Basic (BMR) linked from Navystorekeeper.com at Chapter 4: Communications, available from http://www.navy storekeeper.com/14325_ch21.pdf; Internet; accessed 17 January 2008.
34

33

Ibid.

U.S. Department of the Navy, Playbook 2005, Navy Strategic Communication Plan (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of the Navy, January 2005), 1-2. U.S. Defense Science Board, Report of the Defense Science Board Task Force on Strategic Communication (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Defense Science Board, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, September 2004), 2. U.S. Department of the Defense, Quadrennial Defense Review Report (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Defense, 6 February 2006), 2-92.
38 37 36

35

U.S. Department of the Air Force, Leadership And Force Development, 42-43.

30

39

Leadership & Supervision, in NAVEDTRA 14325, Military Requirements, Basic (BMR).

Concepts of Leadership, linked from The Art and Science of Leadership Home Page available from http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/leadcon.html; Internet; accessed 14 December 2007.
41

40

U.S. Department of the Army, Army Leadership, 2-3. U.S. Department of the Air Force, Leadership And Force Development, 41-42.

42

David A. Jablonski, AF Unveils Force Development Plan - In the News, Defense AT&L (January-February 2004); available from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m 0QMG/is_1_33/ai_11382398; Internet; accessed 14 December 2007.
44

43

Principles of Navy Leadership,

U.S. Coast Guard, Coast Guard Personnel Command: 360 Feedback, available from http://www.uscg. mil/hq/cgpc/opm/360_Eval.htm; Internet; accessed 5 February 2007.
46

45

U.S. Department of the Army, Army Leadership, 12-9 12-13. U.S. Department of the Air Force, Leadership And Force Development, 41-42.

47

Edward Flynn, Mentor a Sailor, Develop a Future Leader, All Hands (June 2003); available from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0IBQ/is_1034/ ai_105617574; Internet; accessed 1 February 2007. Dave Bowman, Are You Ready For Radical Change?, available from http://www. ttgconsultants.com/articles/radicalchange.html; Internet; accessed 12 February 2007.
50 49

48

Concepts of Leadership, linked from The Art and Science of Leadership Home Page

F. John Reh, Mentors and Mentoring: What is a mentor?, available from http:// management.about.com/cs/people/a/mentoring.htm; Internet; accessed 15 February 2007. California Resources Agency Mentor Program, What Mentors Do, available from http://management.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=management&cdn=money&tm= 14&gps=237_405_724_567&f=10&su=p554.8.145.ip_&tt=2&bt=1&bts=0&zu=http%3A//ceres.ca.go v/cra/Mentor_Program/mentors_do.html; Internet; accessed 15 February 2007.
53 52

51

Bowman, Are You Ready For Radical Change? U.S. Department of the Army, Army Leadership, 12-13 12-16. U.S. Department of the Air Force, Leadership And Force Development, 43-44. Navy Leadership Competency Model,

54

55

56

Loyola Marymount University, Resolving an Ethical Dilemma, available from http://www.lmu.edu/Page27945.aspx; Internet; accessed 16 February 2008.

57

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58

U.S. Department of the Army, Army Leadership, 12-2.

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