Monday, March 28, 2011

Leadership Attributes

The Army Leader Development Strategy identifies three critical leadership attributes for all Army leaders: character, presence and intellect. In addition to those three foundational attributes, we assert that strategic leaders must be inquisitive and open-minded. They must be able to think critically and be capable of developing creative solutions to complex problems. They must be historically minded; that is, they must be able to see and articulate issues in historical context. Possessed of a strong personal and professional ethic, strategic leaders must be able to navigate successfully in ethical “gray zones,” where absolutes may be elusive. Similarly, they must be comfortable with ambiguity and able to provide advice and make decisions with less, not more, information. While all leaders need these qualities, the complexity of problems will increase over the course of an officer’s career and require strategic leaders to develop greater sophistication of thought. 

General Martin Dempsey
His article, Building Critical Thinkers, is HERE.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Stars and Stripes (Europe Edition)
March 26, 2011

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — The Army has relieved Col. James H. Johnson III of command of the 173rd Airborne Brigade for serious allegations "that were substantiated" following an extensive review, said the deputy commander of V Corps.

The Army announced its decision on Johnson late Friday. Col. Kyle Lear is serving as the acting commander until Johnson’s replacement arrives this summer. However, it didn’t go into any detail about Johnson’s transgressions, or whether he will be court-martialed.

Nutz said...

The Army in my humble opinion, being a former Army officer does a much better job developing and educating its officer core then the Navy.

Would be interesting to compare how many Army O-5's are relived of command compared to Navy O-5's.

Not that this is the basis of my argument however, The Army gives its leaders multiple opportunities to learn grow and make mistakes as professionals. Unlike the Navy where you need to be an O-5 before you get a real shot at truly leading people!

General Quarters said...

Nutz, nutz, nutz...army = cat in litter box

Anonymous said...

"The Army in my humble opinion, being a former Army officer does a much better job developing and educating its officer core then the Navy."


No kidding?