Effective and professional leadership is crucial in the army setting since the troops often have to face extraordinarily dangerous and even deadly situations that require meticulous planning and careful analysis of the situation. Therefore, leaders constitute a crucial part of the army and are valued highly. Incorporating the characteristics of professionalism, knowledge, and ethics, army leadership demands a significant amount of commitment and plays a vital role in meeting essential goals.
The focus on professionalism, particularly, the ability to follow orders and implement goals effectively, is the core outcome expected from an effective army leader. Army leadership is expected to maximize the output and seek the shortest path toward achieving the set objectives (Li et al., 2017). Therefore, professionalism as the characteristic that allows one to achieve aid goals remains one of the principal aspects of army leadership.
The promotion of knowledge development and gaining new skills is another aspect of army leadership. Encouraging soldiers to learn relevant skills and abilities, an army leader prompts further development, specifically, in the emotional intelligence area (Dennis, 2017). In addition, an effective army leader focuses both on the physical and mental aspects of development (Dennis, 2017). As a result, a leader helps soldiers not only to train stamina and strength but also to be able to analyze a situation.
Finally, ethics plays a tremendous role in army leadership. Specifically, a leader must encourage and utilize ethical decision-making to ensure the well-being of both the troops and civilians (Uddin, 2019). Therefore, the ability to apply ethical standards toward the analysis of the available solutions is the core characteristic of an army leader. Namely, ethical decision-making allows an army leader to minimize the threat of fatal outcomes during military operations.
Due to the focus on knowledge, professionalism, and ethics, army leadership guides soldiers toward the successful implementation of previously introduced objectives. Moreover, being geared toward the transformation of soldiers, army leadership also must encourage the troops to build an appropriate skillset and develop stamina, resilience, and resourcefulness. Therefore, supporting the army doctrine, leadership in the military setting allows soldiers to develop discipline, resourcefulness, and professionalism.
References
Dennis, S. (2017). Enhancing leadership in the Ecuadorian military: Conversations on leadership with members of the anti-terrorism special forces and intelligence units and with members of the peacebuilding school. Journal of Global Leadership, 18, 18-31.
Li, J. J., McCausland, T. C., Hanser, L. M., Naber, A. M., & LaValley, J. B. (2017). Enhancing professionalism in the US Air Force. RAND Corporation Santa Monica United States.
Uddin, S. (2019). Characteristics of Servant Leadership Can Complement the Army Leadership Requirements. Army Command and General Staff College Fort Leavenworth Ks Fort Leavenworth United States.