Category Archives: Military Leadership

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How Compassion Can Make or Break a Career

You might not have realized it, but there’s an important date in the lives of your Soldiers that you should pay attention to. You don’t know the exact time yet – it could be weeks, months, or years away – but it’s out there. And it’s a big day for them, and for the Army. I’m talking about the reenlistment date for every Soldier you lead and like it or not, everything you do influences whether or not the day will come.

reenlistment

The American flag reflects in the glasses of an officer with the 82nd Airborne Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team as he reenlists another paratrooper on Combat Outpost Qara Baugh, Ghazni province, Afghanistan, April 22, 2012. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Reed Knutson.
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Meet the Extraordinary Leader

by Charles M. Herbek

The purpose of the article is to introduce you to the extraordinary leader. First, a definition. A description of the extraordinary leader must examine the two separate parts of the term. Extraordinary: very unusual or remarkable. Leader: a person who has commanding authority or influence.

If we combine the two definitions, we have “a remarkable person who has commanding authority or influence.” But it doesn’t tell us what this leader does, how we can recognize one, or what we should aspire to become, if that is our intent. For this we must look at what this extraordinary leader does, for it is in that behavior, the outward actions recognizable by all, that we find the foundational aspects of the extraordinary leader.

extraordinary

Air Force Capt. Daniel Stancin applies face paint during survival, evasion, resistance and escape training at Yokota Air Base, Japan, April 21, 2016. Stancin is a navigator assigned to the 36th Airlift Squadron. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Delano Scott.
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Leadership Reflections from Battalion Command

by Scott Halter

Recently I was blessed to spend three years in command of a battalion of outstanding American Soldiers. As with any leadership opportunity, some things went really well and other things did not. As summer approaches and hundreds of leaders prepare to take the unit colors, I offer a few ideas to spur some reflection on commanding a battalion.

As a commander, my leadership focus was simple:  1) Take a servant-leader approach, 2) Train deliberately, and 3) Communicate with intention.

command

A medical evacuation crew with Company C, 7th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment, prepares for takeoff from a refueling point during a collaborative training mission at Fort Campbell, Ky., July 19, 2012. Photo Credit: Spc. Jennifer Anderson, 159th Combat Aviation Brigade Public Affairs.
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Telling the World How Smart We Are (Habit Series #6)

The civilian world doesn’t experience this phenomenon, but there’s a form of gazing in the military that’s not considered sexual harassment. It’s the uniform once-over that occurs when service members are introduced for the first time.

You’ve seen it…we trade lengthy, indiscreet, almost uncomfortable stares at each others upper torso and arms to interpret the story told by one another’s rank, badges, medals, decorations, tabs, and patches. We do it because we want to know who we’re dealing with, what the other person is bringing to the table. (And if we’re being honest, we should go ahead and admit that it’s also an ego check: “Have I been through more than this guy? How much do I need to regard him?”)

Habit

Link to photo on Wikipedia.
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12 Tips for Showing Leadership During Your Staff Time

by James King

Staff officers are not often seen as dynamic leaders who are pivotal to a unit’s success in combat. Very few history books are written, and even fewer movies are made, about the exploits of a staff officer who saves the world. They are generally depicted as the bumbling fool or road-blocking bureaucrat who holds the hero back from accomplishing the mission.

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1st Lt. Daniel Barrow (left) and Chief Warrant Officer Todd Berlinghof monitor the track of a simulated storm – “Hurricane Herb” – during an exercise at the Florida National Guard’s Joint Emergency Operations Center in St. Augustine, Fla. Photo by Tech. Sgt. Thomas Kielbasa.
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An Open Letter to Company Command Teams

by Duane Clark

In An Open Letter to Cadets, Drew Steadman urges current Cadets to use their college time wisely to develop into the kind of leaders we need in today’s Army. To develop those future leaders, we need good Company Commanders and First Sergeants to serve as Assistant Professors of Military Science (APMS) and Senior Military Instructors (SMI) at college campuses across the country.

command

340 cadets were commissioned as Second Lieutenants following the 2010 Leader Development and Assessment Course at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. More than 6,000 cadets attend the course, also known as Operation Warrior Forge. Photo Credit: Al Zdarsky.
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An Open Letter to Cadets

Whether graduation is weeks or years away, the countdown that started at 1,460 days will eventually come to an end. Imagine it for a moment. You and your anxious cohort are seated for the ceremony. Proud parents are watching from the stands. The National Anthem is cued. Commencement speakers are on the stage. It’s your last day in a cadet uniform.

cadets

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The Art of Presence

by Harlan Kefalas

Leaders illustrate through their presence that they care. There is no greater inspiration than leaders who routinely share in team hardships and dangers. Being where subordinates perform duties allows the leader to have firsthand knowledge of the real conditions Soldiers and Army Civilians face. Presence is a critical attribute leaders need to understand. It is not just a matter of showing up; actions, words, and the manner in which leaders carry themselves convey presence.
-ADRP 6-22, paragraph 4-2.

All leaders have presence. Initially, it is physical. As leaders progress through the ranks, the sheer number of Soldiers compounds the leader’s ability to be physically present for each of them. The challenge then becomes how leaders can make their presence felt and build trust in the organization when they can’t be everywhere, all the time.

presence

U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Kahler, left, supervises and provides security for Pfcs. Jonathan Ayers and Adam Hamby while they emplace an M240 machine gun as part of a fighting position in the mountains of Afghanistan’s Kunar Province on Oct. 23, 2007. The soldiers are all from 2nd Battalion, 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment. DoD photo by Staff Sgt. Justin Holley, U.S. Army.