Military Leadership

by LTC Aaron “Blair” Wilcox and Colonel (RET) Rick O’Donnell; Issue paper from the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership; The paper discusses the US Army's efforts to implement a new talent management strategy based on newly available data from over four years of assessments. It emphasizes the need to leverage data from assessment programs like the Battalion Commander Assessment Program (BCAP) and Colonels Command Assessment Program (CCAP) to select the best leaders for specific roles. The authors argue that current selection processes rely too heavily on subjective assessments and personal knowledge, while neglecting valuable, objective data newly available from BCAP and CCAP.

Command Decision: Ethical Leadership in the Information Environment Mr Keir Giles Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Given the unprecedented scale, variation, and speed involved in the creation, consumption, and distribution of information in the era of big data, the classic challenge of military leadership—that is, making crucial decisions based on insufficient and likely unreliable information—can become even more daunting. However, British scholar Keir Giles warns that technological solutions alone are inadequate to equip the commander with the insight necessary for decision-making in the information and disinformation environments."

Strategic Insights: Letting the Millennials Drive Dr Leonard Wong Article by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press

Developing Emerging Leaders: The Bush School and the Legacy of the 41st President Dr Joseph R Cerami Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Leadership remains at the core of the military profession. Gaining a reputation as an effective and ethical leader is the foundation for a successful career as a commissioned and noncommissioned officer. Naturally, a great deal of attention in pre-commissioning and professional military schools, as well as experiential learning in a variety of demanding positions, is necessary for advancement. Understanding the ideas and best practices of expert leaders as individuals and as a member of groups, teams, organizations, and institutions remain an important area of research and study for individual and organizational learning. Learning leaders and learning organizations are the focus of this monograph. Specific attention is placed on identifying the key ideas and actions, or best practices, in comparing the leadership studies and research literature that bridge the guiding civilian and military approaches, and compares ideas and practices across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. "

Human Elements of Military Operations Lieutenant Colonel Brent A Kauffman War Game Report by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership "The U.S. Army War College (USAWC) conducted a workshop focused on understanding the human elements of military operations. Two groups of experts from the behavioral and social sciences participated in an interdisciplinary examination of what human elements military leaders, planners, and soldiers need to consider when operating in foreign lands. This workshop did not focus on any one past, current, or future operation, but rather sought to develop usable, holistic frameworks—applicable for the broad range of military operations—to inform future military concepts. "

The Role of Leadership in Transitional States: The Cases of Lebanon, Israel-Palestine Dr Anastasia Filippidou Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "In this book, Dr. Anastasia Filippidou reviews the main leadership theories in order to set the foundations for analysis of asymmetric leadership in transitional processes. The report also examines the different leadership types and highlights that, with the exception possibly of toxic leadership, it is difficult, if not impossible, to determine that a specific type is better than another in every situation. According to Dr. Filippidou, some leadership styles are likely to be more effective in certain situations, and that a really effective leader is one who is able to determine the context of the situation and use the most effective leadership behavior required at the time. "

Strategic Insights: Should General Dempsey Resign? Army Professionals and the Moral Space for Military Dissent Don M. Snider Article by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Given that all Army professionals have taken an oath to “support and defend the Constitution,” in what instances may, or even should, the stewards of the profession dissent in a public way—including resignation or retirement—from an administration’s policy that they believe to be so incorrect as to be ineffective, potentially endangering the Republic’s security."

Joint Strategic Planning System Insights: Chairmen Joint Chiefs of Staff 1990 to 2012 Dr Richard M Meinhart Letort Paper by US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Military leaders at many levels have used strategic planning in various ways to position their organizations to respond to the demands of the current situation, while simultaneously preparing to meet future challenges. This Letort Paper examines how the different Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1990 to 2012 used a strategic planning system to enable them to meet their formal leadership responsibilities as outlined in Title 10 U.S. Code. As such, it provides an historic perspective in assessing the different Chairmen’s leadership legacies in using and modifying their strategic planning system. It also has a contemporary focus as it describes the planning system’s current processes and products."

Defining Command, Leadership, and Management Success Factors within Stability Operations Dave Fielder PKSOI Paper by the US Army War College, Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute, Strategic Studies Institute "This monograph addresses the topic of Command-Leadership-Management (CLM) success attributes in Stability Operations and is intended to reach a wide audience of actors, including military and civilian deliverers of effect at the strategic, operational, and tactical levels of operations. It was developed from a dissertation and updated while the author was deployed in Iraq at a time of transition from Combat Operations (Operation IRAQI FREEDOM) to fully declared Stability Operations (Operation NEW DAWN)."