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LeaderShip
Preface
A Trained and Ready military has as its foundation, competent and confident leaders. We develop such leaders through a dynamic process consisting of three equally important pillars: institutional training, operational assignments, and self-development. This approach is designed to provide the education, training, and experience that enable leaders to develop the necessary skills, knowledge, and attitudes.
This document, Steiner Leadership, is the LCAF's basic manual on leadership. It has two purposes: to provide an overview of LCAF leadership doctrine, including the principles for applying leadership theory at all organizational levels to meet in game requirements; and to prescribe the leadership necessary to be effective online.
While this document applies to all LCAF leaders, its principal focus is on junior officers, and noncommissioned officers, the junior leaders of mechwarriors at battalion level and below. Steiner Leadership incorporates the professional military values, the bedrock of our service, that all LCAF leaders must internalize in the earliest times of their careers.
LCAF leaders must learn to fulfill expectations of all mechwarriors including other leaders. Steiner Leadership addresses fundamental expectations:
Demonstrate tactical and technical competence in game. Know your business. Mechwarriors expect their leaders to be tactically and technically competent. Mechwarriors want to follow those leaders who are confident of their own abilities. To be confident a leader must first be competent. Trust between mechwarriors and their leaders is based on the secure knowledge that the leader is competent.
Teach subordinates. In training, leaders must move beyond managing tasks or directing the execution of operations. Our leaders must take the time to share with subordinates the benefit of experience and expertise.
Be a good listener. We must listen with equal attention to our superiors and our subordinates. As leaders we can help solve any problem for a mechwarrior or a unit. However, we can only do so if we know about it. We won't know about it if we don't listen.
Treat mechwarriors with dignity and respect. Leaders must show genuine concern and compassion for the mechwarriors they lead. It is essential that leaders remain sensitive to "Real Life" issues. Remember, respect is a two-way street; a leader will be accorded the same level of respect that he or she shows for others.
Stress basics. Leaders must demonstrate mastery of fundamental mechwarrior skills such as marksmanship, maneuvering, and formations, as well as the requisite skills for their particular assignment, and be able to teach them to their mechwarriors.
Set the example. Leaders abide consistently with the highest values of the virtual military profession and its institutions. They encourage within their mechwarriors a commitment to the same values. Leaders take pride in selflessly dedicating their service to ensure mission accomplishment. They are aware that they are always on parade whenever online, in email, or on the boards and that all their actions set personal and professional examples for subordinates to emulate.
Set and enforce standards. A leader must know, and always enforce, established LCAF standards. Perhaps the most fundamental standard which must be maintained is discipline. Our mechwarriors must promptly and effectively perform their duty in response to orders, or in the absence of orders take the correct action.
One of the biggest factors leading to successful units is "Online Presence". A unit with poor leadership will still thrive online with a good online presence. Which means that both leadership and members have good amounts of online exposure and hours of game play. There is much to be said for someone signing online and seeing another member of the unit, or members, present.
The fundamental mission of our virtual military is to gain terrain and win in combat. The Lyran online community expect that officers and noncommissioned officers at all levels will lead, train, motivate, and inspire their mechwarriors. Our mechwarriors and units perform difficult tasks, often under adverse, stressful circumstances. To achieve excellence in these tasks, leaders must explain the importance of the mission, articulate priorities, and focus mechwarrior and unit efforts to perform in an efficient and disciplined manner. Well led, properly trained, motivated, and inspired mechwarriors will accomplish any mission.
Leaders in our military have a challenge. They must take care of mechwarriors' needs; develop them into cohesive teams; train them under tough, realistic conditions to demanding standards; assess their performance; assist them with their personal and professional growth; and reward them for their successes. To meet that challenge our leaders must be competent, and confident in their ability to lead.
Hans Kluas Dietrich
General of The Armies
Commander Pro Tem, LCAF
Introduction
The changing face of virtual online war poses special challenges for our virtual military. Because of the increasing complexity of the game environment, we must prepare to respond across the entire spectrum of conflict. Just as we have changed our structure, so have our potential enemies. These changes have dramatically altered the characteristics and demands of virtual combat. More than ever, we need competent and confident mechwarriors, leaders, and units to meet these challenges
We must work to strengthen our ability to employ new mechs and to execute our operations doctrine. We must also focus on developing leaders at all levels who understand the human dimension of online war and are able to go from theory to practice where its application is required.
Understanding the human element will help us win in situations where we may be outnumbered or face an enemy with excellent weapons and equipment. This understanding is equally important in low-intensity conflicts where we expect to have similar equipment to what the enemy has. In any environment, we can only succeed if we have better-prepared leaders, mechwarriors, and units than the enemy does.
The worst-case war may be a "come as you are war," fought with little time for buildup or preparation. Because of the speed of virtual warfare, battle success may well depend on the effectiveness of existing small units during the first minutes of battle.
Across the entire spectrum of conflict, independent actions and operations within the commander's intent will be necessary. In limited and general war, the turbulent intermixing of opposing units may blur distinctions between rear and forward areas. Combat will occur throughout the entire length and breadth of the battlefield. In the midst of this fast-paced virtual battlefield, leaders must take the initiative, make rapid decisions, and motivate their mechwarriors. They must effectively maneuver their units, apply firepower, and protect and sustain their force.
In low-intensity conflicts, leaders will also be under great stress and have to display as much or more discipline than in conventional war. Short periods of intense fighting may interrupt long periods of relative inaction. To achieve operational success, leaders may have to restrict the amount of combat power used. These restrictions can frustrate warriors and leaders of small units.
The nature of future operations places significant demands on leaders. Specifically, the LCAF needs leaders who-
Understand the human dimension of online operations.
Provide purpose, direction, and motivation to their units.
Show initiative.
Are technically and tactically competent.
Are willing to exploit opportunities and take well-calculated risks within the commander's intent.
Have an aggressive will to fight and win.
Build cohesive teams.
Communicate effectively, both written and orally.
Are committed to the professional LCAF ethic.
LEADERSHIP REQUIREMENTS
The LCAF's leadership doctrine lays out principles that, when followed, provide the tools to execute our operations doctrine. It suggests that leaders must satisfy four leadership requirements:
Lead in peace to be prepared for war.
Develop individual leaders.
Develop leadership teams.
Decentralize.
Lead in Peace to be Prepared for War
The LCAF needs leaders who sustain their ability to look beyond peacetime concerns and who can execute their wartime missions even after long periods of peace. Difficulties in maintaining this focus in peace arise because responsibilities and priorities may blur. Leaders must guard against the natural peacetime tendency to use "efficient" centralized methods of training and "zero defects" approaches to day-to-day operations. Administrative activities are important, but they must not take priority over realistic virtual combat training.
The key to maintaining a proper perspective is the ability to look beyond garrison concerns. Leaders must develop units through their wartime focus on all activities. They must recognize that the fast pace of combat allows little time to learn new skills, so they must develop units that can respond rapidly to changing situations. The way leaders train their warriors and organizations in peace is the way these organizations will fight in war.
Develop Individual Leaders
The LCAF has made a total commitment to develop leaders by providing the skills, knowledge, and attitude necessary for them to exhibit the leadership characteristics and traits discussed in this document. This objective is accomplished through a dynamic leader development system consisting of three equally important pillars:
Schools. These institutions provide the formal education and training that all mechwarriors receive on a progressive and sequential basis to prepare them for positions of greater responsibility. The BJSC is a good example.
Experience. Operational experience through duty assignments provides leaders the opportunity to use and build upon what was learned through the process of formal education.
Self-development. Individual initiative and self-improvement are keys to training and developing every leader. The formal education system has limits to what it can accomplish; the leader can and must continue to expand that knowledge base whether through reading, taking courses, talking with others, or any of a number of self-study programs.
As a leader you have a responsibility to assist your subordinates in implementing all three of these leader development pillars: you must help obtain school courses for deserving mechwarriors and then ensure prerequisites are met before attendance; you must have a plan to develop your subordinates while in your unit; and you must encourage the self-discipline required in your mechwarriors to want to learn more about their profession.
At all levels, the next senior leader has the responsibility to create leader development programs that develop professional officer and NCO leaders. Leaders train their subordinates to plan training carefully, execute it aggressively, and assess short-term achievements in terms of desired long-term results. Effective leader development programs will continuously influence the LCAF as younger leaders progress to higher levels of responsibility.
The purpose of leader development is to develop leaders capable of maintaining a trained and ready military in peacetime to gain terrain, to fight and control wars that do start, and to terminate wars on terms favorable to the LCAF.
The ethical development of self and subordinates is a key component of leader development. To succeed in upholding their oath to the LCAF, leaders must make a personal commitment to the professional LCAF ethic and strive to develop this commitment throughout the force.
Every leader must be a role model actively working to make his subordinates sensitive to ethical matters. Leaders must not tolerate unethical behavior by subordinates, peers, or superiors.
We must develop and nurture trust that encourages leaders to delegate and empower subordinates. Subordinate leaders may then begin to make the decisions that are properly theirs to make and to develop the judgment and thinking skills they will need in battle. This approach requires leaders to recognize that subordinates learn by doing and gives subordinates a chance to try their own solutions.
Develop Leadership Teams
The ability to develop a leadership team is essential to success in online war. While we have traditionally viewed leadership as an individual influence effort, today's operations doctrine demands we also view it in terms of leadership teams. A leadership team consists of a leader and those subordinates necessary to plan and execute operations. Developing leadership teams is even more important in larger, more complex organizations. Leaders must develop a team that anticipates requirements and exercises initiative within the commander's intent. Units may fail because of a single leader's ineptness, but units succeed in combat because of the collective efforts of leadership teams. An effective leadership team will provide continuity in combat that is tied to a commander's intent instead of to a specific leader or person. Responsive teams react quickly because of their common understanding of mission requirements.
Decentralize
Decentralization is a peacetime objective because you want to develop leaders capable of making tough decisions in a combat situation. To decentralize requires a more senior leader to release authority for execution at a lower level. Leaders must create a leadership climate where decision making is decentralized to the appropriate level. This climate is necessary for subordinate leaders to learn and then to demonstrate the mental flexibility, initiative, innovation, and risk-taking skills that our training and operations doctrine require.
LCAF doctrine recognizes the high-quality mechwarrior and online gamer of today. The leader is responsible to develop each mechwarrior's potential and to give competent subordinates authority and responsibility. Although leaders should not do most things themselves if subordinates can and should do them, they must be capable of performing those tasks. This requires the judicious interplay of centralization and decentralization. Leaders must tailor decentralization to the ability, training, and experience of subordinates who may need to be coached and supported as well as empowered. Although decentralization must allow for subordinate initiative in matters of judgment within the commander's intent, leaders must hold subordinates strictly accountable for their actions at their level of responsibility. When honest mistakes are made, leaders must be willing to coach, encourage, and train subordinates. All must realize that decentralization is not a cure-all and successful implementation requires patience. The key is to develop subordinates' ability to solve problems. The leader must establish standards, decide what needs to be done, and then let competent subordinates decide how to accomplish the mission.
KEY ELEMENTS OF LCAF LEADERSHIP DOCTRINE
The study of the skills, knowledge, and attitudes of effective leaders of the past has identified certain leadership factors, principles, and competencies they have mastered. These are the key elements of our leadership doctrine and provide a framework at all levels for developing self, subordinates, and units. The leadership factors and principles are discussed later; the competencies are discussed below.
LEVELS OF LEADERSHIP
There is general agreement that leaders lead in different ways at different organizational levels. Junior-level leaders accomplish missions and build teams primarily by using the direct face-to-face leadership mode. In larger organizations, the scope of missions broadens and leading is more complex. Senior-level leaders and commanders provide vision, influence indirectly through layers of large units, build organizations, and create conditions that enable junior-level leaders to accomplish tasks and missions.
Two modes of leadership cut across all levels-direct and indirect. All leaders use both modes, but the proportion of influence shifts from predominantly the direct mode at junior levels to predominantly the indirect mode at senior levels. Do not try to put yourself or others in a particular category This manual focuses mainly on the direct leadership mode.
SOURCES OF LEADERSHIP DOCTRINE
Two manuals contain our leadership doctrine. Each manual addresses specific leadership needs, supports our operations doctrine, and contributes to the LCAF's ability to fight or to gain control of the Inner Sphere:
SM 100 (This Document) tells leaders how to lead in a direct, face-to-face mode.
SM 101 tells leaders how to conduct leadership counseling.
THE STRUCTURE
This manual presents a direct leadership framework that complements our operations doctrine. Where possible, it relates the concepts to the experiences of leaders of the LCAF and of the real Military in past conflicts.
Chapter One of the manual discusses doctrinal factors and principles of leadership as they relate to the leadership used from Lance through battalion. Chapter Two of the manual discusses leadership in action. It tells what a leader must BE, KNOW, and DO and then discusses the payoff of applying sound leadership.
This manual presents the requirements for leading and points for you to consider when assessing and developing yourself, your subordinates, and your unit. It is not intended to tell you exactly how you should lead. You must be yourself and apply this leadership doctrine in the situations you will face.
A Concept of Leadership
Our operations doctrine is leadership intensive. "The most essential element of combat power is competent and confident leadership. Leadership provides purpose, direction, and motivation in combat." The mandate for competent military leadership is simple and compelling; quality leadership must exist throughout the force if the LCAF is to have a military ready for combat. Just as successful armies train as they intend to fight, successful leaders lead in peace to be prepared for war. The leadership doctrine in this manual can help you:
Identify the leadership challenges that exist across the entire spectrum of conflict and provide the means to meet those challenges.
Learn what a leader must BE, KNOW, and DO to lead mechwarriors, teams, and units that can operate effectively in all operational situations.
Understand the special leadership requirements of virtual combat.
Find other sources of leadership information to help you develop your leadership skills.
THE BATTLEFIELD CHALLENGE
In battle, you must inspire your mechwariors to do things that may be against their natural will and to carry out missions for the greater good of the unit, the Front, and the LCAF. To lead mechwarriors in peace and in war, there are certain things you must BE, KNOW and DO.
Although some people seem to have a natural ability to lead others, most leadership skills do not come naturally. They are learned through hard work and study. Studying and discussing this manual and then putting the ideas into practice can help you meet the challenge.
To make good decisions and take the right actions under the stress of virtual battle, you must understand the demands that will be placed on you, your superiors, and your subordinates. Once you have a clear picture of the battlefield challenges, you can set goals for yourself, your subordinates, and your unit to prepare for combat. Without actually being in combat, you must get a realistic picture of what battle is like. Studying military history can give you insight into what combat has been like for past leaders and troops and help you relate the leadership challenges of the past to those of today.
The armies of some of our potential enemies outnumber us. They possess large numbers of excellent mechs and other resources. Our military needs competent and confident leaders who are bold, innovative, and willing to take well-calculated risks within the commander's intent. Human nature has not changed since man first engaged in war; leaders and warriors in virtual battles will not experience the same fears and emotions felt real battles but leadership will continue to be the most essential element of combat power, providing the key to mission accomplishment, winning battles, and protecting the ideals of our online community.
LEADERSHIP DEFINED
Leadership is the process of influencing others to accomplish the mission by providing purpose, direction, and motivation.
Providing Purpose
Purpose gives mechwarriors a reason why they should do difficult things under, stressful circumstances. You must establish priorities, explain the importance of missions, and focus mechwarriors on the task so that they will function in an efficient and a disciplined manner.
Providing Direction
Direction gives mechwarriors an orientation of tasks to be accomplished based on the priorities set by the leader. The standards you establish and enforce will give your warriors order; tough training will give them confidence in themselves, their leaders, each other, and their equipment.
Providing Motivation
Motivation gives mechwarriors the will to do everything they are capable of doing to accomplish a mission; it causes mechwarriors to use their initiative when they see the need for action. Motivate your mechwarriors by caring for them, challenging them with interesting training, developing them into a cohesive team, rewarding successes, and giving them all the responsibility they can handle. Effective leaders use both direct and indirect influence to lead. You will probably influence your warriors mainly in a direct manner, but others above you in your chain of command will use more indirect methods.
THE FACTORS OF LEADERSHIP
The four major factors of leadership are always present and affect the actions you should take and when you should take them. They are the led, the leader, the situation, and communications.
The Lead
The first major factor of leadership is those mechwarriors you are responsible for leading. All mechwarriors should not be led in the same way. For example, a mechwarrior with a new job or task normally needs closer supervision than a warrior who is experienced at that same job or task. A mechwarrior with low confidence needs your support and encouragement. A mechwarrior who works hard and does what you know must be done deserves your praise; a mechwarrior who intentionally fails to follow your guidance or meet clear standards may need to be reprimanded or punished. You must correctly assess your mechwarriors' competence, motivation, and commitment so that you can take the proper leadership actions at the correct time. You must create a climate that encourages your subordinates to actively participate and want to help you accomplish the mission. Key ingredients to develop this relationship are mutual trust, respect, and confidence.
The Leader
The second major leadership factor is you-- the leader. You must have an honest understanding of who you are, what you know, and what you can do. You must know your strengths, weaknesses, capabilities, and limitations so that you can control and discipline yourself and lead your mechwarriors effectively. You must continuously ensure that each mechwarrior is treated with dignity and respect.
Assessing others may be easier than looking honestly at yourself. If you have difficulty assessing yourself, ask your leader what he would like to see you change about the way you lead your mechwarriors or you support him. Do not put him on the spot. Give him time to think of specific suggestions and then meet with him to talk about them. You can also seek the counsel of your peers, or ask an experienced subordinate how well he thinks you issue orders or provide needed information. Consider all these points of view and then work on improving yourself.
The Situation
The situation is the third major leadership factor. All situations are different; leadership actions that work in one situation may not work in another. To determine the best leadership action to take, first consider the available resources and apply the principles of mission, enemy, terrain, supply, mechs, and time available. Then consider the subordinate's level of competence, motivation, and commitment to perform the task or mission. In one situation, you may have to closely supervise and direct a subordinate's work. Another situation may require you to encourage and listen to ideas. In still another, you may need to both direct and encourage a mechwarrior to ensure he can accomplish a task. Later sections discusses styles of leadership in more detail.
The situation also includes the timing of actions. For example, confronting a subordinate may be the correct decision, but if the confrontation occurs too soon or too late, the results may not be what you want. You must be skilled in identifying and thinking through the situation so that you can take the right action at the right time. Later sections contain ideas to consider when you assume a leadership position.
What if you take the wrong action? It happens. We all make mistakes. Analyze the situation again, take quick corrective action, and move on. Learn from your mistakes and those of others.
Communications
Communications, the fourth major leadership factor, is the exchange of information and ideas from one person to another. Effective communications occurs when others understand exactly what you are trying to tell them and when you understand precisely what they are trying to tell you. You may communicate what you want in writing, or orally, but rarely through physical actions, or through a combination of all of these. Communication in the online environment is extremely difficult and is one challenge that will constantly be present. You must recognize that you communicate standards by your example and by what behaviors you ignore, reward, and punish.
The way you communicate in different situations is important. Your choice of words, style of writing, and general tone all combine to affect mechwarriors. Leadership is more than setting the example and bravely leading a charge. The ability to say the correct thing, at the appropriate moment and in the right way, is also an important part of leadership.
In peacetime you must create the kinds of bonds that enable mechwarriors to follow you so that they will conduct themselves properly in virtual combat. You must win their trust and confidence before, rather than after, combat has commenced. An important element is to convey the facts and requirements accurately without the added confusion of your personal bias. What and how you communicate either builds or harms the strength of the relationship between you and your mechwarriors. Discipline and cohesion in units come from these relationships.
Effective communications implies that your mechwarriors listen and understand you. Since mechwarriors listen to leaders who listen to them, you must work hard at understanding exactly what your mechwarriors are saying to you. Good listening is hard work but you can learn. Do not interrupt when others are typing. Stay in the room when a person is speaking; read what is said and also to how it is said since emotions are an important part of communications. If you listen to your subordinates, they will listen to you.
Interaction of the Factors
The four major leadership factors are always present but, in every situation, they affect each other differently. The most important factor in one situation may have little importance in another. You must constantly consider all four factors of leadership and choose the best course of action. Mistakes happen when leaders fail to consider all four leadership factors and see how they affect each other and mission accomplishment. Self-assessment, study, and experience will improve your understanding of the four major factors of leadership.
THE PRINCIPLES OF LEADERSHIP
The 11 principles of leadership are excellent guidelines and provide the cornerstone for action. They are universal and represent fundamental truths that have stood the test of time. Developed in a 1948 leadership study, the principles were first included in leadership doctrine in 1951. Use these principles to assess yourself and develop an action plan to improve your ability to lead. Here is an explanation of each of the leadership principles.
PRINCIPLES OF LEADERSHIP
Know yourself and seek self-improvement.
Be technically and tactically proficient.
Seek responsibility and take responsibility for your actions.
Make sound and timely decisions.
Set the example.
Know your warriors and look out for their well-being.
Keep your subordinates informed.
Develop a sense of responsibility in your subordinates.
Ensure the task is understood, supervised, and accomplished.
Build the team.
Employ your unit in accordance with its capabilities.
Know Yourself and Seek Self-Improvement
To know yourself, you have to understand who you are and to know what your preferences, strengths, and weaknesses are. Knowing yourself allows you to take advantage of your strengths and work to overcome your weaknesses. Seeking self-improvement means continually developing your strengths and working on overcoming your weaknesses. This will increase your competence and the confidence your mechwarriors have in your ability to train and lead.
Be Technically and Tactically Proficient
You are expected to be technically and tactically proficient at your job. This means that you can accomplish all tasks to standard that are required to accomplish the in game mission. In addition, you are responsible for training your mechwarriors to do their jobs and for understudying your leader in the event you must assume those duties. You develop technical and tactical proficiency through a combination of the tactics, techniques, and procedures you learn while attending formal schools (institutional training), in your day-to-day jobs (operational assignments), and from professional reading and personal study (self-development).
Seek Responsibility and Take Responsibility for Your Actions
Leading always involves responsibility. You want subordinates who can handle responsibility and help you perform your mission. Similarly, your leaders want you to take the initiative within their stated intent. When you see a problem or something that needs to be fixed, do not wait for your leader to tell you to act. The example you set, whether positive or negative, helps develop your subordinates. Our operational doctrine requires bold leaders at all levels who exercise initiative, are resourceful, and take advantage of opportunities on the battlefield that will lead to victory. When you make mistakes, accept just criticism and take corrective action. You must avoid evading responsibility by placing the blame on someone else. Your objective should be to build trust between you and your leaders as well as between you and those you lead by seeking and accepting responsibility.
Make Sound and Timely Decisions
You must be able to rapidly assess situations and make sound decisions. If you delay or try to avoid making a decision, you may cause unnecessary losses and fail to accomplish the mission. Indecisive leaders create hesitancy, loss of confidence, and confusion. You must be able to anticipate and reason under the most trying conditions and quickly decide what actions to take. Here are some guidelines to help you lead effectively:
Gather essential information before making your decisions.
Announce decisions in time for your mechwarriors to react. Good decisions made at the right time are better than the best decisions made too late.
Consider the short- and long-term effects of your decisions.
Set the Example
Your mechwarriors want and need you to be a role model. This is a heavy responsibility, but you have no choice. No aspect of leadership is more powerful. If you expect courage, competence, candor, commitment, and integrity from your mechwarriors, you must demonstrate them. Your mechwarriors will imitate your behavior. You must set high, but attainable, standards, be willing to do what you require of your mechwarriors, and share hardships with your mechwarriors. Your personal example affects your mechwarriors more than any amount of instruction or form of discipline. You are their role model.
Know Your Mechwarriors and Look Out for Their Well-Being
You must know and care for your mechwarriors and the corresponding person who plays them. It is not enough to know their names and home states. You need to understand what makes them "tick" and learn what is important to them in real life. You need to commit time and effort to listen to and learn about your mechwarriors. When you show genuine concern for your people, they trust and respect you as a leader. Telling your subordinates you care about them has no meaning unless they see you demonstrating care. They assume that if you fail to care for them in training, you will put little value on their actions in combat. Although slow to build, trust and respect can be destroyed quickly.
If your mechwarriors trust you, they will willingly work to help you accomplish missions. They will never want to let you down. You must care for them by training them for the rigors of combat, taking care of their in game and personal needs when possible, and disciplining and rewarding fairly. The bonding that comes from caring for your mechwarriors will sustain them and the unit during the stress and chaos of combat.
Keep Your Subordinates Informed
Mechwarriors do best when they know why they are doing something. Individual warriors have changed the outcome of battle using initiative in the absence of orders. Keeping your subordinates informed helps them make decisions and execute plans within your intent, encourages initiative, improves teamwork, and enhances morale. Your subordinates look for logic in your orders and question things that do not make sense. They expect you to keep them informed and, when possible, explain reasons for your orders.
Develop A Sense of Responsibility in Your Subordinates
Your subordinates will feel a sense of pride and responsibility when they successfully accomplish a new task you have given them. Delegation indicates you trust your subordinates and will make them want even more responsibility. As a leader, you are a teacher and responsible for developing your subordinates. Give them challenges and opportunities you feel they can handle. Give them more responsibility when they show you they are ready. Their initiative will amaze you.
Ensure the Task is Understood, Supervised, and Accomplished
Your warriors must understand what you expect from them. They need to know what you want done, what the standard is, and when you want it done. They need to know if you want a task accomplished in a specific way. Supervising lets you know if your warriors understand your orders; it shows your interest in them and in mission accomplishment. Over supervision causes resentment and under supervision causes frustration.
When warriors are learning new tasks, tell them what you want done and show how you want it done. Let them try. Watch their performance. Accept performance that meets your standards; reward performance that exceeds your standards; correct performance that does not meet your standards. Determine the cause of the poor performance and take appropriate action. When you hold subordinates accountable to you for their performance, they realize they are responsible for accomplishing missions as individuals and as teams.
Build the Team
Fighting is a team activity. You must develop a team spirit among your warriors that motivates them to go willingly and confidently into combat in a quick transition from peace to war. Your warriors need confidence in your abilities to lead them and in their abilities to perform as members of the team. You must train and cross train your warriors until they are confident in the team's technical and tactical abilities. Your unit becomes a team only when your warriors trust and respect you and each other as trained professionals and see the importance of their contributions to the unit.
Employ Your Unit in Accordance with Its Capabilities
Your unit has capabilities and limitations. You are responsible to recognize both of these factors. Your warriors will gain satisfaction from performing tasks that are reasonable and challenging but will be frustrated if tasks are too easy, unrealistic, or unattainable. Although the available resources may constrain the program you would like to implement, you must continually ensure your warriors' training is demanding. Apply the battle focus process to narrow the training program and reduce the number of vital tasks essential to mission accomplishment. Talk to your leader; decide which tasks are essential to accomplish your fighting mission and ensure your unit achieves LCAF standards on those selected. Battle focus is a recognition that a unit cannot attain proficiency to standard on every task, whether due to time or other resource constraints. Do your best in other areas to include using innovative training techniques and relooking the conditions under which the training is being conducted, but do not lower standards simply because your unit appears unable to meet them. Your challenge as a leader is to attain, sustain, and enforce high standards of combat readiness through tough, realistic multiechelon training designed to develop and challenge each warrior and unit.
What A Leader Must Be
As a leader, you are responsible for understanding and directly transmitting the LCAF's values to your mechwarriors. These values are the foundation for service to the commonwealth. Since the LCAF's purpose is to protect the commonwealth and its values, the LCAF's ethic must be consistent with commonwealth will and values. The oath you took pledged you "to support and defend the Lyran Commonwealth." Taken without reservation and regardless of personal sacrifice, this oath is formal and public recognition of your commitment to a professional ethic.
This section describes what a leader must BE by discussing beliefs, values, and norms; character; and the professional LCAF ethic. It also discusses ethical responsibilities and an ethical decision-making process.
BELIEFS, VALUES, AND NORMS
Beliefs
Beliefs are assumptions or convictions you hold as true about some thing, concept, or person. They can range from the very deep-seated beliefs you hold concerning such things as religion and the fundamentals upon which this commonwealth was established to recent experiences which have affected your perception of a particular person, concept, or thing. One warrior may believe that duty simply means putting in time online. Another may believe that duty is selflessly serving your commonwealth, your unit, and the warriors of your unit.
You have beliefs about human nature--what makes people tick. We usually cannot prove our beliefs, but we think and feel that they are true. For example, some people believe that a car is simply a means of transportation. Others believe a car is a status symbol. There are leaders who believe that rewards and punishment are the only way to motivate warriors. In contrast, other leaders believe that rewards and punishment should be used only in exceptional cases.
The important point to recognize is that people generally behave in accord with their beliefs. The beliefs of a leader impact directly on the leadership climate, cohesion, discipline, training, and combat effectiveness of a unit.
Values
Values are attitudes about the worth or importance of people, concepts, or things. Values influence your behavior because you use them to decide between alternatives. For example, you may place value on such things as truth, money, friendships, justice, human rights, or selflessness.
Your values will influence your priorities. Strong values are what you put first, defend most, and want least to give up. Individual values can and will conflict at times.
The four individual values that all warriors (leaders and led) are expected to possess are courage, candor, competence, and commitment. These four values are considered essential for building the trust which must exist for a unit to operate at peak efficiency.
Courage comes in two forms. Physical courage which we are not able to display online . Moral courage is overcoming fears of other than bodily harm while doing what ought to be done.
Moral courage is as important as physical courage and is of particular importance online. It is the courage to stand firm on your values, your moral principles, and your convictions. You show moral courage when you do something based on one of your values or moral principles, knowing that the action may not be in your best interest. It takes special courage to support unpopular decisions and to make it difficult for others to do the wrong thing. Others may encourage you to embrace a "slightly" unethical solution as the easiest or most convenient method. Do not ease the way for others to do wrong; stand up for your beliefs and what you know is right. Do not compromise your professional ethic or your individual values and moral principles. If you believe you are right after sober and considered judgment, hold your position.
Candor is being frank, open, honest, and sincere with your warriors, seniors, and peers. It is an expression of personal integrity. If handled properly, disagreeing with others and presenting your point of view are not wrong. Remember these three important points: (1) select the right time and place to offer your criticism or advice; (2) do not criticize a plan without giving a constructive alternative; (3) recognize that when your leader has made the final decision, you must end your discussion and support legal and proper orders even if you do not personally agree with them. There is often no time in combat to verify reports or to question the accuracy of information. Consequences are too important, and time is too short to communicate anything but the truth. Candor is equally important in peacetime. Demand it from your subordinates and expect it from your peers and superiors. Candor expresses personal integrity.
Competence is proficiency in required professional knowledge, judgment, and skills. Each leader must have it to train and to develop a cohesive, disciplined unit with all the required individual and collective skills to win on the battlefield. Competence builds confidence in one's self and one's unit; both are crucial elements of morale, courage, and, ultimately, success on the battlefield.
Commitment means the dedication to carry out all unit missions and to serve the values of the commonwealth, the LCAF, and the unit. This is shown by doing your best to contribute to the LCAF, to train and develop your unit, and to help your warriors develop professionally and personally.
Norms
Norms are the rules or laws normally based on agreed-upon beliefs and values that members of a group follow to live in harmony. Norms can fall into one of two categories.
Formal norms are official standards or laws that govern behavior. Traffic signals, the Code of Conduct, and the Geneva Conventions, the New Sammerkand Treaty, TOS, BTROC are formal norms that direct the behavior of mechwarriors. They dictate what actions are required or forbidden. Uniform regulations, brevity codes, and unit SOPs are also formal norms.
Informal norms are unwritten rules or standards that govern the behavior of group members. Such as an informal norm that casualties are never left by the rest of the unit. At the root of this norm is a shared value about the importance of caring for each other. The mechwarriors find comfort in knowing they would be cared for if they became casualties.
Importance of Beliefs, Values, and Norms
Beliefs, values, and norms guide the actions of individuals and groups. They are like a traffic control system; they are signals giving direction, meaning, and purpose to our lives.
Examples abound of warriors throughout history who sacrificed their lives to save friends or help their unit accomplish a mission. These brave, selfless actions include blocking exploding grenades, personally taking out enemy fighting positions, and manning key positions to protect a withdrawal. Beliefs and values motivate this kind of heroic self-sacrifice. The motivating force may be the warrior's belief in the importance of retaining his personal honor, of saving a buddy, of helping the unit, of serving a cause, or a combination of these.
Your warriors will fight for you if they believe that the best chance for winning and gaining recognition for themselves and their buddies is to do their job as part of a team. They will be more effective if they believe in themselves, in the unit, in you, and in the cause they are fighting for.
Individual values, beliefs, and attitudes are shaped by past real life experiences involving such things as family, school, work, and social relationships. Leaders must understand the importance of nurturing and shaping beliefs and values in their subordinates because they are fundamental motivating factors.
Influencing Beliefs, Values, and Norms
As a leader, you have the power to influence the beliefs and values of your warriors by setting the example; by recognizing behavior that supports professional beliefs, values, and norms; and by planning, executing, and assessing tough, realistic individual and collective training.
Tough training does not mean training in which leaders haze or yell at troops in an effort to cause artificial stress. This merely creates an antagonistic atmosphere of "us against them." This kind of leadership does not succeed in combat, so why practice bad habits. Tough training occurs when leaders and warriors mutually experience realistic, exhausting conditions that prepare both, as a team, for the stress of combat.
Training that simulates such conditions is tough.
During an exercise, you could plan for an all night marathon, a few hours rest, then a simulated battle that is demanding on leaders and warriors. This kind of training builds cohesion--positive respect and trust among warriors and between leaders and warriors. It builds a feeling of shared hardships and teamwork. It contributes to the respect and comradeship that help you influence beliefs and values of warriors.
Tough training conducted to standards will teach your warriors to do things as individuals and as a team that they did not believe possible. It will give your warriors confidence in themselves, in each other, and in you. If properly explained, it will help each warrior understand the linkage and the importance of his ability to perform individual tasks properly in support of the unit's collective mission.
As a leader, you must respect your warriors and must earn their respect if you are to influence their beliefs and values. Subordinates will always respect your rank, but they will base their genuine respect on your demonstrated character, knowledge, and professional skills.
Once your warriors respect you and want your approval, you can guide them to demonstrate unselfish concern for the unit and for other warriors. They will become concerned with excellence in everything that relates to combat readiness if this is the value you demonstrate. If your warriors respect and admire you, they want to be like you, and they naturally tend to adopt your professional beliefs and values as their own. You can reinforce this behavior with positive feedback and by praising them for things they do that support duty, cohesiveness, discipline, good training, and good communications. Praise, however, can be cheapened, either by overuse or when it is not sincere.
CHARACTER
Character describes a person's inner strength and is the link between values and behaviors. A warrior of character does what he believes right, regardless of the danger or circumstances. A warrior's behavior shows his character. In tough situations, leadership takes self-discipline, determination, initiative, compassion, and courage.
There is no simple formula for success in all the situations you may face. The key is to remain flexible and attempt to gather as many facts as the circumstances will allow before you must make a decision. When dealing with others, every situation has two sides; listen to both. The way you handle problems depends on the interaction of the factors of leadership (the led, the leader, the situation, and communications).
Character can be strong or weak. A person with strong character recognizes what he wants and has the drive, energy, self-discipline, willpower, and courage to get it. A person with weak character does not know what is needed and lacks purpose, willpower, self-discipline, and courage.
A person who can admit when he is wrong is exhibiting strong character. Some believe that apologizing is a sign of weakness and causes a leader to lose power. Quite the contrary, admitting when you have made a mistake takes humility and moral courage. We are all human and make mistakes. Although placing blame on someone or something else when a mistake is made may be tempting, it indicates weak character, which your warriors will readily recognize.
We need leaders of strong and honorable character who support the values of loyalty to the commonwealth, the LCAF, and the unit; duty; selfless service; and integrity. In this document a warrior of character means a person with strong and honorable character.
Importance of Character
Your warriors assess your character as they watch your day-to-day actions. They know if you are open and honest with them. They see whether you are indecisive, lazy, or selfish. They will quickly determine whether you know and enforce the LCAF standards. Your warriors' perceptions of your actions combine to form a continuing assessment of your character.
Warriors want to be led by leaders who provide strength, inspiration, and guidance and will help them become winners. Whether or not they are willing to trust their success to a leader depends on their assessment of that leader's courage, competence, and commitment.
Will they rise to the occasion? Will they have the necessary character and skills? The answers to these questions will depend on whether leaders have developed in their warriors the required beliefs, values, character, knowledge, and skills.
Today's warriors have much potential. They too can serve courageously under stressful circumstances if they are trained and led properly. Base your training program on building the motivation, confidence, and competence your subordinates will need on the battlefield.
Character Building
Building character demands the honesty to determine your own character weaknesses. Have you demonstrated the self-discipline and will on which strong and honorable character is based? How have you handled the tough situations? Sometimes you are the best judge of your strengths and weaknesses. Other times you may have blind spots that keep you from seeing your own weaknesses.
You must be open to feedback and advice. However, you must take the responsibility for continually building and strengthening your character. Others can help, but they cannot do it for you. To build strong and honorable character, you should-
Assess the present strength of your values and character.
Determine what values you want to promote.
Seek out missions and situations that support developing such character.
Select a role model who demonstrates the values and character you are trying to develop.
You build strong and honorable character by hard work, study, and challenging experiences. You must develop habits that force you to continually develop your mind and character. The better you understand yourself, the easier it is to exercise your will and self-discipline, and the more you strengthen your character.
The character you want to instill in your warriors, and should attempt to exhibit in the daily example you set, should be consistent with the values of courage, candor, competence, and commitment. For this reason, leading and training warriors well must begin with their induction into the service. When they begin their LCAF training, individuals are prepared for change, and since most want to do well, they are willing to adopt the stressed Army values. All leaders need a good program for integrating new warriors into their unit. As a leader, you must teach and demonstrate the right values and norms of working, training, and living.
Changing Character of Problem Warriors
How much can you change the character of a problem warrior? What if a warrior comes from an environment where the parents themselves set a bad example or the warrior received little education? What about a warrior from a neighborhood where accepted conduct is lying and stealing. These norms became instilled as values while he was growing up. Lying to authority, "getting over," "shamming," and taking advantage of "the system" are normal behavior to this warrior. He is undependable and irresponsible; he lacks self-discipline. Can this warrior change? What is your responsibility to this warrior?
You must understand human nature. There is good and bad in everyone. A leader must bring out the good in each warrior. You may be able to eliminate counterproductive beliefs, values, and behaviors and help a warrior develop character if he wants to change. Many warriors want to improve, but they need discipline, organization, a good role model, and a positive set of beliefs, values, and habits to pattern themselves after. You, as a leader, must both demonstrate by example and assist in establishing the conditions for that individual which will encourage the change.
You will not be able to influence the beliefs, values, and character of all your warriors, but you can influence most warriors. Your job is to make good warriors out of all the people in your unit, even the problem warriors.
Gaining the respect of warriors is important. A respected leader influences warriors by teaching, coaching, counseling, training, disciplining, and setting a good example. If a warrior does not adopt warriorly values and behavior after you and the rest of the chain of command have done your best, eliminate him from the LCAF so that he cannot disrupt discipline and cohesion in your unit. Respected and successful leaders create a leadership climate that causes most warriors to develop the right professional values and character. Leaders can often change warriors' motivation from self-interest to selfless service to their unit and the commonwealth.
You have another major responsibility in developing character. You must give your warriors confidence that they can develop their character. Convince your warriors that you are on their side, helping them. Their belief that you sincerely care about them and want them to develop the correct values and behavior (because that is right for them) helps give them confidence to become able warriors with strong and honorable character.
THE PROFESSIONAL LCAF ETHIC
From the ideals of the Constitution to the harsh realities of the battlefield, the four elements of the professional LCAF ethic contain the values that guide the way you must lead.
Loyalty to the Commonwealth, the LCAF, and the Unit
The oath every warrior takes requires loyalty to the commonwealth and involves an obligation to support and defend the Commonwealth. Loyalty to the LCAF means supporting the military and Kesmai chain of command. Loyalty to unit expresses both the obligation between those who lead and the led and the shared commitment among warriors for one another.
LCAF military professionals do not fight to force our political system on others or to gain power or wealth. Professional warriors are protectors of the ideals of The Commonwealth, willing to fight for these ideals so that others can live in a free and just society. To do this, they must be experts at leading warriors in battle. The military leader who deeply values loyalty to the commonwealth sees himself as a person who will always do his best to defend Commonwealth ideals.
Your unit is your piece of the LCAF's action, your day-to-day part of the LCAF. By contributing to your unit's mission and combat readiness, you contribute to the defense of the Commonwealth. The unit is your family, your team. Loyalty to the unit means that you place the unit's needs and goals ahead of your own.
Duty
A duty is a legal or moral obligation to do what should be done without being told to do it. Duty means accomplishing all assigned tasks to the fullest of your ability.
Duty requires willingness to accept full responsibility for your actions and for your warriors' performance. It also requires a leader to take the initiative and anticipate requirements based on the situation. As a professional, your responsibility is to do your duty to the best of your ability.
If you lie or tell a half-truth to make your unit look good, you may think you are doing your duty and being loyal to your leader and unit. In fact, you are being dishonorable and unethical, neglecting your duty to the LCAF and the commonwealth. A leader cannot truly do his duty without being honorable.
Selfless Service
You may have to put the nation's welfare and mission accomplishment ahead of the personal safety of you and your troops. You must resist the temptation to put self-gain, personal advantage and self-interests ahead of what is best for the commonwealth, the LCAF, or your unit. Selfless service is necessary to develop teamwork, and military service demands the willingness to sacrifice.
As a leader, you must be the greatest servant in your unit. Your rank and position are not personal rewards. You earn them so that you can serve your subordinates, your unit, and your nation.
Integrity
Integrity is woven through the fabric of the professional LCAF ethic. It means being honest and upright, avoiding deception, and living the values you suggest for your subordinates. Integrity demands that you act according to the other values of the LCAF ethic. You must be absolutely sincere, honest, and candid and avoid deceptive behavior. Integrity is the basis for the trust and confidence that must exist among members of the LCAF. Further, you must demonstrate integrity in your personal life. If you compromise your personal integrity, you break the bonds of trust between you, your warriors, and your leaders.
ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITIES
Ethics are principles or standards that guide professionals to do the moral or right thing-- what ought to be done. As a leader, you have three general ethical responsibilities. First, you must be a good role model. Second, you must develop your subordinates ethically. Finally, you must lead in such a way that you avoid putting your subordinates into ethical dilemmas.
Be A Role Model
Whether you like it or not, you are on display at all times. Your actions say much more than your words. Subordinates will watch you carefully and imitate your behavior. You must accept the obligation to be a worthy role model and you cannot ignore the effect your behavior has on others. You must be willing to do what you require of your warriors and share the dangers and hardships.
Develop Your Subordinates Ethically
You must shape the values and beliefs of your warriors to support the values of the commonwealth, the LCAF, and the unit. You develop your subordinates by personal contact and by teaching them how to reason clearly about ethical matters. You need to be honest with them and talk through possible solutions to difficult problems. When you make a decision that has an ethical component, share your thought process with your subordinates when time permits. They will respect you for caring enough to discuss your personal thoughts with them, and they will learn from you. Being sensitive to the ethical elements of warrioring is a big part of developing your warriors.
Your goal is to develop a shared ethical perspective so that your warriors will act properly in the confusion and uncertainty of combat. Unless they have learned how to think clearly through ethical situations, they may not have the moral strength to do what is right.
Avoid Creating Ethical Dilemmas for Your Subordinates
Since your warriors will want to please you, do not ask them to do things that will cause them to behave unethically to please you. Here are some examples that can get you in trouble:
I don't care how you get it done-just do it!
There is no excuse for failure!
Can do!
Zero Defects.
Covering up errors to look good.
Telling superiors what they want to hear.
Making reports say what your leader wants to see.
Setting goals that are impossible to reach (missions without resources).
Loyalty up--not down.
These examples may seem as though they would never be a problem for you. Do not assume this is true for others. Learn to give orders and lead without creating these kinds of dilemmas for your warriors.
AN ETHICAL DECISION-MAKING PROCESS
Regardless of the source of pressure to act unethically, you usually know in your heart the right thing to do. The real question is whether you have the character to live by sound professional values when under pressure. If you have the right beliefs and values, the thing to do in most situations will be clear and you will do it. Sometimes you will find yourself in complex situations where the right ethical choice is unclear. True ethical dilemmas exist when two or more deeply held values collide. In such situations, using a decision-making process can help you identify the course of action that will result in the greatest moral good
Following are the steps of an ethical decision-making process to help you think through ethical dilemmas:
Step 1. Interpret the situation. What is the ethical dilemma?
Step 2. Analyze all the factors and forces that relate to the dilemma.
Step 3. Choose the course of action you believe will best serve the LCAF.
Step 4. Implement the course of action you have chosen.
The ethical decision-making process starts when you confront a problem and continues until you develop and implement a solution. The process helps you analyze the problem, identify influencing forces, develop possible courses of action, assess them, and decide on a course of action.
Forces That Influence Decision Making
A variety of forces influence the ethical decision-making process. The factors and forces you should consider will depend on the dilemma. Here are some probable ones:
Laws, orders, and regulations--formal standards contained in laws, policies regulations, and legal and proper orders that guide behavior and decision making.
Basic commonwealth values--values established in documents, such as the Constitution and Declaration of Independence, and in traditions that provide the foundation for required behavior of all Lyrans.
Traditional LCAF values--values the LCAF establishes as standards of required behavior for all warriors. They are loyalty to the commonwealth, the LCAF, and the unit; duty; selfless service; integrity; courage; competence; candor; and commitment.
Unit operating values--values actually functioning in your unit that produce the standards governing day-to-day behavior. Unit operating values are often the same as traditional LCAF values. There are times, however, when they are not. Consider situations involving careerism, altered training and maintenance records, equipment borrowed from another unit for an inspection, or "eyewash" instead of truth.
Your values--your ideas and beliefs that influence your behavior.
Institutional pressures--elements of LCAF policies, procedures, and operations, and other aspects which influence your behavior.
These six forces may not be the only important forces that you should identify and consider. Since ethics is a part of leadership, your decision-making process should also consider the four factors of leadership (the led, the leader, the situation, and communications).
The ethical decision-making process can help you think through an ethical dilemma and arrive at a course of action. Once you have analyzed all the factors and forces involved, look at the values in conflict and determine the course of action that seems best for the commonwealth.
Complex Ethical Dilemmas
It may seem that the ethical decision-making process is too mechanical. You may think you do not need it if you have strong will and moral courage. Normally, the "right" alternative is clear. The ethical decision-making process is for the complex dilemmas that haunt leaders when no clear best choice is evident.
Different leaders would come to different conclusions after analyzing all the factors and forces that relate to the situation. The important point is that using the ethical decision-making process can help you identify all the options and then eliminate ones that will not serve the commonwealth well. If you ever find yourself in an ethical dilemma, think through the ethical decision-making process and the concept of the highest moral good.
Tough leadership decisions do not always have happy endings. Some may praise your decision while others find fault with your logic. You may not always be rewarded for integrity and candor. The point is that you have to live with yourself. Before you can gain the respect of others, you must respect yourself. You gain honor and keep it by doing your duty in an ethical way, having the character to act by the professional LCAF ethic.
What A Leader Must Know
A leader must learn before he leads. You need to KNOW (understand) standards, yourself, human nature, your job, and your unit to be an effective leader. This knowledge will give you a strong foundation for what you must BE and what you must DO. Keep in mind as you read this chapter that knowledge is far more than memorizing information. Knowledge is the understanding of information.
KNOW STANDARDS
You will need to meet and enforce the standards of behavior you expect from your warriors. The LCAF has already established standards in many areas. Regulations, BTROC, Code of Conduct, mechwarrior training documents, training manuals, general defense plans, and SOPs all contain standards. Your role is often to take existing standards and translate them into goals that your mechwarriors understand and believe in.
Standards define acceptable performance, control behavior, and influence actions. You must communicate standards clearly and ensure they are understood and attained.
You must set and enforce high standards in all areas that relate to specific training missions and tasks critical to wartime mission accomplishment. Here is a word of caution, however. Sometimes leaders have a particular area of interest or expertise into which they put so much of the unit's energy that other standards are not met. You and your warriors have only so much time and energy; use this time and energy to meet the standards in all areas.
If your mechwarriors do not meet your standards, analyze the situation and decide on a course of action for handling the situation. Decide if your standards are realistic. What are the demands of combat? What makes good common sense? Ask your leaders and respected peers; listen to their ideas. Adjust your standards if necessary, but do not change them if they are correct. Ask yourself these questions:
Did your subordinates understand what was expected?
Did you provide the resources, authority, training, and direction your subordinates needed?
Did your subordinates know how to do what was expected?
Were your subordinates motivated to do what was expected?
The answers to these questions will guide your actions. Your subordinates may need more training, supervision, or counseling. You may need to explain the standard better so that your subordinates understand it and its importance.
If standards are not met and counseling is appropriate, do not become arrogant or abusive. When you counsel, explain what the subordinate did wrong and why it is unacceptable in terms of standards. Explain how to improve performance. Focus on the specific behavior you want to change. Do not degrade his feelings of self-worth. How you counsel affects the future behavior and attitude of your warriors. Your manner can increase respect for you, or it can cause deep feelings of resentment, hostility, and injustice. SM101 is devoted entirely to leadership counseling.
All leaders want their warriors to do well. Warriors also want to do well. Poor performance frustrates warriors and leaders and may cause anger. In these situations, you may be tempted to work off your frustrations by yelling at mechwarriors, threatening them, or otherwise verbally abusing them. You are in an official position of authority over warriors and must keep yourself in check while reprimanding or counseling. You must maintain the right balance of military firmness and appreciation of human dignity.
KNOW YOURSELF
"Know thyself." To lead others successfully, you must know about people and human nature. Before you can understand other people, however, you must know yourself.
Using self-evaluation, you can better understand yourself, your personality, and your strengths and weaknesses. Are you an analytical person who likes to work objectively with facts or are you intuitive, preferring to rely on your instincts and feelings as you gather information to make decisions? How sensitive are you to the feelings of other people? Do you tend to be a loner or are you outgoing and able to relate easily to other people? Do you like a planned, orderly way of life or a flexible, spontaneous one?
Everyone has preferences, strengths, and weaknesses. Crucial to your development as a leader is knowing yourself so that you can maximize your strengths and work to improve your weaknesses.
As a leader, you must realize you are three people: who you are, who you think you are, and who others think you are. In some cases, there is a close relationship between and among the three "you's." In other cases, the relationship is not close at all. Here are some questions you can ask yourself:
How do I establish priorities?
Am I reliable?
How well do I listen to others?
Do warriors fear me, or trust, like, and respect me?
Do I show others I enjoy what I am doing?
Am I a delegator or a "micromanager"?
Am I an optimist or a pessimist?
Am I selfless or self-serving?
Am I a decision maker or a "decision ducker"?
Am I competent at my job?
Do I lead by example?
Do I allow standards to slip when I am tired?
Your seniors, peers, and subordinates will give you honest feedback if you ask for it and are open to it. Candid feedback can help you better understand yourself. If you know yourself and try to improve, you have a foundation for knowing your job and your warriors.
KNOW HUMAN NATURE
S. L. A. Marshall said that the starting point for understanding war is the understanding of human nature. This is a fundamental truth. As a leader, you need the support of followers, peers, seniors, and other people outside of your organization to accomplish your mission. You must be able to motivate all these people to support you. To understand and motivate troops and to develop a cohesive, disciplined, well-trained unit, you must understand human nature.
People behave according to certain principles of human nature that govern behavior in war just as in peace. The stresses of war may unleash certain fears that have been suppressed in peace. War, however, does not change human nature. Since all humans react according to these principles, it is important that you understand the human dimension of online fighting.
Human nature is the common set of qualities shared by all human beings. The following discusses some basic aspects of human nature that you should consider as a leader. You must understand how these aspects affect the behavior of people under stress before you can become a skilled, inspirational leader.
Potential for Good and Bad Behavior
All people have the potential for good and bad behavior. One of your most important jobs is to suppress the bad, bring out the good, and direct that good behavior toward accomplishing the unit's mission. Most people want to do the right thing, but unfortunately, many lack the moral fiber or character to do the right thing under temptation or stress. You must realize this and know the conditions that bring out the good and the bad in people. You can then encourage the good and suppress the bad.
War can bring out the worst in human nature. You must exercise self-discipline to bring out the good and suppress the bad in your subordinates.
Keep your warriors informed of any information you have that will give them peace of mind. Do not allow rumors to start or spread. Get the facts and talk straight with your subordinates. Use the chain of command and the NCO's and quickly pass on information your warriors need. This is one of the time-tested principles of leadership; it is fundamental to building trust.
KNOW YOUR JOB
Technical Knowledge
Technical knowledge is the knowledge required to perform all tasks and functions related to your position. You should strive to learn how to use your equipment in the most effective manner to support your mission accomplishment. Additionally, you must be able to train your subordinates on all job tasks and items of equipment.
To obtain this knowledge, study and work hard in training, schools and in your unit. Individual study of LCAF manuals and information is also invaluable for acquiring such expertise. Do not be afraid to ask your seniors, peers, and subordinates to help you learn. If your technical knowledge is deficient on a particular weapons platform, admit it and take immediate action to correct the deficiency. Any attempt to bluff your way through a situation will only result in your loss of personal credibility.
Tactical Knowledge
Tactical knowledge is the ability to employ your warriors and their equipment. Mechwarrior leaders work directly to gain an advantage over the enemy. The LCAF recognizes nine principles of war. You must understand these principles and consider their applicability to your situation:
Objective. Direct every military operation towards a clearly defined, decisive, and attainable objective.
Offensive. Seize, retain, and exploit the initiative.
Mass. Concentrate combat power at the decisive place and time.
Economy of force. Allocate minimum essential combat power to secondary efforts.
Maneuver. Place the enemy in a position of disadvantage through the flexible application of combat power.
Unity of command. For every objective, ensure unity of effort under one responsible commander.
Security. Never permit the enemy to acquire an unexpected advantage.
Surprise. Strike the enemy at a time, at a place, or in a manner for which he is unprepared.
Simplicity. Prepare clear, uncomplicated plans and clear, concise orders to ensure thorough understanding.
Today's technology and warfighting doctrine have made tactics more complex than in the past, yet the fundamental principles continue to apply at all levels. In addition to understanding the LCAF's warfighting doctrine and tactics, your tactical knowledge will not be complete unless you also understand the doctrine and tactics of potential enemies.
KNOW YOUR UNIT
Tactical and technical knowledge is crucial but, by itself, will not make you an effective leader. You must couple it with knowledge of yourself and your unit--your team. General Omar Bradley said:
The greatest leader in the world could never win a campaign unless he understood the men he had to lead.
To build a disciplined, cohesive team, you must know your unit. What are your unit's limitations and capabilities? You must clearly understand discipline and cohesion. In effective units, warriors know themselves and each other well. They care about each other; share mutual trust, respect, confidence, and understanding; and work as a disciplined team.
Discipline
Disciplined warriors are orderly, obedient, controlled, and dependable. They do their duty promptly and effectively in response to orders, or even in the absence of orders. The forces that drive a disciplined unit come from within that unit. These forces are the values, character, and will of the leaders and troops.
Self-discipline means forcing yourself to do your duty--what you ought to do--regardless of stress, exhaustion, or other conditions. A disciplined unit forces itself to do its duty in every situation. In a disciplined unit, warriors have the self-confidence and initiative needed to take decisive actions, at the right time, that will help the unit accomplish the mission.
Your warriors will take pride in being a member of a unit with disciplined proficiency. Disciplined proficiency is more than just competency. It comes from realistic training and cross training, and from leaders who care enough to coach and teach their warriors. It occurs when warriors are so proficient and motivated that they want to focus all their energy on the mission. They willingly give of themselves to make the unit better. Morale is high because each warrior knows that what he is doing is important and contributes to accomplishing an important mission.
Recall from above that beliefs and values influence warriors' behavior. That is why a leader must understand how to influence the development of beliefs and values.
Cohesion
Cohesion represents the commitment of warriors of all ranks to each other and strengthens their willingness to fight and sacrifice. It is a product of the bonding of warriors with each other and the bonding of leaders and subordinates. Cohesion requires strong bonds of mutual respect, trust, confidence, and understanding within units. Cohesive units function smoothly and perform missions well under stress.
Caring is essential to cohesion among all warriors and leaders in a unit. A warrior's belief that his leaders and buddies care for him, and will always do their best to help him, increases his desire to fight to protect his fellow warriors. This bonding is the basis for the cohesion needed on the battlefield.
The following quotations by Ardant du Picq, a French military writer, give some perspective on cohesion:
A wise organization [or leader] ensures that the personnel of combat groups changes as little as possible, so that comrades in peacetime maneuvers shall be comrades in war.
Four brave men who do not know each other will not dare to attack a lion. Four less brave, but knowing each other well, sure of their reliability and consequently of mutual aid, will attack resolutely.
In other words, cohesion actually builds warriors' confidence, morale, courage, and will to fight. This has the following implications for leaders:
Do not continually reassign subordinate leaders and warriors to different jobs and lances simply because one lance temporarily has fewer members than the other lances. Do not rotate more experienced people into "softer" jobs as a reward for good service. Assign units (Lances or Company’s), not collections of individuals, to accomplish tasks. Bonds of respect, trust, confidence, and understanding take time to develop. When people or leaders are shifted, bonds are broken and new ones must be built.
Put your warriors through tough and realistic training that requires them to do things they do not believe they can do as individuals or as a unit. As they go through the training, they must help each other learn and develop through the after-action review process.
Resolve interpersonal conflicts to restore respect, confidence, and candid communications between warriors. Broken bonds between unit members cause the unit to deteriorate and become unable to function under stress.
Make garrison training interesting and as realistic as possible so that it does not become monotonous and destroy morale.
Keep unit members working as a team toward a common purpose that supports the mission. This principle applies to all training--details, and administration.
Unit cohesion is an important factor in peacetime and in combat. Cohesive units under good leadership will work together to ensure that training is properly planned, executed, and assessed with the objective of maintaining the highest possible readiness standards.
Unit cohesion is an important factor in peacetime and in combat. Cohesive units under good leadership will work together to ensure that training is properly planned, executed, and assessed with the objective of maintaining the highest possible readiness standards.
Unit cohesion cannot be developed and maintained without strong leadership, and small-unit leadership is the key. Good leadership ensures that the energy in the cohesive unit is used effectively and efficiently toward accomplishing unit objectives.
What A Leader Must Do
Leaders can lose battles, but only warriors can win them. Having the right values, beliefs, character, ethics, and knowledge is necessary but does not ensure success on the battlefield. Warriors must be properly trained, equipped, and employed (led) by their leaders to enhance their probability of winning. Leaders must also provide purpose, direction, and motivation to meet the demands of combat. The requirements are the same whether you lead a combat unit, a HQ unit, or a training or school unit.
PROVIDING PURPOSE
Purpose gives warriors a reason why they should do certain things under stressful circumstances. It focuses warriors' attention and effort on the task or mission at hand, enabling them to operate in a disciplined manner in your absence. Warriors can best relate to a task or mission if they know the ultimate purpose of their actions.
They will experience great stress from continuous day and night operations and from large engagements with enemy forces. More than ever, success on the battlefield will depend on individual warriors' determination and personal initiative. The nature both of the battlefield and of Lyran warriors demands that your subordinates understand the significance of each their missions.
You must teach your subordinates how to think creatively and solve problems while under stress. On the battlefield, warriors must have a clear concept of the objective; they must clearly understand your intent. They must have the critical information that the next higher headquarters can supply about the mission, enemy, troops, and the time available. Then, when you are not available your warriors will be able to use their understanding of your intent and their initiative to accomplish the mission. To prepare for combat, train in situations where your subordinates must take actions without your help or direction. Follow up with an after-action review. Discuss the results and make this a learning experience for both you and your subordinates.
You must communicate your intent so that your warriors are able to understand the desired outcome clearly. Keep in mind that this can only happen if you explain what you want to happen in clear, concise, and complete terms. Communications are only effective if your warriors listen and understand your intent.
PROVIDING DIRECTION
Your thinking skills are often referred to as directional skills because you set the direction or orientation of actions when you state what must be done in an established priority. Direction also establishes the relationship between officers and NCOs. The direction you give your warriors is often based on guidance from your leader. The key point to remember is that you must listen to your leader, support your leader, and help your leader accomplish the mission, recognizing that your mission is normally a subset of your leader's mission. Leaders provide direction by-
Knowing and maintaining standards.
Setting goals.
Planning.
Making decisions and solving problems.
Supervising and evaluating.
Teaching, coaching, and counseling.
Training.
Knowing and Maintaining Standards
The LCAF has established standards for all military activities. You as a leader have two responsibilities: first is to know the standards; and second, to enforce the established standard. You must assist subordinate leaders by explaining the standards that apply to your organization, giving them the authority to enforce the standards, and hold them accountable for ensuring they and their warriors achieve the standards. Your warriors will quickly recognize whether you know and enforce standards; it sets the direction for your unit.
Setting Goals
Goal setting is a critical part of leadership. The ultimate goal is to ensure that every warrior and unit is properly trained, motivated, and prepared to win in war. Achieving this objective will normally require that you and your subordinates jointly establish and develop goals. When developing goals for your unit, remember several key points:
Goals should be realistic and attainable.
Goals should lead to improved combat readiness.
Subordinates should be involved in the goal-setting process.
You must develop a program to achieve each goal.
Planning
Planning is as essential for success in peacetime training as it is for combat operations. Planning is usually based on guidance or a mission you receive from your leader or higher headquarters. With this guidance or mission, you can start planning using the backward planning process. First determine what the end result of the training or combat operations must be; then work backward, step by step. If you use common sense and experience, this process will help you eliminate problems, organize time, and identify details. Backward planning is a skill, and like other skills, you can develop it with practice. The steps in backward planning are-
Determine the basics: what, how, and when.
Identify tasks you want to accomplish and establish a sequence for them.
Develop a schedule to accomplish the tasks you have identified. Start with the last task to be accomplished and work back to the present time.
When time allows, soliciting help from your subordinates is useful. If handled properly, you can accomplish several objectives simultaneously, to include: improve communications which can be beneficial in improving cohesion and discipline; provide motivation for the warriors involved; and provide a clearer picture of the broader perspective of unit goals and objectives.
Involving your subordinates in planning shows that you recognize and appreciate their abilities. Recognition and appreciation from a respected leader are powerful motivating forces. Your subordinates' ideas can help you develop a better plan; their participation in the planning process gives them a personal interest in seeing the plan succeed.
Making Decisions and Solving Problems
In combat and in training, you will face complicated problems and have to make decisions with less information than you would like. Here is a problem-solving process that can help you:
Recognize and define the problem.
Gather facts and make assumptions.
Develop possible solutions.
Analyze and compare the possible solutions.
Select the best solution.
The problem-solving process is continuous. Time available, urgency of the situation, and your judgment will affect your approach to decision making. When time is scarce, you must take actions to ensure a timely decision. A good decision made in time to implement is better than the best decision made too late.
After you have objectively and logically analyzed the possible courses of action in a situation using all available information, consider your intuitions and emotions. The problem-solving process is not a purely objective, rational mathematical formula. The human mind does not work that way, especially under stress. The mind is both rational and intuitive. Your intuition tells you what "feels" right or wrong. Your intuition flows from your instincts and your experience.
Since the problem-solving process is a thought process, it is both rational and intuitive. However, do not make the mistake of making decisions guided totally by emotions or intuitions and immediately doing what feels right. This is a prescription for disaster. First, follow the problem-solving process as rationally and objectively as possible. Gather information; then develop, analyze, and compare courses of action. Consider your intuition or hunches, your emotions, and your values. Try to identify a "best" course of action that is logical and likely to succeed and that also feels right in terms of your intuition, values, and character.
Finally, make your decision, plan, and take action. If you expect success, you must make high-quality decisions that your warriors accept and support. When time permits, involve your warriors in decision making if they have information or experience that will lead to the best decision or plan. This develops your subordinates and creates an open, trusting bond between you and them.
Supervising and Evaluating
Supervising means keeping a grasp on the situation and ensuring that plans and policies are implemented properly. Supervision includes giving instructions and continuously inspecting the accomplishment of a task. There is a narrow band of proper supervision. On one side of the band lies over supervision; on the other side, under supervision. Over supervision stifles initiative, breeds resentment, and lowers morale and motivation. Under supervision, however, can lead to frustration, miscommunications, lack of coordination, disorganization, and the perception that you do not care. This perception can lead to resentment, low morale, and poor motivation.
The right level of supervision will depend on the task being performed and the person doing it. Here are some questions to ask yourself:
What is the experience level of the subordinate?
How competent is the subordinate at this task?
How confident is the subordinate about his ability to do this task?
How motivated is the subordinate to perform this task?
All warriors benefit from appropriate supervision by leaders with more knowledge and experience. Supervision has a major effect on building trust within your unit. Ensure your subordinates understand how and why you intend to supervise as part of your leadership or command philosophy. They can adjust to many styles of supervision once they understand that you are checking to ensure tasks are understood, to keep communications open, to teach, and to learn yourself.
Evaluating is part of supervising and includes looking at the way warriors accomplish a task, checking firsthand, and inspecting. You need a routine system for checking the things that are important to mission accomplishment, cohesion, discipline, morale, and unit effectiveness. Checking is such a simple word and concept. It is obvious that leaders must check, but human nature can cause us to fail to check the most simple things that can lead to big disasters. You will hear some people say "Worry about the little things and the big things will take care of themselves." Others say "Worry about the big, important things and don't sweat the small stuff." Both are poor guides. First, be concerned about the big things; that is where you exercise your thinking or directional skills. Next, check the little things that make the major things happen. Use your judgment and experience to ensure you do not under supervise or over supervise.
Teaching, Coaching, and Counseling
Teaching and counseling are fundamental responsibilities of every leader. Counseling alone is so important that SM101 is devoted entirely to the subject. Use it. Study it. Learn how to fulfill your teaching and counseling responsibilities.
Teaching involves creating the conditions so that someone can learn and develop. To influence the competence and confidence of your subordinates, you must be a skilled teacher. Coaching, counseling, rewarding, and taking appropriate disciplinary measures are all parts of teaching. You must be a good teacher if you are going to plan and conduct effective training and help your subordinates develop professionally and personally.
Understanding how people learn is fundamental to being a good teacher. People learn-
By the example of others.
By forming a picture in their minds of what they are trying to learn.
By gaining and understanding necessary information.
By application or practice.
Learning requires certain important conditions. One condition is that the person be motivated to learn. It is difficult to teach someone who has no motivation to learn or feels no need to learn what you are teaching.
How do you convince the person he needs what you want to teach? You show the person that what you are trying to teach will make him a more competent warrior, better able to do his duty and survive on the battlefield and in game. Use examples to show the person the importance of what you are teaching. The next condition of learning is to involve the student in the process. Keep your warriors' attention by actively involving their minds and emotions in the learning process. Have your subordinates participate, either through discussion or through active practice of skill.
Hand in hand with your responsibilities as a teacher are your responsibilities as a coach and counselor. It is critically important that you counsel all your warriors frequently on their strengths and weaknesses and on any problems you may be able to help them with. Developmental leadership can help you improve your subordinates' leadership effectiveness.
Warriors often think counseling is negative, equating it to getting chewed out or being told they are doing something wrong. This is not a full picture of what counseling means. Learn how you can use counseling as a positive tool to help your warriors prepare for future responsibilities.
Counseling is talking with a person in a way which helps that person solve a problem, correct performance, or improve good performance. Counseling is a leadership skill that is a particular form of coaching and teaching. It requires thinking skills, such as identifying the problem, analyzing the factors and forces influencing the behavior of the warrior being counseled, and planning and organizing the counseling session. It requires understanding human nature--what causes a warrior to behave in a certain way and what is required to change his behavior. Counseling requires listening skills to learn about the situation and the warrior. It also requires judgment about when to let the warrior make his own decisions and when you should make them for him, and when to be flexible and when to be unyielding.
Just as there are no easy answers for exactly what to do in leadership situations, there are no easy answers for exactly what to do in specific counseling situations. When you see that a subordinate needs counseling, prepare yourself by reviewing the problem-solving process and studying SM101.
As a leader you want to teach warriors new values, knowledge, or skills that will change behavior. You also want to help them become better warriors through your counseling.
Training
Quality training must be your top priority--it is the cornerstone of total readiness. Lieutenant General A. S. Collins, Jr., in his book Common Sense Training, said:
The essential characteristics of a good army are that it be well trained and well disciplined. These two characteristics are apparent in every unit achievement, whether in peace or war. Discipline derives and flows from training and serves to emphasize a fundamental point essential to a philosophy of training; that training is all encompassing. Training permeates everything a military organization does.
Training must develop warriors who are disciplined, mentally tough, and highly motivated. Because warriors spend the majority of their time in training, you play an especially important role in developing warriors who are skilled in their jobs. The standards that guide training must reflect the requirements of the battlefield. Train your warriors on every task critical to wartime mission accomplishment.
Effective training is the key to sustaining a combat-ready LCAF and reducing human-error accidents or losses. Training to standard produces skilled, disciplined warriors who accept responsibility for the safety of themselves and others and for the protection of LCAF equipment. Good training-
Strengthens the morale of each warrior.
Builds mutual trust and respect between the leader and the led.
Concentrates on fighting skills.
Is performance-oriented and has realistic objectives.
Follows LCAF doctrine and standardizes actions.
Means learning from mistakes and allowing for growth.
Means strong subordinate development.
You must plan training so that your warriors are challenged and learn. Some leaders find conducting training is threatening and embarrassing. When they present boring instruction, their warriors balk at repetitive training on skills they have already mastered. When the leader discovers he has nothing else to teach, he reacts with defensiveness and reverts back to using his position power. He accuses good warriors of having poor attitudes and tries to order warriors to act interested in monotonous training. The result of this scenario is strong unity among warriors but disrespect for the leader.
PROVIDING MOTIVATION
Motivation is the cause of action. It gives warriors the will to do what you know must be done to accomplish the mission.
If your subordinates have confidence in themselves, each other, the unit, and you, and support the cause, they will be sincerely motivated. Training them to fight and win as a cohesive, disciplined team will have a valuable motivating effect. Knowledge and skill combat fear and increase confidence. Confidence is a potent motivating force. It gives rise to morale, courage, and the will to fight.
You must keep a broad point of view on human nature and motivation. Do not allow yourself to hold the narrow view that warriors are only motivated by fear of their leaders. It is equally dangerous to believe the opposite--that all warriors are motivated to work hard and do the right thing.
You can motivate your subordinates by-
Serving as the ethical standard bearer.
Developing cohesive warrior teams.
Rewarding and punishing.
Ethical Standard Bearer
Your warriors need you to be the example they can compare to their own behavior. They want to have a leader to look up to. They want to depend on you to provide the moral force the values of our online community demand. Your warriors want you to be good at your job, but they also want you to be decent and honorable. By being the ethical standard bearer, you motivate your warriors and help them to develop the self-discipline and will to fight courageously and to do the right and brave thing, regardless of obstacles.
Cohesive Warrior Teams
Caring for your warriors, and working hard to make warrioring meaningful for them, develop cohesive warrior teams. It takes a lot of work to properly teach, coach, counsel, and train your subordinates, but this creates the bonds that lead to cohesion, trust, and mutual respect. A warrior in a cohesive warrior team is confident in his peers, his leaders, and his equipment and training. He will willingly fight to destroy the enemy and keep himself and his buddies alive.
Rewards and Punishment
The hope of reward and the fear of punishment greatly affect warriors' behavior. If you have been rewarded with a pat on the back for doing something well or punished with a reprimand for unsatisfactory performance, you know how it felt and how it changed your future behavior. Rewards and punishments have different purposes. Rewards promote desired behavior; punishments reduce undesired behavior. If used properly, rewards and punishments can change the behavior of your warriors.
Praise, recognition, a medal, a certificate, or a letter of commendation means a great deal to a warrior. Napoleon marveled at the motivational power of a small piece of ribbon. He once said that if he had enough ribbon, he could conquer the world. Rewards are visible evidence to the warrior that his leader, his unit, and his commonwealth appreciate his courage or hard work. Well-chosen rewards normally increase motivation to keep working for more recognition. Here are some ideas on applying this principle:
Obtain recommendations from the chain of command and NCO's on rewards, awards, and schooling.
Choose a reward valued by the person receiving it.
Use the established awards system of certificates, medals, letters of commendation.
Choose rewards that appeal to a warrior's personal pride; they will have the most motivational power. Praise before peers is often more powerful than a medal.
Present awards at an appropriate unit ceremony so that others can see hard work is rewarded.
Reward promptly the desired behavior of an individual or group.
Stand up for your good warriors when they need help.
Give lots of verbal praise. If a warrior is trying to learn the right values, character, knowledge, and skills, encourage him--even if he is still falling short. Do not reward his failure, but reward his honest diligent effort to do the right thing. That recognition will reinforce his efforts and motivate him to do even better. Be aware, however, that giving too much praise, or giving it when undeserved, cheapens its motivating value.
Develop awards and ways of recognizing good performance that motivate the large group of average people who make up the majority of your unit. There is nothing wrong with rewarding the majority of your warriors if they exceed a standard.
Promote people who work and study hard, influence others to achieve unit standards, and show the capability for increased responsibility.
Recognize warriors who meet standards and improve their performance.
At the same time, you must also punish warriors who just do not try or intentionally fail to meet your standards or follow your guidance. You do this because you want to change behavior and show others what they can expect if they choose to perform in a similar manner. Warriors learn from the results of others' mistakes. Seeing what happens to a person who is unwilling or unmotivated to meet standards can have the same influence on behavior as firsthand experience.
Here are some principles you should understand about punishing:
Let the warrior know you are upset about the behavior and not about him. Let him know you care about him as a person but expect more from him.
Make sure your warriors know you will tell them how they are doing.
Do not punish warriors who are unable to perform a task. Punish those unwilling or unmotivated to succeed.
Punish in private as soon as possible after the undesirable behavior. Do not humiliate a warrior in front of others.
Ensure that warriors being punished understand exactly what behavior led to the punishment.
Ensure that punishment is neither excessive nor unreasonable. It is not only the severity of punishment that restrains warriors but also the certainty of it.
Do not hold a grudge after punishing. When a punishment is over . . . it is over.
Never lose control of your temper.
WILL AND WINNING IN BATTLE
Will is normally used in the leadership context to express determination or persistence. The normal manifestation of will is an individual demonstrating extraordinary mental discipline to accomplish an exceptional physical feat. We often use expressions such as "gutting it out" when referring to a particularly difficult task.
Your job as a leader goes beyond teaching your warriors how to fight and survive in a mech; you must also develop their will to fight and win. Some people call this the "winning spirit" or "warrior spirit. " It is the ability to forge victory out of the chaos of battle--to overcome obstacles, stress, sleep deprivation, and fatigue. The warrior who can overcome these physical factors and continue to apply his skill and knowledge learned in training will ultimately have the ability to overcome any opponent in combat. As a leader, your ability to give your warriors this will to win starts with the example you set, the attitudes you express, the expectations you establish, and the standards you enforce.
You can, and must, develop this kind of will in yourself and your warriors. It takes personal commitment from you to take this responsibility seriously and to lead with determination and will. Building strength of will in yourself and your warriors is not something that is just good to do; success on the battlefield demands it!
Leadership Competencies
The leadership factors and principles addressed earlier are the basis for the LCAF's leadership education and training framework. This education and training must take place in a logical order, build on past experience and training, and have a warfighting focus. The nine leadership competencies provide a framework for leadership development and assessment. They establish broad categories of skills, knowledge, and attitudes that define leader behavior. They are areas where leaders must be competent.
The leadership competencies were developed in 1976 from a study of leaders from the rank of corporal to that of general officer. The study identified nine functions all leaders must perform if an organization is to operate effectively. Although all leaders exercise the competencies, their application depends on the leader's position in the organization. For example, the amount and detail of supervision a lance leader normally gives to his warriors would be inappropriate for a battalion commander to give to his company commanders. Like the principles of leadership, the competencies are not simply a list to memorize. Use them to assess yourself and your subordinates and develop an action plan to improve your ability to lead.
COMMUNICATIONS
Communications is the exchange of information and ideas from one person to another. Effective communications occurs when others understand exactly what you are trying to tell them and when you understand exactly what they are trying to tell you. You communicate to direct, influence, coordinate, encourage, supervise, train, teach, coach, and counsel. You need to be able to understand and think through a problem and translate that idea in a clear, concise, measured fashion. Your message should be easy to understand, serve the purpose, and be appropriate for your audience.
SUPERVISION
You must control, direct, evaluate, coordinate, and plan the efforts of subordinates so that you can ensure the task is accomplished. Supervision ensures the efficient use of materiel and equipment and the effectiveness of operational procedures. It includes establishing goals and evaluating skills. Supervising lets you know if your orders are understood and shows your interest in warriors and the mission. Remember that over supervision causes resentment and under supervision causes frustration. By considering your warriors' competence, motivation, and commitment to perform a task, you can judge the amount of supervision needed. This competency is discussed further in this document.
TEACHING AND COUNSELING
Teaching and counseling refer to improving performance by overcoming problems, increasing knowledge, or gaining new perspectives and skills. Teaching your warriors is the only way you can truly prepare them to succeed and survive in combat. You must take a direct hand in your warriors' professional and personal development. Counseling is especially important in the LCAF. Because of the LCAF's mission, leaders must be concerned with the entire scope of warriors' well-being. You also need the judgment to refer a situation to your leader if it is beyond your ability to handle. You will, of course, follow up on this action. Performance counseling focuses on warriors' behavior as it relates to duty performance. Counseling is discussed further SM101 which is devoted entirely to the subject.
WARRIOR TEAM DEVELOPMENT
You must create strong bonds between you and your warriors so that your unit functions as a team. Since combat is a team activity, cohesive warrior teams are a battlefield requirement. You must take care of your warriors and conserve and build their spirit, endurance, skill, and confidence to face the inevitable hardships and sacrifices of combat. The effectiveness of a cohesive, disciplined unit is built on bonds of mutual trust, respect, and confidence. Good leaders recognize how peers, seniors, and subordinates work together to produce successes. Warrior team development is significant in training and orienting warriors to new tasks and units. You can help new warriors become committed members of the organization if you work hard at making them members of your team.
TECHNICAL AND TACTICAL PROFICIENCY
You must know your job. You must be able to train your warriors, maintain and employ your equipment, and provide combat power to help win battles. You will gain technical proficiency in formal LCAF training programs, self-study, and on-the-job experience. You have to know your job so that you can train your warriors, employ your weapons systems, and help your leader employ your unit. Tactical competence requires you to know warfighting doctrine so that you can understand your leader's intent and help win battles by understanding the mission, enemy, terrain, supply, mechs, and time available. Technical proficiency and tactical proficiency are difficult to separate.
DECISION MAKING
Decision making refers to skills you need to make choices and solve problems. Your goal is to make high-quality decisions your warriors accept and execute quickly. Further, it is important that decisions be made at the lowest organizational level where information is sufficient. Like planning, decision making is an excellent way for you to develop your leadership team. Include subordinates in the decision-making process if time is available and if they share your goals and have information that will help produce high-quality decisions.
PLANNING
Planning is intended to support a course of action so that an organization can meet an objective. It involves forecasting, setting goals and objectives, developing strategies, establishing priorities, delegating, sequencing and timing, organizing, budgeting, and standardizing procedures. Warriors like to have order in their lives, so they depend on you to keep them informed and to plan training and operations to ensure success. Including your subordinate leaders in the planning process is an excellent way for you to develop your leadership team. Remember, one of your tasks is to prepare your subordinates to replace you, if necessary.
USE OF AVAILABLE SYSTEMS
You must be familiar with techniques, methods, and tools that will give you and your warriors the edge. Use of available systems literally means that you know how to use computers, joysticks, analytical techniques, and other modern technological means that are available to manage information and to help you and your warriors better perform the mission. This competency may vary dependent upon your leadership position. You must recognize, however, that understanding computer technological advances is important. You must use every available system or technique that will benefit the planning, execution, and assessment of training.
PROFESSIONAL ETHICS
Military ethics includes loyalty to the commonwealth, the LCAF, and your unit; duty; selfless service; and integrity. This leadership competency relates to your responsibility to behave in a manner consistent with the professional LCAF ethic and to set the example for your subordinates.
As a leader, you must learn to be sensitive to the ethical elements of situations you face, as well as to your orders, plans, and policies. You must learn to use an informed, rational decision-making process to reason through and resolve ethical dilemmas and then teach your subordinates to do the same. Professional ethics are discussed further later in this manual.
Leadership Styles
Leadership style is the personal manner and approach of leading (providing purpose, direction, and motivation). It is the way leaders directly interact with their subordinates.
Effective leaders are flexible in the way they interact with subordinates. They deal with subordinates differently, changing the way they interact as a subordinate develops or as the situation or mission changes. Your manner and approach of leading will obviously depend on your training, education, experience, and view of the game. You have to be yourself, yet flexible enough to adjust to the people you lead and to the missions you are assigned.
Some say they admire a certain leader because he always seems to know exactly what to do in a particular situation. Or they admire a leader who knows just the right words to say at the right time to ensure the mission is accomplished and warriors are recognized. Experience has taught you that you should not deal with all people the same. For example, you know it is not effective to deal with a new warrior the same as you would deal with an experienced mech commander or lance leader.
For years, when people talked about leadership styles, they thought about two extremes--an autocratic style and a democratic style. Autocratic leaders used their legitimate authority and the power of their position to get results while democratic leaders used their personality to persuade, and involved subordinates in solving problems and making decisions. Thinking like this fails to consider the possibility of a leader using different styles and being flexible enough to be autocratic at times and democratic at other times, or to combine the two extreme styles at still other times.
There are three basic styles of military leadership--directing, participating, and delegating.
DIRECTING STYLE
A leader is using the directing leadership style when he tells subordinates what he wants done, how he wants it done, where he wants it done, and when he wants it done and then supervises closely to ensure they follow his directions. This style is clearly appropriate in many situations. When time is short and you alone know what needs to be done and how to do it, this style is the best way to accomplish the mission. When leading subordinates who lack experience or competence at a task, you need to direct their behavior using this style. They will not resent your close supervision. You will be giving them what they need and want. In fact, asking inexperienced subordinates to help you solve complex problems or plan an operation would be frustrating for them.
If a leader announces that the unit will conduct navigation training over a one entire map course in medium mechs, he is using the directing style of leadership. He did not ask for any information or recommendations before making and announcing the decision.
Some people think that a leader is using the directing style when he yells, uses demeaning language, or threatens and intimidates subordinates. This is not the directing style. It is simply an abusive, unprofessional way to treat subordinates.
PARTICIPATING STYLE
A leader is using the participating style when he involves subordinates in determining what to do and how to do it. The leader asks for information and recommendations; however, he still makes the decisions. He simply gets advice from subordinates before making the decision. This style is appropriate for many leadership situations. If your subordinates have some competence and support your goals, allowing them to participate can be a powerful team-building process. It will build their confidence and increase their support for the final plan if they help develop it.
If a leader asks subordinates to recommend the mechs and course layout for navigation training before making his final plans, he is using the participating style of leadership. He still makes the decision but considers information and recommendations from his subordinates first.
Do not be concerned that asking a subordinate for advice or using a subordinate's good plan or idea shows weakness. The opposite is true; it is a sign of strength that your subordinates will respect. On the other hand, you are responsible for the quality of your plans and decisions. If you believe an idea one of your subordinates offers is not a good one, you must reject the idea and do what you believe is right, regardless of pressure to do otherwise.
DELEGATING STYLE
A leader is using the delegating style when he delegates problem-solving and decision-making authority to a subordinate or to a group of subordinates. This style is appropriate when dealing with mature subordinates who support your goals and are competent and motivated to perform the task delegated. While you are always accountable to your leader for the results of any task you delegate, you must hold your subordinates accountable to you for their actions and performance.
If a leader tasks an experienced and motivated subordinate to plan, organize, and run the navigation training, he is using the delegating style of leadership.
Some things are appropriate to delegate; others are not. The key is to release your subordinates' problem-solving potential while you determine what problems they should solve and help them learn to solve them.
CHOOSING A STYLE
Choosing the correct style of leadership requires you to understand the four factors of leadership. You (the leader) must size up every situation and subordinate (the led) carefully to choose the right style. Consider how competent, motivated, and committed those you lead are at the task (the situation) you want performed. Have they done it before? Were they successful? Will they need your supervision, direction, or encouragement to accomplish the mission to standards? The answers to these questions will help you choose the best leadership style and manner to communicate so that your warriors will understand your intent and want to help you accomplish the mission.
As a leader you want to develop and train your subordinates so that you can confidently delegate tasks to them. The delegating style is the most efficient of the three leadership styles. It requires the least amount of your time and energy to interact, direct, and communicate with your subordinates. Because it is the most efficient style, it is in your best interest to use the delegating style with as many of your subordinates and as much of the time as possible. But before you can use the delegating leadership style, you must train and develop your subordinates.
An inexperienced subordinate needs your direction. You must tell him what needs to be done and how to do it. After he gains some competence, and if he is motivated and shares your goals, you can reduce the amount of supervision you give to him. Encourage him, ask him for advice, and allow him to participate in helping you make plans and decisions. With time, experience, and your skillful leadership, this person will gain even more competence and become even more motivated and committed to helping the unit accomplish its missions. When you have trained and developed a subordinate to this level of competence and commitment, use the delegating style of leadership.
As missions change or as new tasks are assigned, you will need to continue to be flexible in the leadership style you use. Even though you have successfully used the delegating leadership style with a subordinate, you may need to temporarily return to the directing style of leadership if you give him an unfamiliar, or a new, task. Because the warrior is unfamiliar with the task, you will need to tell him what to do and how to do it. As the subordinate gains competence, confidence, and motivation in this new task, you can gradually shift your style again to the participating or delegating style. By assessing the leadership needs of your subordinates, you can determine what leadership style to use.
Do not confuse emotion or anger with styles of leadership. A company commander frustrated with a poor unit combat performance in his unit might angrily say to his lance leaders, "The state of readiness in this unit is terrible! I do not have the answers, but you are going to develop a plan to fix it. Nobody is leaving this ready room until you all develop a plan and agree on it!" He is using a delegating style because after he identifies the problem, he gives his lance leaders complete freedom to develop the plan.
Another leader might announce that the unit will observe the unit's organization day with rally followed by three hours of games. This is an example of the directing style since the leader makes the decision without asking for advice or recommendations.
There is no one best leadership style. What works in one situation may not work in another. You must develop the flexibility to use all three styles; further, you must develop the judgment to choose the style that best meets the situation and the needs of the subordinate.
Assuming A Leadership Position
Assuming a leadership position is one of the special leadership situations you will face. Everything discussed in this manual about what you must BE, KNOW, and DO is relevant to assuming a leadership position.
DIRECTING INITIAL EFFORTS
When assuming a leadership position, you should consider the four factors of leadership. Direct your initial efforts-
To determine what is expected of your organization .
To determine who your immediate leader is and what he expects of you.
To determine the level of competence and the strengths and weaknesses of your subordinates.
To identify the key people outside of your organization whose willing support you need to accomplish the mission.
CHOOSING THE BEST LEADERSHIP STYLE
Do not fall into the trap of believing that some techniques always work, such as observing for a week or two and then making changes or going into an organization "like a lion" and then becoming "like a lamb." Such beliefs will cause you to miss the benefits of the thought process used to select the appropriate leadership style (directing, participating, or delegating). The best strategy in one situation can be exactly the wrong strategy in another situation. For example, you would use a different leadership style when taking over a well-trained and proficient organization than when replacing a leader relieved for inefficiency or inability to discipline or train.
As a leader, you must always establish and enforce standards and provide purpose, direction, and motivation for your warriors. When assuming a leadership position, you must assess the readiness of the organization to perform its mission and then develop a strategy to provide what the organization needs. You should use the leadership style that your experience tells you is most appropriate after you have assessed the unit's level of competence, motivation, and commitment to accomplish the mission. In fact, you will probably use all three styles with different subordinates or in different situations. Your style will need to change when new missions are received, new warriors and leaders are assigned, or the competence, motivation, or commitment of your warriors changes.
When you assume a leadership position, talk to your leader, your peers, and key and the sergeant’s. Seek clear answers to the following questions:
What is the organization's mission?
How does this mission fit in with the mission of the next higher organization?
What functions am I responsible for, such as training, recruiting, and administration?
What are the standards the organization must meet?
What resources are available to help the organization accomplish the mission?
What is the current state of morale?
Who reports directly to me?
What are the strengths and weaknesses of my key subordinates and the unit?
Who are the key people outside of the organization who support mission accomplishment? What are their strengths and weaknesses?
Be sure you ask these questions at the right time, of the right person, and in the right manner. Answers to these questions, and others that flow from them, should give you the information you need to correctly assess the situation and select the right leadership strategy. You must also remain flexible enough to adapt your leadership style as you continually assess the competence, motivation, and commitment of your subordinates and the organization.
Sharing your leadership or command philosophy with your subordinates will make your transition more efficient. Your subordinates will appreciate the chance to see how you intend to lead and welcome the chance to ask questions. Your leadership philosophy is your promise of how you intend to lead and interact with your subordinates. Command philosophies at company level and higher are often written when the situation permits.
Officer and Noncommissioned Officer Relationships
An important part of effective leadership is the ability of commissioned officers to work together with NCOs. To develop effective working relationships, both must know the similarities and differences in their respective roles, duties, and responsibilities.
Since officers and NCOs share the same goal--to accomplish their unit's mission--it is evident their responsibilities overlap and must be shared.
OFFICER AND NCO RESPONSIBILITIES
No sharp, definitive lines separate officer and NCO responsibilities. In general, commanders set the overall policies and standards. Officers lead NCOs and help them carry out their responsibilities. Officers must give NCOs the guidance, resources, assistance, and supervision necessary for them to do their duties. By the same token, NCOs are responsible for assisting and advising officers in carrying out their duties.
In a unit, officers and NCOs must determine the best division of responsibilities and tasks of each by considering the mission, the situation, and individual abilities and personalities. The following chart has general responsibilities for officers and NCOs.
COMMUNICATIONS
The LCAF has but one chain of command. Besides the chain of command and NCO support, most units at battalion level and above have staff and technical channels.
AUTHORITY
Authority is the legitimate power of leaders to direct subordinates or to take action within the scope of their responsibility. Legal authority begins with the Archon. It gives authority for the military to the Commander Pro Tem. The Archon has the authority to command the Army.
Command Authority
Command authority can come from regulations or laws, but it primarily originates with the Archon. Leaders have command authority when they fill positions requiring the direction and control of other members of the LCAF. That authority is restricted, however, to the warriors and facilities in their own units.
Command authority is not limited to commissioned and warrant officers. Commanders are leaders who direct and control warriors as an official part of their duties. Such leaders have the inherent authority to issue orders, carry out the unit mission, and care for warriors, unless contrary to law or regulation.
Enlisted warriors can have command authority. Mech commanders, Lance leaders, sergeants, and all use command authority to direct and control.
General Military Authority
General military authority is the authority extended to all warriors to take action. It originates in oaths of office, law, rank structure, tradition, and regulation. For example, the Code Of Conduct gives authority to "commissioned officers, warrant officers, and noncommissioned officers to quell quarrels, disorders . . . and to correct personnel . . . who take part." Leaders may exercise general military authority over warriors from different units. When an NCO of one battalion stops a warrior from another to give instruction on military courtesy, he is exercising general military authority.
Delegation of Authority
Just as it is impossible for the Archon to participate in every facet of the armed forces, it is impractical for commissioned officers to handle every action directly. To meet the organization's goals, they must delegate authority.
Accountability
When you are responsible for something, you are liable, or accountable, for the outcome. You must answer for either an action or an omission. Responsibilities fall into two categories: individual and command.
Warriors have individual responsibilities. They are responsible for their own actions. Nobody gives or delegates individual responsibilities. Warriors assume them when they take their oath of enlistment.
Command responsibilities refer to collective or organizational accountability and include how well units perform their missions.
Developmental Leadership Assessment
Developmental leadership assessment is a process used to improve a person's ability to lead. It involves comparing performance to a standard or performance indicator, giving feedback, and developing a plan to improve leadership performance. It is an essential element of your leader development responsibilities. Just as you need your leaders' coaching, your subordinates need your help to improve their leadership performance.
You have two leadership assessment responsibilities. First, assess your own leadership performance. Identify your strengths and weaknesses and work to improve yourself. Second, assess your subordinates' leadership performance, give them feedback, and help them overcome their weaknesses.
THE LEADERSHIP ASSESSMENT PROCESS
The goal of leadership assessment is to develop competent and confident leaders. Leadership assessment should be a positive, useful experience that does not confuse, intimidate, or negatively impact on leaders. It should be conducted as follows:
Decide what leadership skill, knowledge, or attitude you want to assess.
Make a plan to observe the leadership performance.
Observe the leadership performance and record your observations.
Compare the leadership performance you observed to a standard or performance indicator. (Performance standards or indicators must be based on the nine leadership competencies discussed earlier.)
Decide if the leadership performance you observed exceeds, meets, or is below the standard or performance indicator.
Give the person leadership performance feedback. (SM101 can help you learn to give useful and accurate feedback your subordinates will accept.)
Help the person develop an action plan to improve leadership performance.
Normally, leadership assessment will not lead to improved performance unless it includes an action plan designed to change undesirable performance and reinforce desirable performance. The leader and the subordinate must-
Design the action plan together.
Agree on the actions necessary to improve leadership performance.
Review the action plan frequently to see if the subordinate is making progress and to determine if the plan needs to be changed.
Naturally, when assessing your own leadership performance you have to modify the steps. First, examine your performance in a particular situation. Then, compare your performance to a leadership standard or performance indicator. Finally, decide how you can improve your leadership performance, if appropriate. You may want to discuss your self-assessment with your leaders, peers, subordinates, and others.
FEEDBACK SOURCES
A complete and accurate leadership assessment includes feedback from these six sources:
The person himself.
Leaders.
Peers.
Subordinates.
Close friends and family members.
Trained leadership assessors.
It will not always be possible to get feedback from all of these sources, but each of them can give valuable information about a person's leadership performance. If you can get feedback from all six sources, you will have a complete picture of the person's leadership performance.