Introduction
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the foundations for establishing army leadership. They incorporate factors affecting the performance of principal operations and the required guidance. The latter is provided by the people capable of directing others through orders. It helps subordinates to realize the assigned missions and take responsibility for their outcomes. Moreover, it is underpinned by leaders’ ability to state the objectives for actions clearly. This aspect is critical for explaining the preference for group goals over personal endeavors. These two ideas are complemented by the motivation of officers to follow them. It allows to gain support from participants and instills the desire to act for the benefit of the organization. Therefore, the principles of clarity of purpose, direction, and motivation serve as the basis for strong army leadership.
Clarity of Purpose
The first component is an explicit explanation of objectives set before officers. It is the sole responsibility of army leaders, which affects the results of collective efforts. The influence in this regard is made by persuasion in the correctness of initiatives and their targets (The Department of the Army, 2019). It means not only passing orders but demonstrating their feasibility for organizational purposes. In other words, this element provides subordinates with a reason to act (The Department of the Army, 2019). However, it cannot be instilled through the mere intention of a person. This task also implies the development of the strong character of a leader. They should possess beliefs and values corresponding to the principles of their workplace (Callina et al., 2017). These factors are important for understanding professional commitments for further transmission to other employees (Callina et al., 2017). It means that a purpose can be clearly instilled only by people who have an immediate grasp of its place in the general policy. In this way, they can explain what should be done and why it is necessary to others and thereby form their intentions to perform duties.
Direction
Alongside a definite purpose, the general direction for work should be delivered. It underpins the developed objectives and serves as guidance for officers. This component is critical for the effectiveness of performed operations for the benefit of the organization. It is manifested in orders given by leaders in different situations (The Department of the Army, 2019). These people should possess excellent communication skills for exercising this right (The Department of the Army, 2019). In addition, they set a role model for others and promote honorable living (Callina et al., 2017). This aspect of organizational leadership is vital for demonstrating the skills, which should be developed by employees for the effectiveness of their work. In order to present them, the existing leaders need to gain the trust of others (Callina et al., 2017). It means that their orders will be followed only if these two conditions are met. Hence, they should serve as examples of appropriate behavior in the workplace and be visibly reliable for others to follow the suggested course of action. Thus, setting the direction is another aspect of establishing clear objectives for people in the army.
Motivation
The third element of army leadership is motivation, which is important for demonstrating one’s initiative. Personal desire is essential for complying with the described goals and direction. In this situation, a leader’s duty is to match individual and organizational needs to demonstrate the benefits of following the orders (The Department of the Army, 2019). Hence, employees will be willing to risk their lives only if this condition is respected (The Department of the Army, 2019). This provision is especially critical in cases when there is no time to explain the orders or their overall objective. People should follow them and only then receive comprehensive information concerning the feasibility of their actions (The Department of the Army, 2019). This conclusion implies the necessity to promote moral qualities in leaders alongside the common authoritative approach (Callina et al., 2017). It correlates with the task of formation of the Army ethics and the presence of numerous leadership characteristics. In turn, the failure to develop morality in people leading others during operations will indicate the impossibility to control their performance. It is unacceptable for the working environment and detrimental to the outcomes.
Conclusion
To summarize, the three pillars of army leadership are a clear purpose, direction, and motivation of officers. They are established by leaders through the demonstration of specific qualities. Thus, the objectives are set with the help of persuasion in the necessity to perform specific actions. The direction is created by employees using excellent communication skills in the workplace. In turn, motivation is instilled by the attentiveness of people to the needs of their subordinates. The combination of these conditions determines strong characters in the army and their leading abilities. They allow managing critical situations and maintain the performance of regular operations. The failure to develop one of the specified qualities means one’s inability to control the essential processes. In this way, it can be concluded that the foundation of army leadership is in compliance with the three provisions and the presence of corresponding skills.
References
Callina, K. S., Ryan, D., Murray, E. D., Colby, A., Damon, W., Matthews, M., & Lerner, R. M. (2017). Developing leaders of character at the United States Military Academy: A relational developmental systems analysis. Journal of College and Character, 18(1), 9-27. Web.
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The Department of the Army. (2019). Army leadership and the profession. Web.