A great leader attracts good leaders to work for/with him/her. Below is an excerpt from FM 22-100 Military Leadership which stresses the 3 activities of leaders: BE, KNOW, DO
Be: Values and Attributes
Leaders of character-this phrase echoes across time and throughout the ranks. Character describes who a person is inside, and at the core of Army leaders are Army Values. The Army has published, promoted and explained the seven values extensively and nowhere more powerfully than in the lives of our leaders. Those values-loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage (LDRSHIP) - capture the professional military ethos and describe the nature of our soldiers. Our common values help us understand the purpose of our missions and devise appropriate methods to accomplish them.
To understand leaders you have to know more than what they hold dear - you must understand their individual attributes. FM 22-100 outlines mental, physical and emotional attributes to describe more completely Army leaders' nature. Moving from Army Values' guiding principles into the careful practice of Army leadership involves exercising will, initiative, self-discipline, intelligent judgment and cultural awareness. These mental attributes, combined with the physical - military and professional bearing, physical and health fitness - and emotional - self-control, balance and stability - components, join with values to flesh out the essence of a leader's character. We have long emphasized leaders of character and competence, so the notion is not new, but the doctrine now clearly marks values as the foundation of all that we are and do.
Know: Skills
Being a principled, dedicated leader is just the beginning. Leaders develop skills in a variety of areas grouped under four headings. Leaders must possess interpersonal skills and know their people and how to work with them as individuals and teams. Knowing, understanding and applying job-related ideas constitute conceptual skills. Knowing how to use equipment and being proficient with things are technical skills. Those who combine the skills with people, concepts and equipment to fulfill military missions have the tactical skills necessary for Army leadership. Army leaders have a continuing responsibility to develop new skills, whether for new jobs, equipment, tactics or different people. Although the robust Army school system gives conceptual and procedural basics for many leader skills, the experience and proficiency really grow in a unit. Even so, the challenge to improve as a leader always remains with the individual. The institution resources officer, warrant officer, managerial and noncommissioned officer education systems. Organizations track assignments for the good of the Army and the individual leader's personal growth. However, no one knows the relevant areas worthy of study and practice like the leaders themselves. They determine what they need to know for the job, for the future, and they go after it. As leaders become more senior, there are fewer institutional schools and organizational opportunities available to them and the more important self-development becomes.
Do: Leadership Actions
While the Army is a values-based organization, this new definition of leadership focuses on what we can see and evaluate - behavior. Influencing, operating and improving are root leadership actions. Whether through orders, personal example or cooperative efforts, leaders get others to work together for collective goals. That requires giving reasons and challenges, not just tasks. The doctrine explores three ways that leaders demonstrate influence: communicating, decision making and motivating. At the direct level, leaders can influence face-to-face with instructions, encouragement and recognition. Higher levels require more indirect techniques and a clearly understood intent.
A leader's influence obviously applies in the day-to-day business of operating - accomplishing missions. As part of operating, a leader is responsible for detailed, suitable planning; careful, proficient executing; and continual assessing and adjusting. Assessing change is essential to improving an organization. This new doctrinal emphasis means that a leader's influence today involves preparing for tomorrow. Improving the organization is not itself a new concept, for good leaders get their people ready for contingencies and strive to leave the unit better than they find it. FM 22-100 now codifies the ideal. Just pushing troops to meet immediate demands never has been enough. Leaders must also provide for their future. They are also responsible for developing individual subordinates, building teams and fostering learning in the organization. These actions help prepare units for their leaders' absence, an ironic but profound measurement of leadership effectiveness.
Comments
I buy all of those. Thanks for your answer. :)
by RosieGHM Jetpacker on May 31st, 2007
Thankyou Rosie:)
by Firebrand on May 31st, 2007
You're welcome, honey. Isn't it fine and dandy that even after two+ years I can thank you for something so long ago? Happy Monday, August 3, 2009 Firebrand! Who says immortality ain't feasible? Our questions will go on and on forever! :) ((hugs))
by RosieGHM Jetpacker on August 3rd, 2009
Yes it is Rosie, although I am not sure some of my efforts deserve posterity :)
by Firebrand on August 3rd, 2009
Of course they do. They all reflect who you were at a particular time in your life...that is good. It is an effortless history of you as you go through life. :)
by RosieGHM Jetpacker on August 3rd, 2009