Importance Of Knowledgeable Leadership

Through the past 11 years that I have been an enlisted Soldier, I have seen the value of leadership and the effect good and poor leadership can have on Soldiers and

Among these five characteristics; military expertise, honorable service, trust, esprit de corps, and stewardship of the profession, I believe that military expertise and stewardship of the profession are the two characteristics that make a leader excel in the presence of their peers. ADRP 1 defines military expertise as, “Military expertise is the design, generation, support, and ethical application of land power, primarily in unified land operations, and all supporting capabilities essential to accomplish the mission in defense of the American people”. In order to gain trust from your subordinates for them to follow your guidance, a leader must have military expertise. Without being an expert in your field, subordinates will not trust your guidance provided unto them. ADRP 1 defines Stewardship of the Profession as, “Stewardship is the responsibility of Army professionals to ensure the profession maintains its five essential characteristics now and into the future”.

The idea of this is of course in the word leadership. The Army deems it imperative that a leader sets the pace and the example for his or her subordinates to follow. The second is to Encourage thinking. A fine example of why this is vital in leadership is explained in The intelligently disobedient soldier (Clark, 2017). In his writing

Leadership in the Army is the fundamental foundation of the organization. Leaders like Officers and Non- Commission Officers implement and set the standard of leader to soldiers. These leaders ensure the Army soldiers are trained and prepare for any hardships they face. The term Leadership can be defined differently based on the organization in which the term is applied to. In the Army Leadership can be described as a "characterized by a complex mix of organizational, situational, and mission demands on a leader who applies personal qualities, abilities, and experiences to exert influence on the organization, its people, the situation, and the unfolding mission" (ADP 6-22).

That is the wrong answer. Leaders should feel obligated to be the prime example and enforce the Army Values and Warrior Ethos not only thru their action on duty but also off duty. For example cutting edge to get the job done quicker is the wrong answer, it show that you don’t live the army values. It show that you have loyalty to you task, respect to the leader that told you complete the task, and the personal courage to do the right thing when no one is looking. Not only should a leader live the army values and warrior ethos while on duty but a leader should live them off duty.

The SRM model will also give more flexibility to leaders allowing for more development of their leadership skills. Under the ARFORGEN model, low and mid-level leaders missed development opportunities because all direction came from higher command (Foster, 2016). These leaders found themselves passing on training plans whereas in the past they would have developed and implemented their own plans. “

From the lesson of training, I also realized the weight that officers hold when it comes to building trust, motivating, and pushing their soldiers. They are going to expect the utmost level of skill as well as professionalism that you must provide as an officer. In return, it is your right to expect the same level of excellence from your soldiers, being there to push them above the standard and holding them to being experts and professionals. This is a trait that no matter how skilled you or your soldiers may be, there will always be room for constant improvement and

Army Doctrine Publication 6-22 (2012) says," A leader stewards the profession to maintain professional standards and effective capabilities for the future" (pg.8). These are standards constantly refined and implemented throughout the force. This part of the vision allows for those trusted leaders of character to exemplify what it truly means to be an NCO and continue its legacy while simultaneously building upon it. Self-development is the key to this line of effort. Through the established means of competitive boards, expert action badges from challenging courses, and the gaining of character development along the way.

He/she has the responsibility of the daily processions of hi/her base; His fitness and his/her troop’s fitness level; a command climate where practices of integrity can be adhered to even when he/she is not present. He is responsible for the training of his/her company and to the organization for creating a culture based around the practices and policies in the ethos of the

Leader Competencies are leadership skills and behaviors that contribute to superior performance. Leaders outdated skills and behaviors encouraged change over many years. The three main categories of competences are to Lead, Develop, and Achieve. Army leaders serve to lead others, develop themselves, environment and profession as a whole, and to also achieve organizational goals. In order for an Army leader to lead they must apply the attributes to guide Soldiers towards a common goal and mission accomplishments.

These are just a few of the army values and how they play an important part in an effective leader and follower’s day to day

The U.S. Army demands that all its members be accountable for their actions, equipment, records, duties and even for their fellow warriors. Planning for operations, especially during times of war, stresses the importance of

“Discipline and pride build individual morale and a collective esprit de corps” resulting in high performance and conduct. Today, the legacy of esprit de corps is continuously promoted though customs, traditions and ceremonies; and is present in all levels of the Army profession. Contributions to esprit de corps can be manifested in: high motivation, teamwork, commitment to organization, and promotions to name a few. Having esprit de corps in a group not only boost morale, but it is also the driving force that helps lead to effective mission

Furthermore, a study made by Amit et al about leadership-shaping experience found that a group of soldiers who had more leadership experiences were perceived to be leaders compared to those who did not . This points to the fact that exercises in self-development and discipline were key to building leadership qualities. Leaders as mentioned before are role-models in society and when those leadership qualities are nurtured, the society as a whole benefits from them.

Military leadership is the process of influencing others to accomplish the mission by providing purpose, direction, and motivation. Another significant aspect of emphasized by the army is charisma. Therefore, army strategy to have a great leader is to choose people with high charisma since follower are always drawn to leaders with charisma. By having a high charisma they can command the follower easily. The basic task of a leader are: achieve the mission with zero fatality.