The Leader and Leadership
More details on be/know/do ...
BE: Character
Details on the values (loyalty, duty, respect, service, honor, integrity, and courage):
Loyalty
The explanation is vague, but the sense is that "loyalty" in this respect is the trust one places in superiors, the care one takes of subordinates, and the respect among peers.
Duty
Duty is commitment to what is right and honoring the commitments one has made and those of one's role, even in the absence of specific orders.
Respect
This deals with respect for the individual as a professional. They slip in some diversity awareness.
Service
Service is dedicating oneself to the interests of others, especially in refraining from self-serving actions that impede or undermine the organization.
The author refers to "selfless service," which is morally repugnant at face value, but the intention is to convey that, in the role of a soldier, your service is for the benefit of others.
Honor
Honor refers to the value one places on doing what is right, in a moral sense, and recognizing and rewarding the tendency of others to do the same.
Integrity
Integrity is honesty in deed, acting in accordance to one's committed beliefs even when it may be dangerous to do so, or expedient to ignore one's values to accomplish an objective.
Courage
Courage is the ability to put fear aside and do what is necessary. On the battlefield, it's often a matter of physical courage (risking danger to life and limb), but moral courage (upholding one's values regardless of consequences) is also stressed - and such situations occur more frequently. Candor is mentioned as a mark of courage: the ability to be frank and sincere, even when it's uncomfortable to do so. The most common scenario is standing up to a superior officer when you have an objection.
There is some separation between the values (above) and the attributes (below) of leadership.
Mental Attributes
- Will - The inner drive that compels a person to persevere through adversity, and act when it would be easier to give up
- Self-Discipline - Much the same as will, but it deals with inner adversity, overcoming psychological barriers to action
- Initiative - The ability to act in the absence of clear instructions, especially when a situation changes or plans fail.
- Judgment - Judgment means making the best decision for the situation: sizing up options and going with the best alternative rather than acting on impulse
- Self-Confidence - Faith in one's own abilities, to a rational degree
- Intelligences - I'd say "reason," as this is the tendency to think, learn, and reflect; to analyze a situation, seeking to understand it. It includes not merely raw intelligence, but knowledge, experience, and common sense.
- Cultural Awareness - In addition to cultural sensitivity in the PC sense, a leader must understand the culture (values and beliefs) of his organization, the people within it, and others with whom he and his organization interact. Moreso than any of the other armed forces, the Army capitalizes on individual strengths, and these strengths are often determined by culture. Also, influence requires an awareness of culture.
Physical Attributes
- Health - Health and personal hygiene are stressed, largely because of their effects in the field, where disease and malnourishment have in past wards killed more men than the enemy.
- Physical Fitness - Physical fitness is especially important in combating fatigue, which can sap both physical and mental ability
- Professional Bearing - This is largely a matter of grooming and informing, but its physiological effects (particularly on subordinates) are considerable
Emotional Attributes
- Self-Control - This is mean in the sense of keeping one's cool: not being entirely dispassionate, but controlling the amount of emotion you show to be effective.
- Balance - Balance deals with keeping an even temper in the face of adversity, especially in terms of controlling anger and fear
- Stability - Seems to be a repeat here: acting in an unstable manner undermines the confidence others have in you, and encourages them to engage in outbursts.
Character is seen as core to the success of a leader, but also to the success of the organization. Several examples and anecdotes are given to illustrate how critical it is to success.
Moreover, character is learned: a person comes into service with the character traits they gained in civilian life, but through training and experience, takes on those of the organization (or fails to succeed within the organization). The leadership is charged with embodying the character of the organization and encouraging subordinates to do likewise.
The author fumbles a bit with the topic of ethics - they are simply the actions that result of when character drives action.
KNOW: Competence
Skills are learned through training. Training is reinforced by experience, and experience refines training.
In the army, basic training teaches fundamental skills, giving the soldier a basic level of competence, and later training teaches more advanced or specialized skills. On the leadership level, the leader is held accountable for his own competence and that of his subordinates.
Critical leadership skills are grouped into four categories:
- Interpersonal Skills - Interacting with others, especially motivating and coaching subordinates
- Conceptual Skills - Working with ideas and plans
- Technical Skills - Skills that are requisite to the specific assignment
- Tactical Skills - Problem-solving in the field
It is not sufficient to have strength in only one area: all four categories of skills are used in every leadership position, to some degree.
The same skills are needed by the individual soldier in his line of duty, but on the leadership level, the leader applies these skills indirectly, working through his subordinates to achieve tasks.
DO: Leadership
The values, attributes, and skills of a leader must be put into practice: influencing, operating, and improving.
Influencing is the use of skills to guide others towards a goal. For most leaders, this means understanding the goals of your superior, and delegating the tasks to achieve them to your subordinates. Three categories of actions are identified:
- Communicating - The ability to get one's message across, orally and in writing, and the ability to understand what others communicate to you
- Decision-Making - The ability to analyze a situation to identify the best course of action to achieve a goal
- Motivating - Inspiring and guiding others toward the accomplishment of the mission.
Operating describes the tasks a leader performs to accomplish a goal. Categories of actions are:
- Planning - Developing a detailed and executable plan that is feasible, acceptable, and suitable
- Preparing - Ensuring that the resources are ready for the job and subordinates are prepared to do their part
- Executing - Involves putting the plan into action, effectively managing resources and taking care of the people
- Assessing - Involves evaluating the efficiency and effectiveness of a plan or system, in advance, in motion, and after action.
Improving means a dedication to leaving an organization better than you found it, realizing that your job doesn't end when a goal is accomplished, as another mission will follow and you must be prepared to face it - you, or your replacement, will have to deal with the problems tomorrow that you fail to address today.
- Developing - Improving the skills of subordinates, individually
- Building - Improving the unit or system as a whole
- Learning - Growing your own skills to meet future challenges
Summary
Success in combat requires successful leaders, but success as a leader is often developed in non-combat, non-critical situations. If you let yourself get sloppy off the field, you'll carry those habits forward.