The Three Leadership Competencies Of An Army Leader

A good leader in the United States Army is made-up of several different essential characteristics. As soon to become leaders in our profession, is our individual responsibility to know, understand and apply these characteristics in the way we conduct ourselves every day. Because we are the role models for soldiers to follow not only in our job but also in our personal life. Stewardship of the Army profession in one of these mayor characteristics of a good leader in our career. Being a steward of the profession, focuses in three mayor traits: character, competence and commitment.

The constant presence with his troops was the most significant act of building cohesive teams through mutual trust. In Fact, “how he found the time and energy to be constantly with his frontline troops and still direct the overall activities of the division was a mystery.” 1 Interacting with your subordinates shows that you care. A leader that trains with his subordinates also earns credibility. How Soldiers trust, weights leader’s sound judgment for leading troops and accomplishing missions, regardless complexity.

All leadership should trust their subordinates when executing a task. Ensuring Soldiers do their job while implementing military standards without supervision is fundamental. Subordinates should trust us to make the sound judgments that will bring them home to their loved ones. Knowing that we can count on each other brings the confidence we need to stay focused on the mission, increasing abilities to make right decisions in stressful situations where a second can determine life or death on the battlefield. Learning how to let go could seemingly be one of the hardest skills to master. If leaders don’t trust their subordinates it can be interpreted as micro management, these leaders will do all the work. Leaving no room for their subordinates to evolve, as leaders causing a negative

As an effective leader one has to be especially close to their subordinates in order to provide them with the necessary purpose, direction and motivation to complete their assigned task. The tactical level is usually found at the company or platoon level, this leader is always looking to accomplish the short term goals in support of the long term mission. Tactical leaders must know how to solve problems quickly and without hesitation, they have more direct influence over soldiers because they are in the trenches with them. At this stage the leader has to council, correct and led their soldiers through the direct approach of leadership.

In accordance with ADP 6-22 “An Army leader is anyone who by virtue of assumed role or assigned responsibility inspires and influences people to accomplish organizational goals. Army leaders motivate people both inside and outside the chain of command to pursue actions, focus thinking and shape decisions for the greater good of the organization.” The leadership style a person portrays determines their effectiveness to influence people to accomplish any mission. I have observed several different leadership styles in my career and the one I associate with is the Transformational Leadership Style. I will articulate my comparison to retired CW5 Robert L. Storey and retired CW4 Athur Frazier and why. “ADP 6-22.” data.cape.army.mil, Aug. 2012, www.bing.com/cr

The Army's definition of leadership is “the process of influencing people by providing purpose, direction and motivation while operating to accomplish the mission and improving the organization.” An army leader is anyone who inspires and influences people to accomplish their goals. Leaders motivate people both inside and outside the army to help them pursue their goals, focus thinking, and shape decisions for the better of the army. Leadership can be acquired by anyone as long as they have the self-determination to do so. The main principles of leadership in the army are broken down in to the acronym LDRSHIP (loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, personal courage), characteristics the army aims to instilled in each

An Army Leader is able and willing to act decisively, within the intent and purpose of his superior leaders, and in the best interest of the organization. Army leaders recognize that organizations built on mutual trust and confidence, successfully accomplish peacetime and wartime missions.” (2006, P. Viii). Balance molds a leader and in turn, an effective leader is a proactive person who works a whole lot smarter. President George Bush (1997) states, “Leadership to me means duty, honor, and country; It means character and it means listening from time to time.” (Adrain, p. 35).

Leadership, according to the Army doctrine, represents individuals’ ability to influence people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation while operating to accomplish the mission and improving the organization (“Leadership” FM 6-22). However, the varying characteristics of individuals that the Army attracts may instill this doctrine in many different ways, leading to different representations of leadership. Some individuals choose to lead their subordinate in a stern matter, only displaying matured emotions and a “tough-loving” attitude to guide them in the right direction. Others

Leadership development in the military is critical to its mission and objectives. Understanding and embracing leadership will foster an agile culture and facilitate attainment of strategic goals. People desire quality leadership to assist with achieving their goals, albeit personal or professional development. Having a clear vision and the motivation to perform at high-levels influences others to work synergistically together to achieve organizational goals. Insomuch, employees value being treated respectfully, fairly, and ethically. Leaders serve people best when they help them develop their own initiative and good judgment, enable them to grow, and help them become better contributors.

"Leadership is the process of influencing people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation to accomplish the mission and improve the organization" (Mills, 2013). The Army measures its leaders by their attributes and their core leader competencies. Also, a leader must be able to train, coach and mentor their subordinates. Additionally, the Army has three levels of leadership: Direct, Organizational, and Strategic. An effective leader understands and practices these qualities at an operational level.

Leadership begins with the desire to improve something and with an idea how to make improvements, whether it is making physical things, accomplishing a mission or rearing children. To learn leadership, you first need to learn to be an individual contributor and follow. I learned that in the Army’s basic training which provided the basic issues that causing people to be motivated to do what you want them to do when normally they would make other choices. The first year in the army was growing from following to leading in small steps ending with becoming an officer almost exactly one year after I was inducted into the Army. Throughout my working life I participated in the three levels of leadership as annotated by Figure

One important expression for army leadership is BE-KNOW-DO. Army leadership begins with what the leader must BE, the values and attributes that shape character. A leader can think of these as internal and defining qualities possessed all the time. As defining qualities, they make up the identity of the leader. Values and attributes are the same for all leaders, regardless of position, although refined through experience and assumption of positions of greater responsibility. For example, a sergeant major with combat experience may have a deeper understanding of selfless service and personal courage than a new soldier.

Trust within leadership is one of the key ingredients to a great team. When in a leadership role it is important to learn how to build and sustain effective one-on-one work relationships with superiors, colleagues and subordinates to ensure that things move according to plan and all goals and deadlines are met. When seeking guidance from leadership it is important that one’s subordinates feel that their leader is not only capable of leading but a credible source for guidance and instruction when needed.

The ability and strength of an individual to achieve goals by supervising processes, guiding initiatives and employees is defined as Leadership skills. Valuable leadership skills include taking thoughtful decisions, allocation of resources, and the ability to delegate, inspire and communicate effectively. Other leadership traits include honesty, confidence, commitment and creativity. Leadership competencies can be used to effectively select, develop and promote leaders in an organization .The difference between Leadership Skill and leadership competency can explained as the required level of efficiency to perform a task assigned is known as skill whereas the quality to accomplish the same is called as competency. When creating leadership competencies certain factors are considered such as business strategies and future trends. To drive the use of competencies in selecting and developing leaders HR practitioners should use the business strategies. To effectively build a unique set of skills for the organization 's leaders, the firm will sustain competitive advantage. The role of a project manager has always been my interest. The position which I have always desired is a role of project manager.

Leader. What is a leader? Is the skill of leadership something a person is born with or can it be developed? A leader can be defined in a multitude of ways, there is no single definition for what makes up a leader. John C Maxwell describes in his book, Developing the Leader Within You, that leadership should be broken down into 5 different echelons. Relating it to the Army definition of a leader, they are similar in many ways. The both have the same foundation of what it is to be a leader and that is, influence. The ability to influence others is the most important part of being a leader in both, the Army’s definitions and John C. Maxwell’s definition. The definition that I would provide for being a leader would be similar in many ways, but there is also a few things I would add to differentiate myself from their definitions.