Strengths-Based Army Leadership The U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences, known as ARI, interviewed 41 active duty Army leaders. Most of the Army leaders interviewed by ARI acknowledged using strengths-based techniques to some extent, frequently without an obvious knowledge of strengths-based leadership theory (Key-Roberts, 2014). In spite of that, several soldiers claimed to have found the techniques very effective. Six ways Army superiors can develop juniors based on strengths-based leadership theory are: spotting strengths, giving personalized feedback, capitalizing on subordinate strong points, building and maintaining a positive atmosphere, looking after subordinates’ wellbeing, and giving authority to developing …show more content…
There is no doubt that being able to utilize the immediate strengths of individuals will result in tremendous benefits especially in the short-term. However, in order for the younger leaders to be most effective, I believe that their deficiencies need to be corrected in a timely manner. As much as I endorse strength-based Army leadership, how about if it is taken a step further and be viewed as overall Army leadership? If one is an overall leader, one will not only be effective in certain situations, but one will be effective in all situations. Let us view an initial strength as an area that requires less focus and divert that time that we do not have to spend in the area that is already developed towards eliminating weaknesses that require greater attention. In that way, we will not have a leader with great strengths but significant weaknesses. Instead, we will have an individual with strengths in all areas. After all, a partially developed leader can only give part of a complete leader’s performance. Therefore, the question is: is it better to utilize immediate strengths and continue to receive part of a whole? Or, is it more worthwhile to correct deficiencies now and have less today but more there
In his book, Tom Rath (2008) discusses strengths based leadership and reviews the data from the Gallup StrengthsFinder assessment and examines the domains of being an effective leader and why people follow leaders. Rath (2008) finds: the most effective leaders are always investing in strengths, the most effective leaders surround themselves with the right people and then maximize their team, and the most effective leaders understand their followers needs (p. 2-3). He reveals teams are formulated from four domains of leadership strength: Executing, Influencing, Relationship Building, and Strategic Thinking (Rath, 2016, p.23). Effective leaders know their strengths and combine them with skills and expertise to achieve optimal results.
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.
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
When I raised my hand, and took my oath of service I had no idea of the journey Leadership Philosophy that laid ahead of me. Joining late in life was one transition, but the transition into the Non-Commission Officer (NCO) Corps, and a leader has been a very rewarding experience. The values that were instilled in me as a child and those that have been drilled into my make-up as an NCO are very similar. The tenants of the seven Army Values have been what I have lived by most of my life and career, however there are four out of the seven values that I hold most valuable and live out on a day to day basis.
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.
Army defines leadership as “influencing people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation, while operating to accomplish the mission and improve the organization.” As a professional Non-Commissioned officer, proudly serving in the United State Army and within the boundary that clearly depicts vivid picture of Army Leadership. I am SGT Mostafazadeh define and develop my first Leadership Philosophy and most importantly use it in the daily bases and maintain revision and update it as I develop and learn new thing throughout my Military Carrere. The ground foundation of my Leadership philosophy is based on three core Leader Competencies include Leads, Develops and Achieves and how each one of those factor impact my organization (Army), Army human resources (senior, peers and subordinates) and
Leaders possess different strengths that allow them to succeed in their career or life. The Clifton Strengths Finder Assessment helped identify my top strengths and how to lead with my strengths in order to further develop them. My top five strengths were competition, positivity, winning others over (WOO), harmony, and achiever. Based on the meaning of each strength, I related to all them, however, I was surprised by some of them.
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”.
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
Do you know the importance of having a hierarchy structure within any given work space? Without structure there would be no clear line of communication between workers. Having a structure in a workplace establishes communication skills, defuses conflicts, and also provides awareness of leaders who are in charge of you.
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.
Thus, a leader may arise in any field be it politics, social service or sports. A leader possesses both talent and skill. Talent is an innate quality however skill is a proficiency which can be gained through rigorous persistence, training and experience. Leadership is nothing about seniority or one’s rank in a
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.
Through self-reflection and academic readings, I have discovered that I identify with three different leadership theories. During the first meeting in a Strength Based Leadership class, we were asked to write our leadership history. The class then began an ongoing exploration of various leadership theories. Upon reviewing my leadership history from the first class and synthesizing the information from the theories that were examined, I discovered that I most resonate with the Trait Leadership Theory, the Skills Leadership Theory, and the Path-Goal Leadership theory. These theories are leader focused, describing the process and techniques a leader uses to accomplish goals.
The Army Profession rewards Soldier’s with honor, knowledge, and a sense of patriotism. Normal professions do not offer these rewards. Balancing the roles of Professional leaders is difficult in a large organization. The Army has an abundance of Soldiers in leadership positions. Balance can be achieved by focusing on two areas.