I -

ARI Research Note 94-29 AD-A285 307

Strategies for Augmentation Initiativeslow for Leadership Self-Development Program

J I

Clifton D. Bryant 2 ,Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University @0 C [ , ' .94 , .

Z or

Organization and Personnel Resources Research UnitPaul A. Gade, Chief

Manpower and Personnel Research DivisionZita M. Simutis, Director

"K ~August 1994

.FJ

United States Army 86Research Institute for the Behaviorai and Soc;it Sciences

Distribution Is restricted.

U.S. ARMY RESEARCH INSTITUTEFOR THE BEHAVIORAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

A Field Operating Agency Under the Jurisdictionof the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel

ITI•

"-' EDGAR M. JOHNISONDirector

Research accomplished under a scientific services agreementissued by Battelle

Technical review by""t (: S 011 F'or

Guy L. Siebold ,r I R'( -

[):,': .o1i,:' k...................- l

b y .... ....... ............ I...... .. .. ...

i ~Avmlahility. Codes_

Dist SPUCi d/-

NOTICES

DISTRIBUTION: This report has been cleared for release to the Defense Technical Infol ,nationCenter (DTIC) to comply with regulatory requirements. It has been given no primary distributionother than to DTIC and will be available oLnly through DTIC or the National Technical InformationServ=ce (NTIS).

FINAL DISPOSITION: This report may be destroyed when it is no longer needed. Please do notreturn it to the U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences.

"NOTE: The views, opinioni, &.u findings in this report are those of the author(s) and should notbe construed as an official Department of the Army position, policy, or decision, unless sodesig~,ated by other authorized documents.

f Fcrrn Approved[REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE OMS No. 0704-0188

*ubi~c 'eatmngon uttio for Ctmis cutiocti Ofnformbn'110.i I @i1 to alit'age I "Our Der fewonselte. A~u g the time for re.,,q7.n9 nr "_ "n searchng oetasouce,gathering and fmoinfainnng the data needed~. amcl comoicttig an* rp,. cing -me c 00IIat0 nl anO.il~l nd cornf etstf~ vorng "..' bwdM rl,Mmite or any o!.tt cocpci 09 tm~scollwicion a I imf ,,,.li0Ii. incldind g 1,uggimlicirj for reducing t his oi.tcin to wahing9 1edan' eyc, ,eiraefrIlr.o oa~'c v~icot 25jlc~'Dais tb4ghway. uitt 1204. Aei~ngtot. VA 222024302. and to te C--' qf ManagerneinI and Budgcet Pacinivori Ra.'ucon Projc1 (0?0&.G 193). .asmirigion. DC 10S03

11a AGENCY UISEONLY iLedve 0'anx; 2. REPORT OATE 3. REPOR7 TYPE AND DATE$ COVERED

1994, August Final May 93 - Sep 93

4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5. FUNDING NUMBERSStrategies for Augmentation Initiatives for DAAL03-91-C--0034Leadership Self-Devielopment Program 63007A

7926. AUTHOR(S)Bryant, Clifton D.. (Virginia Polytechnic Instituteand State University)

7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S] AND ADDRESS(ES; 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATIONU.S. Army Research Office REPORT NUMBER

P.O. Box 12211Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 TCN 93301

9. SPONSORING iMONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSORING,/MONITORINGU.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and AGENCY REPORT NUMBER

Social SciencesATTN: PERI-RP ARI Research Note

5001. Eisenhower Avenue 94-2 9

* Alexandria, VA 22333-560011.SUPLMETAY OTS Task was performed under a Scientific Services Agreement issued

by Battelle, Research Triangle Park Office, 200 Park Drive, P.O. Box 124297,Research Triangle Park, NC 27709.Ii, .~12a. DISTRIBUTION'i AVAILABILITY STATEMENT 12b. DISTRIBUTION CODEMay not be released by other ti~an sponsoring

organization without approval of U.S. Army -

Research Office.

13. ABSTRACT (Maximum ZOO0 words)Perhaps too much is being asked of the self-development pillar of the Army

leadership system in view of current technological and social change. Someaugmentation and enhancement efforts are indicated, A variety of such initiativesare proposed in this report, including the use of recorded books, condensed books,special reading agendas, and the inauguration of a journal that would serve as aguidance mechanism for more productive self-education reading programs. Some new

* directions in leadership self-development are also proposed. Among these are* reconceptua1izing leadership as conventional behavior and task mastery that can be

operacionalized aL. an everyday level of accomplishment. If leadership can be Vic'~'edas a social role, then it can be used as a socialization mechanism. This process isbest accomplished by mastering a series of increasingly complex skills and success-

* fully integrating them. A structured, self-motivating competence delivery system tomaster such skills is proposed, as are several training exercises that enhance team-

work and promote leadership.

*14. SUBJECT TERMS IKeaui~lg agenoa KZeaaling guloe jourina± 115. NUMBER OF PAGESLeadership Recorded books Architecture of skills 77Leadership role Leadership development Skill development 16. PRICF CODESelf-education Learning systems Leadership enhancing skills -

17. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 18. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 19. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 20. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACTOF REPORT OF THIS PAGE OF ABSTRACT

Unclassified Unclassified Unclnpsifled UnlimitedNSN 7 540-01-280-5500 Stand~ard Form 298 (Roy 2.U91

ACKOWLEDGMENTS

This work was supported by the U.S. Army Research Institutefor the Behavioral and Social Sciences under the auspices of theU.S. Army Research Office Scientific Services Program adminis-tered by Battelle.

Special appreciation must be extended to Guy Siebold forreviews of earlier drafts, many helpful suggestions and insight-ful comments concerning the manuscripts, and support and encour-agement during the writing of the report.

iii

I 2 1__I . .

STRATEGIES FOR AUGMENTATION INITIATIVES FOR LEADERSHIP SVLF-DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Requirement:

The U.S. Army has traditionally sought to develop leadershipin its officers and NCOs through school training, experience ob-tained in the course of unit assignments, and education effortson the part of the individuals themselves. Because dramatictechnological and social change in recent years has severelyimpacted on the military, it may be that too much is being askedof self-development initiatives and that expectations of suchinitiatives may be unrealistic. It would appear that this pillarof the leadership development system could be more effective with

A appropriate augmentation and enhancement.

Augmentation Initiatives:

A variety of augmentation measures are suggested anddiscussed. These measures include listening to recorded bookswhile commuting to and from work, having the Army develop alistening library for its personnel, and having the Armyfacilitate the publication of volumes of condensed versions ofbooks relevant to the interests of military readers. Otherstrengthening initiatives proposed include the concept of areading agenda and two specific such agendas. One of thesereading programs focuses on military f•,ilure as a means ofunderstanding military success; the other agenda addressesleadership as the product of life experiences in the biographiesof successful individuals. Yet another suggested measure forenhancing leadership self-development efforts is the inaugurationof a journal that will serve as a guidance mechanism fordeveloping and maintaining a productive self-education readingprogram.

Suggested New Directions in Self-Development:

The process of leadership development might be facilitatedif the idea of leadership could be reconceptualized asconventional behavior, complex task mastery that can beoperationalized at an everyday level of accomplishment, and as acompetence based on definable roles that can be inculcated intoindividuals. There are a number of advantages that attendconceptualizing leadership as a social role, such as using this

v

concept as a socialization mechanism. To acquire and effectivelyplay a leadership role requires the mastery of a series ofincreasingly complex skills and the successful integration ofsuch skills. The establishment of a structured, self-motivating,competence delivery system tc be labeled M*A*P*L*E*S willassemble a varied array of learring opportunities and situationsand make them available to the individual who will be able topick and choose from the "menu" of offerings. By pursuingparticular learning opportunities, the individual can mastervarious leadership enhancing skills, which, in turn, willcontribute to the necessary capabilities to play a leadershiprole. The system will be structured as a "game" in order to7 provide a motivating dimension.

The need to confront the problem of developing leadership inothers will be addressed through the creation of various teamworkenhancing and leadership promoting training exercises. Two suchexercises, labeled C*O*M*P*E*T*E and C*R*I*S*I*S, are outlined as"illustrations of appropriate instructional mechanisms. These areonly examples, however, and commanders are encouraged to developand implement training exercises of their own.

k

vi

I' i i -rn-r F---

STRATEGIES FOR AUGMENTATION INITIATIVES FOR LEADERSHIP SELF-DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

A

CONTENTS

Page

INTRODUCTION . ............................ 1

Social Change and the Challenge to Leadership ..... 2

METHOD ............................... 3

THE DEVELOPMENT OF LEADERSHIP . . .... .. .. .... 4

The Current Army Leadership Development System .... ..... 4The Three-Pillared Leadership Development System . . .. 6Summary ...................... ........................ 10

STRENGTHENING THE SELF-DEVELOPMENT PILLAR ..... ......... 10

The Importance of Self-development ... ........... . 11The Utility and Practicality of Self-education ..... . 11The Advantages of Self-development . . . . . . ..... 12The Problematic Dimension of self-development ..... .. 13Augmenting the Self-development Program .. ........ .. 14Making Time for Self-education .... ............. ... 14Books in Non-written Form .......................... . 16Reading Books by Ear ......... ............. .. ... 16Recorded Books Available ..... ........... 17Other Sources of Recorded Books . ........ . 17Other Approaches to Expeditious Reading . . . ..... 18The Reading Agenda as Basic Structure to

Self-development ... ........ . .................... 19A New Focus in Self-development Individualized

Readin ..................... 19A Study of Failure as a Means of Understanding

Success .... ..................... . 20The I*N*F*A*M*O*U*S Reading Agenda .. .......... 21Another New Focus on Self-development . . . . . . . . 2Leadership as the Product of Life Experiences ..... .. 23Leadership as Generic Process . . . . ............ 23

The F*U*i*L Reading Agenda ..... ............... .. 24A Guidance Mechanism for Self-education .... . 26The Functions of a Reading Guide Journal .......... .. 27Advantages of the Resources Journal ... .......... .. 28The CoLlective Dimension of Self-development . . . . .. 29Alternative Journal Initiatives .... ............ 30Summar.y . . .. . .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . 31

vii

-

CONTENTS (Continued)

Page

NEW DIRECTIONS IN SELF-DEVELOPMENT ..... ............ 31

The Contemporary Challenge of LeadershipDevelopment_.... ......... ................ 32

The Delineation of Leadership ......... ........... 32Perceptual Adjustments to the Concept of

Leadership ................ ...................... 33Leadership as Social Role ............. .......... 34Leadership as a Variable Requirement .................. 35Advantage of Conceptualizing Leadership as

Social Role ....................... 38The Social Role as Socialization Mechanism ....... .. 40Inappropriate Role Playing as Leadership

Handicap ................ ....................... 42Skills and Leadership Development ... ........... 43Leadership Enhancing Skills ....... .............. 46Self-development of Leadership Enhancing

Skills .................. ........................ 47The M*A*P*L*E*S Approach to Leadership

Development ................. ................... 50Verbal Communication ............ ................. 52Verbal Skills Via M*A*P*L*E*S ....... ............. 54The Implementation of M*A*P*L*E*S ..... ........... 55Leadership as Product of Developing

Leadership in Others .......... ................. 56Specific Recommendations for Leadership

Development Programs .......... ................. 57Proposal for a Program to Promote and

Facilitate Teamwork ........... ................. 57The C*O*M*P*E*T*E Program ......... ............... 58C*R*I*S*I*S: A Quick Assessment and

Decision-making Game .......... ................. 61The Dynamics of C*R*I*S*I*S ....... .............. 62Summary ................... ........................ 64Conclusions ................. ...................... 65

REFERENCES ................... ........................ 67

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. Typology of Leadership Enhancing Skills . . 49

viii

CONTENTS (Continued)

Page

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1. Illustration of a partial role set ....... .. 37

2. Mintzberg's articulation of the managerialsocial roles of a corporate chief executive . 39

3. The "architecture" of skills ............ ... 44

(i

'1• : . . . .• . ... . ... .. .. .. . L. . ... . . . . m ... . rr

STRATEGIES FOR AUGMENTATION INITIATIVESFOR LEADERSHIP SELF-DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

INTRODUCTION

A good general knowledge of theworld's history, geography, andinternational relations is also avital leadership tool. This isespecially necessary to the Americanofficer, since he may expect to besent anywhere in the world and tofight almost any enemy, for any of awide variety of reasons. Given thepolitical nature of war and thephysical circumstances in which it iscarried out, this is the onlyconceivable intellectual backgroundfor someone expected to lead armiesto victory. He must understand thesituations in which he finds himself,to know the reasons why he isfighting and why he must order hismen into blood combat.

Christopher Bassford

The purpose of this report is to identify possibleaugmentation measures that might facilitate and strengthen theself-development component of the Army's leadership developmentsystem. Even the most elaborate and comprehensive formaleducation and training program, and the most focused, purposeful,and relevant application of competencies in varied jobassignments may not necessarily suffice to keep professionalskills updated, or to further perfect leadership capability. Todo so requires an ongoing dedicated attention to, and effortdirected toward, the maintenance of intellectual understandingand insight derived through self-education activities.

Today the professional, regardless of vocational specialty,must master an ever widening inventory of skills, both technicaland social, and contend with a broader array of constraints andconsiderations that may impact on prerogatives. In all

* professional and managerial spheres, the tasks of demonstrating* exemplary behavior, providing effective guidance and direction to

subordinates, and exercising persuasive judgment have become morechallenging. Changes within and without the workplace everywherehave altered the nature of leadership dynamics.

1

i

The technological intricacies of modern warfare and theconvoluted complexity of contemporary politics call for thehighest order of professional competencies and the innovativenessand adaptability that only accomplished leadership skills canprovide. The Army professional must continue to be able todemonstrate forceful and successful leadership within a widerange of possible missions and utilizations. Current economicfactors, however, mandate that any restructuring of leadershipself-development processes be highly cost effective.

Social Chance and the Challenge to Leadership

Large scale organization does not exist in a social vacuum.Rather they exist within a larger societal context and are verymuch susceptible to the impact of social and technologicalchanges external to the organization. The U.S. Army is noexception. Such changes have import for the organization interms of factors such as morale, efficiency, productivity, andeffectiveness. Different kinds of extra-organizational changesmay bear on organizational structure and dynamics. The periodsince the 1960's has seen very dramatic changes in thesocionormative sphere (i.e, the ideological component) of Americasociety. The demography of the United States has been undergoingsignificant change for some time and, as a result, the laborforce has also been undergoing changes in terms of itsdemographic composition. All organization in the United Statessociety, including the military, are sensitive to economicchanges, and the massive military downsizing effort in which theUnited States is now involved will drastically change the veryorganizational identity of the various armed services. Fewchanges have impacted on the military as much as the massivetechnological changes that have occurred since World War II,encompassing weaponry, transportation, communication, medicaltechnology, and information processing. Military doctrine andtactics have had to be i3vised, modified, and in some instances,recreated.

Beyond the extra-organizational changes there have also beenintra-organizational changes facing the military, including theshift from an institutional model social organization to that ofan occupational model social organization resulting from thetermination of the draft and the metamorphosis to the allvolunteer armed forces. With the downfall of Communism in Russia

A I and Eastern Europe, and the precipitous decline of the EasternBloc Military, the immediate threat of major war has beenremoved. Geo-pclitical trends have changed the global politicalsituation, and numerous new and often disparate missions havebeen assigned to the U.S. Army.

2

The various changes confronting the military are vast,complex, and socially disjunctive. There are criticalconsequences for organizational dynamics. The Army has littlechoice but to accommodate the changes impacting on it, and thereis a certain urgency in the need for accommodative process. Thisaccommodation will necessarily have to include new institutionalpostures in regard to traditional ideological mandates, andsignificantly modified alterations in the mechanics of decisionmaking, personnel motivation, discipline, control, administrativeprerogatives, group coordination, task accomnlishment, andsupervision. The most significant locus for the implementationof such transformations in the military bureaucratic process isthe relationship between supervisor and subordinate, and theconstituent exercise of leadership. In this regard, there is animperative need for strong Army leadership that can effectivelyrecognize, accommodate, and utilize to organizational advantage,the enormous changes that have occurred. This process can bestbe accomplished, perhaps, through a careful consideration ofpossible accretionary efforts to revitalize and make moreeffective the existing Army programs for leadership self-development.

METHOD

The Army describes its leadership development program as asystem. Employing a structural-functional. perspective, theleadership development program was examined using system analysis(Porter, 1962). Beginning with the larger development program,the conceptual parameters were inspected in regard to thevalidity and relevance of the rationale for the instructionalmodel. Beyond this, the general functionality of the largerprogram was explored to determine if the earlier goals of theprogram were continuing to be met, or if the changing context inwhich the military now operates has, in effect, mandateddifferent or additional educational objectives. The largerprogram was subsequently reviewed for areas or components of thesystem that possess singular strengths or weaknesses.

Focusing more closely on the self-development pillar of theoverall program, the unique role played by this component as adevelopmental sub-system was critically analyzed in terms ofconstituent advantageous and disadvantageous characteristics of aself-development approach to expanding an individual'sknowledge and leadership development. Special analyticalattention was given to the efficacy of the conceptual paradigm ofthis self-development pillar of the larger program as a focused,self-motivating learning system. The guiding question in thesubsequent examination was whether or not any conceptualinconsistences or ambiguities, with respect to the methodsinvolved and developmental goals, are imbedded in the sub-systemmodel. Various problematic dimensions of the self-developmentmechanism were identified and explored. The concluding step was

i .- 3

to generate and propose various argumentative changes orimprovements that might be effected in the self-developmentpillar of the program that would enhance tue overall leadershipdevelopment effort.

TIN DZVZLOPKMIT OF LEADERIIIP

The Current Army Leadership Develooment System

The Army'3 leadership doctrine specifies various essentialleadership requirements. Army doctrine suggests that if theserequirements are appropriately met or satisfied the leader willbe able to execute effectively the Army's operations doctrine.Within this larger capability, a number of constituentcompetencies, abilities, and responsibilities have beenidentified. It is through the exercise of these proficienciesthat individuals are able to demonstrate the leadership necessar,to influence subordinates to carry out the operational mission.In this regard, the leader provides purpose, direction, andmotivation for his or her subordinates.

Traditionally, the Army has sought to inculcate leadershipin its officers and NCO's by relying heavily on the principle ofemulation. Military leaders from the past who were effective -ndsuccessful in war are believed to be worthy of emulation. The"leadership factors, principles, and competencies" derived fromstudies of those past leaders have provided the content elementsof leadership development efforts for today's officer and ACO's.The teaching and learning mechanisms felt appropriate to transmitthese qualities are contained in the Army's current leaderdevelopment program.

This approach to the propagation of leadership has proved tobe durable and utilitarian in the past. Although its adequacymay becoming less functional in the contemporary militarycontext, it has many obvious strengths and continues to have arelevance for the needs of today's Army. The enormity of socialand technological change that has occurred since World War II,however, or even in the past severml decades is such that themAlitary leadership needs of today's Army may have assumedSa tional parameters. Both the changes that have taken placeand the expanded leadership dimensions would seem to merit an on-goingY thoughtful, and detailed examin~a-tion 'in regard to themechanisms by which the Army attempts to develop officers and

NCO's.

In FM 22-100, Military Leadership (July, 1990), the Armyarticulates four basic leadership requirements (p.vii). Theseinclude:

1. Lead in peace to be prepared for war.2. Develop individual leaders.

4

3. Develop leadership teams.4. Decentralize.

The first of these requirements, "Lead in Peace to bePrepared for War," has traditionally been a guiding principle inArmy ideology concerning the training mission. If peacetimetraining can be almost exclusively devoted to the skillsappropriate to full ocale warfare, a high level of competence onthe part of officers and NCO's might be attained and maintained.Acquired skills can to practiced and refined and in manyinstances, competence can even be elevated to the level ofexpertise. The intervals between major conflicts often provideample time for technological improvement and also opportunity fordeveloping new warfare doctrine and perfecting the tacticalrepertoire as well. Additionally they afford an occasion toincorporate such innovations into standard training agendas. Forexample, strategy may be rendered K..affective when faced with anon-going mandate for participation in sporadic military missionsof diverse purpoze and sometimes ambiguous goals. Given therecent generic multiple mission employment of the Army, it mightbe expected that in-depth training for large scale warfare hasgiven way to impromptu preparation for the next probableexpedition.

In the second leadership requirement, "Develop individualleaders," the Army specifies the need for such leaders. Ineffect, the exercise of leadership includes the responsibility todevelop leadership in subordinates. The Army relies on the samestructural mecnanisms for leadership development in all ranks:schools, operational experienr.e, and self-development efforts.In FM 22-100, Army doctrine indicates that, "At all levels, thenext senior leader has the responsibility to create leaderdevelopment programs that develop professional officer and NCOleaders" (P.vii).

Component to the requirement to develop individual leadersis the mandate for "the ethical development of self andsubordinates .---. " The text here speaks of the professional"Army ethic," and thz need to make a personal commitment to thisethic. It asserts (p.vii):

Every leader must be a role model activelywuor-Lng to mai bhis suorudinates sensitive toethical matters. Leaders must not tolerateunethical behavior by subordinates, peers, orsuperic s.

This can be an area of great ambiguity, if not confusion.The concept of ethics can, under some circumstances, refer tomorality or professional standards of conduct, or even loyalty toan organizational or ideology. It is very unclear as to which

i5

IL

meaning is intended here! Clarification, elaboration, and'articulation are very necessary in this mandate. A misternre--tation of an ethical situation by an individual who is to serveas a role model, may cause subordinates who attempt to emulatethe role model, to act in an unethical fashion themselves.Beyond ethics, however, there is the question of professionalcomportment and proprietous behavior. Certainly, leadershipdevelopment needs to include some attention to this area ofresponsibilities. After "Tailhook," this is a sensitive area.

The requirements for leadership also includes thespecification of developing leadership teams. The rationalefor team leadership is based on the need to provid- "continuityin combat" linked more to the commander's plan rat.Ler than toparticular substitute leaders. In effect, the plan hascontinuity regardless of contingencies because the chain ofacting leaders knows and follows the plan. Team leadershipdevelopment may be less a product of formal effort and attempt atinculcation than practice and experience working together.

The final leadership requirement indicated by doctrine isthat of decentralization. If there is good team leaedership, andif all subordinate leaders have developed to their fullpotential, then the primary leader will be comfortable inpermitting subordinate leaders to exercise initiative and makedecisions. The primary leader must know the capabilities ofthese subordinates and delegate authority accordingly.Decentralization is always a matter of balance, sensitivity, andequilibrium. In order to trust his subordinates, the primaryleader must know and understand them. Again, as with effectiveteam leadership, appropriate decentralization may have to grow onit own with experience and the confidence that comes from workingtogether over time. Instructions in principles is poscible, butthe perfection of such leadership process requires trial anderror evolving into routine.

The Three-Pillared Leadership Development System

To implement the goal of total commitment to deveýlop leadersin peacetime who will be prepared for war, as will as the otherthree leadership initiatives, the Army relies on a three-pillaredleadership development system which it has constructed for thispurpose. This -ystem i based on thre equally i mpor -tpillars. These are:

1. Schonls (school training)2. Experience (unit assignments)3. Self-development (self-training)

6

[. Schools (school training)

Army scnools represent the most structured variety cl

leadership development. Through -ormal curricula and carefullyplanned and executed relevant instruction, students at such

schools are exposed to Army strategy and tactics, doctrine, andthe appropriate techniques for accomplishing military missions.The training received at Army schools is designed to be"Progressive and sequential" and in this way potential leaderscan be prepared for "positions of greater responsibility"(FM 22-10J! p.vii). The Army school training system is _traditional, elaborate, and comprehensive. It is designed to berelevant to existin9 military needs, and veiy muchinstitutionalized. This system has become very closely linked tothe Army reward structure and career advancement. Beyond thetechnical and tactical skills which the schools attempt toimpart, they also scek to inculcate leadership skills in theirstudents. In this regard, their efforts are well intended andconsiderable resources are devoted to this purpose. The Armymonitors its school system and constituent programs . Changes incurricula are on-going, and modifications and revisions indoctrine and ideology are incorporated as appropriate. The Armyschool training system appears to be both productive andeffective in educational efforts in regard to leadership as wellas in the areas -,f technical and tactical topics.

2. Experience (on-the-job-training)

The efficacy of good on-the-job training is self-evident.A relatively significant proportion of the socialization processfor most vocations tends to take place on the job itself, and, infact, the phrase, "on-the-job-training" has become a commonlyused appellation for learning the specifics of an occupationalrole after actually occupying the work status. Many occupationalspecialties try to use this urrangement in a constructive, if notproductive, way. In some instances, the "on-the-job-training" iswell integrated with the school educational process.

Such integration may involve the neophyte actuallyinteracting with clientele and performing professional work undersupervision such a. in the instance of "clinical training" inmedical school, or the supervised casework year for studenton ot.h.r............... professional work

may be included in the training process as in the case of"moot court" in law school. Sometimes, the craining process onI, ~jthe job seeks to "break in" the newcomer gradually. The

"management trainee" in a large corporation, for example, mayinitially be assigned to very low level tasks, such as working onthe assembly line with blue collar workers for a time. Thetrainees will be moved up the promotion line slowly to assistantforeman, then foAeman, etc., as they uevelop proficiency witheach svc-cessively higher level task. Only after they thoroughly

7

undeistand the functional dynamics of the industrial work systemwill they finally be moved into a junior management job.

In the Army, the young officer is initially sent to anappropriate school for training. After graduating from theschool, he or she will be assigned to a position, for which theschool experience theoretically prepared him or her. In a bestcase scenario there will be a highly congruent interface betweentraining context and job demands. Ideally, they will receiveappropriate counseling and supervisory direction from superiors.If they only receive minimal mentoring, it may become necessaryto teach themselves what the job entails. By the time theymaster the responsibilities of their position, it may be thatthey will then receive a new job assignment, possibly at anotherlocation, and then will have to begin learning their job all over

Aj again. In such eventualities the individual's leadershippotential may not be significantly advanced and, additionally, heor she may simply not have the luxury of time to devote toleadership self-development. Thus, the experiences of a dutyassigi=ent may or may not constitute the most conducive learningsituation in terms of leadership developmen.t, and the demandingnature of many duty assignments, unfortunately, may tend topreclude effective solf-development.

On-the-job training, however, is problematic for manyoccupations, not just the military. It is very difficult todesign specific instructional curricula for all of the manydifferent kinds of positions that are component to a large scaleorganization. For most varieties of organizations, bothtechnical and leadership (or managerial) training necessarily hasto be generic in content. Also supervisors in many complexorganizations, including the military, are often sufficientlychallenged by the demands of their own job that they aresometimes effectively constrained from devoting the necessarytime and effort to the direct and detailed guidance ofsubordinates in learning the nuisances of a new job and acquiringoperational competence in the various task demand& of theposition. Nevertheless, on-the-job training is an importantinstructional vehicle in imparting both technical skills and moregeneric supernumerary skills such as leadership (orprofessionalism). In this regard, there is always a need forfurther refinement and structuring of the guidance role. Suchtraining is most successful, however, when coupled with motivatedand effective mentorinq.

3. Self-development (self-training)

The self-development component of the Army's leadershipdevelopment system is officially articulated as an "equallyimportant" pillar of the system and, in this regard, the Armyviews it as a significant mechanism for leadership education.The Army recognizes that no matter how extensive or how effectiveits program of formal education might be, it is not realistic to

8

expect that individuals obtain the sum total of knowledge neededfor the array of competencies that will be required in the courseof their military career from attendance at.the various schoolsto which they will be sent. As the Army phrases it, "the formaleducation system has limits to what it can accomplish"(FM 22-100:vii). Nor will the supplemental educational value ofon-the-job experience derived from duty assignments be sufficienteither, even when combined with the considerable benefits ofattendance at specialized schools.

Regardless of the professional specialty - medicine, law,engineering, dentistry, or the military -- the instructionalprograms of formal schooling, or the less formal educationalexperience that derives from on-the-job training in dutyassignments (even with mentored guidance from superiors) areseldom adequate to the task of totally preparing the neophyte fora completely effective professional performance. There arealways gaps in knowledge that must be filled in, technical andtactical procedures that must be perfected, understanding andinsights that must be deepened, questions and inquiries to beaddressed, occupational versatility to be cultivated, and,perhaps most importantly, on-going professional competence to bemaintained, updated, and augmented. The surgeon who did not readof new procedures in the medical journals would soon beantiquated, the attorney who did not keep up with courtprecedents would soon be outmatched in the courtroom, and theengineer who did not learn of Pew building materials (and newbuilding codes) would certainly be obsolete. Career ArmyOfficers or NCOs, who were derelict in staying abreast of newmilitary developments, emerging geo-political situations,improved managerial styles, new social mandates that altersuperior/subordinate relationships, or even further study of thehistorical exercise of military leadership, might well findthemselves inadequate to the task demands of their job, and theirprofessional development severely curtailed.

Self-development based largely on self education necessarilyplays an inordinately important role in perfecting skills,maintaining competence, and promoting professional growth.Unfortunately, however, too much may be asked of self-developmentwithin the couitemporary context. In this regard, the self-development pillar has become something of a residual category ofprofessional education, a kind of "catch-all" mechanism, as itwere. That which cannot be accommodated within the more formaleducational mechanisms can be relegated to the informalmechanism. The self-education process, perhaps, today is theobject of unrealistic expectations. The Army recognizes that theprofessional has the responsibility and the need to "continue toexpand [his or her] knowledge base," and speaks of various meansof accomplishing this. Included are such devices ascorrespondence courses, civilian education, and/or readingprograms. In the absence of specificity, elaborate guidance and

[.9•. . .. .. . .. _.. - , . .- --9

counsel, or purposeful structure, the self-development pillar ofthe leadership development program is probably not formidableenough to adequately address the tasks, and this would seem towarrant a concerted strengthening and augmentation effort.

summary

The dramatic pace, and diverse directions, of social changein recent years has had significant impact on the Army in termsof new and more varied missions, altered organizational dynamics,new ideological mandates, different administrative orientations,and a much modified pattern of interpersonal interaction andrelationship. All of this calls for appropriate examination andreconceptualization of the Army's leadership development program.

The existing Army leadership development system relies on

three pillars which are constructed for this purpose. Armyschools are well institutionalized, designed to be relevant toexisting military needs, and receive appropriate resources. Theyare responsive to change and military need, and appear to beproductive and effective. The second pillar of the system,on-the-job-training obtained through duty assignments, providesthe individual with practical experience and the opportunity toexercise and further develop both technical and leadershipskills. This process is particularly facilitated where there iseffective guidance mentoring of the individual by his or hersupervisor.

The third pillar of the system, self-education traditionallyexercised through Army correspondence courses, civilianeducation, and an individual reading program, has been animportant mechanism of leadership development. It may well be,however, that too much is being asked of self-developmentefforts. Always something of a residual or "catch-all"educational mechanism, self-initiatives in education, aspresently conceptualized and implement may be inadequate totoday's rapidly changing military context, and expectations inregard to its effectiveness may be unrealistic. This situationwould seem to suggest that this pillar of the leadershipdevelopment system could profitably be enhanced and appropriatelyexpanded where indicated.

STRENGTHENING THE SELF-DEVELOPMENT PILLAR

"The one quality that canbe developed by studiousreflection and practiceis the leadership ofmen."

General Dwight Eisenhower

:1')-

The Importance of Self-development

The Army's Leadership Development Program paradigm placesconsiderable emphasis on the self-development or self-trainingcomponent. This emphasis is logically based on the premise thatsound training programs with effective content, and relevanton-the-job-training derived from the experience of different unitassignments will make individuals aware of the need for continuedintellectual growth, will sensitize them to the potential ofindividually implemented education, and will motivate them tomake full practical use of this means of leadership development.Both the formal training programs and operational assignmentsideally encompass appropriate competence building instruction intechnical areas, confidence development efforts directed towardenhanced facility in social skills, and more insightfulunderstanding of the dynamics of military leadership. Such acontext should encourage and facilitate self-education efforts.

The Ltilitv and Practicality of Self-education

There is a long tradition of self-development in many fieldsof endeavor. Self-motivated, individual learning has long been apopular means of acquiring, or augmenting, an education. It hasbeen particularly popular in America. Many famous historicalfigures such as Benjamin Franklin and Abraham Lincoln were saidto have essentially acquired their education through individualefforts. Dwight Eisenhower was reported to have been a voraciousreader of materials relevant to his vocation and was able toenhance his leadership skills in this manner.

Many lesser known Americans either acquired a more generalexposure to the liberal arts or some more specialized knowledgeof a vocational field through a regimen of intensive individualreading. Prior to World War II, there were significant numbersof individuals who had self-qualified themselves for the pursuitof various vocations through individual reading programs. Evensome professioials were largely self-taught. Many attorneys, forexample, had simply "read the law" and then passed the barexamination. Even some pharmacists, and an occasional physician,had read relevant technical books on their own as a means ofpreparing themselves for the formal examinations for thoseprofessions. Many self-taught professionals, however, did often

augment their individual reading programs with the use of tutorsin the form of professional practitioners who were willing toprovide coaching or tutoring services. It was common, forexample, for a newly certified attorney to say, "I read law withMr. .

A great rany more Americans have been involved in self-education efforts that were more structured than simply reading anumber of books relevant to a particular specialty area on theirown, One particularly widely used such self-education vehicle

11P

L .~has been the correspondence course. In this regard, many

conventional colleges and universities have developed elaborateextension programs relying on correspondence courses offering agreat variety of academic topics. Also popular have been thecorrespondence courses offered by various technical andspecialized institutes or non-accredited colleges. Suchenterprises have offered correspondence courses in many blue-collar technical and vocational fields, ranging from commercial

ev art to pipefitting to drafting. Some university correspondencecourses can be used toward degree requirements, although thereare frequently limits on the number of such courses that can becounted. Correspondence courses have proved to be especially

S1 popular and utilitarian with certain categories of individualssuch as convicts, long term hospital or convalescent patients,persons in isolated work situations, or highly mobile individualswho have difficulty fulfilling residence requirements. Militarypersonnel readily qualify under the last two categories.Correspondence courses of different varieties are essentially,more structured reading programs. By picking and choosing from agreat variety of correspondence course offerings, the individualcan, as with a personal reading program, in effect, "tailor make"his or her educational experience. Correspondence courses can bean important variety of self-development mechanism.

The Advantages of Self-development

Formal education provides structure for knowledge andskills. There are, however, often gaps or spaces within thisstructure. The structural elements, however, can easily serve as"anchoring" components for new knowledge. Through self-learning,these gaps in an individual's general inventory of knowledge canbe readily enclosed or filled out with new information that"bonds" or links to existing segments of knowledge. The gaps

* jhave to be filled in through self-inquiry. This process servesas a function that is analogous to the architectural principle ofinfill.

Self-development readily interfaces with available timeopportunities. In general, continuing education after beginninga career necessitates fitting educational opportunities into suchspaces in one's occupational schedule as come to exist. Self-

-At,, .4.. -- a ...n-..n.. 4-1- - 1 -n I...ndr. v4 dualbl -edý%A . .L % V ý" A..L A

reading and study can be accommodated within the temporal gaps ina demanding occupational schedule.

Formal education such as is provided by university educationand military training schools is highly standardized. In spiteof the many choices of topics and disciplines available at auniversity, for example, there are frequently required "core"curricula at the university and internal college level. Moststudents at a university take a significant. number of the samecourses. At a military service training school, of course, for a

12

given program or "school,'0 there is a completely uniformcurriculum. Self-education offers a truly flexible exposure toknowledge. Individual learning needs can be met in a veryprecise but accommodating fashion through the use of a highlyfocused reading program, or reliance on selected un.its of someother specific vehicle of self-education. Thus, self-educationis flexible education.

Self-education is also self-paced education. Most formaleducation operates within a tightly structured time schedule. Atcolleges and universities, courses are offered in time blocks, orclasses of a certain number of minutes length on particular daysof the week. Additional structure involves semesters orquarters. Individuals must take and pass, a certain number ofcourses within a specific time frame in order to be able to stillgraduate and receive a degree. The only temporal flexibilityavailable to the student is to enroll for fewer courses in agiven year and, thus, take more years to graduate. Army trainingalso operates within similar tightly structured temporalframeworks. Even though formal education is offered on a stricttime schedule, individuals do not always learn on the sameschedule. Some persons can assimilate material faster thanothers. Self-learning can be accomplished at the tempo set bythe individual, based on either optimum learning speed orschedule of other responsibilities.

The Problematic Dimension of Self-develonment

In spite of the benefits and utilities of the self-educationprocess there are some inherent weaknes&es and disadvantages inthis developmental approach. In the mznuals and otherpublications that mention and discuss self-development, only afew very limited vehicles or mechanisms of self-development arearticulated. Usually these are Army correspondence courses,civilian education, reading programs, and other self-studyprograms. It is unfortunate that there is such a limited rangeof examples for there are numerous other configurations ofindividualized learning modes. We live in a multi-media society,and information and knowledge today is available in many forms.There are audio tapes, video tapes, CD ROM discs, public addressseries, films, interactive computer programs, and even plays and.1dtonl••.• •group activities (to mention bi additional exampleC) thamight, in some contexts, have informational, insightful, or eveninspirational value for self-development. Self-developmentpossibilities are much like an iceberg. Only a small portion ofthem are immediately visible and the remainder are hidden andmust be discovered by the individual or the individual must bemade aware of them.

13

Ii

'II

Another shortcoming of the self-education approach is thatunlike Army training schools or regular university programs whichare designed and operated to accomplish certain sets of specificeducational or training goals, self-development activities oftenhave only limited structure such as a correspondence course, orin the instance of individualized reading program, little if anystructure other than the individual's desire to read in detailabout some particular topic. While such a reading effort can beextremely interesting, and certainly broadening, it may notnecessarily contribute significantly to self-development, andparticularly to the self-development of leadership. In theabsence of guidance and direction with an irdividualized readingprogram, time, energy, and effort may be wasted and progress ineducational accomplishment may be sacrificed to entertainment.

Self-development lacks group context. Learning, like manyother activities, is sometimes more effective in a groupsituation. Learning in a group can have a number of advantages.Fellow students in an Army training school learn together andoften reinforce each other's learning by discussing what ispresented in class with each other outside of class. Somethingnot understood in a presentation can often be clarified by askinga fellow student. The group context gives individuals a sense ofconfidence and collective motivation. The presence of the groupgifes a certain legitimacy to the learning situation and tends torectify the educational content. Group activity is usuallypleasant, if not enjoyable, because of informal interaction andcamaraderie, and all of this contr.ibutes to the motivation forlearning. Almost all of this is lacking in self-developmentefforts. Some individuals have difficulty with self-motivationand when involved in such efforts as an individualized readingprogram, are easily distracted, may experience learning blocks,and their program may tend to soon lose momentum.

Aucnnenting the Self-development Program,

There are several initiatives that might be undertaken thatwould significantly augment the capability of the self-educationpillar of the Army leadership development system and also enhanceits effectiveness. Such initiatives would not displace, dilute,or detract from the existing process, nor would they require any,iterti.... in -ny o ative doctrine or directive.2hey would involve only a minimal expenditure of money and,accordingly, would likely prove to be cost effective. Theirimplementation would, ideally, expand the parameters of self-education and increase the individual motivation for thatenterprise.

Making Time for Self-education

An inherent problem in the concept of self-development (forany profession) is the difficulty of an individual with a very

14

busy and demanding work schedule trying to identify a suitabletime slot, and to find the energy and motivation to pursue anindividualized reading agenda as part of a continuingprofessional, self-development effort. This challenge facesprofessionals of all variety - physicians, attorneys, engineers -as well as career military officers and NCO's.

The Army recognizes the role of physical fitness in thehealth and well-being (and, thus, the work efficiency) of itspersonnel. In this connection, the Army authorizes and provides(or at least encourages) several hours of released time each weekfrom the work schedule, for its members to engage in sports orphysical exercise. Physical self-development is viewed asimportant! Intellectual self-development is also important andthe Army should so recognize and evaluate it! Until such time asthe Army does so, however, and officially directs released timefrom the duty schedule, the individual has two options.

The individual who is serious and motivated in his or herself-development efforts should openly discuss the matter withhis or her commanding officer. If the commanding officer issympathetic with such a purpose the individual may be able tosuccessfully "negotiate" a block of released time on a regularschedule to pursue a reading agenda, or some other type of self-educational activity. The important thing is that the time beavailable on a continual, regularly scheduled basis. In theabsence of released time from a duty schedule, the individualwill have to make time in his or her non-work hours. In thisconnection, he or she would be well advised to adopt a strategyused by many novelists and writers. While it is true that therehave been some marathon writers who could produce a novel withina period of a few weeks, and some individuals who routinely reada book in one, uninterrupted session, most writers and readersoperate much more slowly. Some of the most famous novelists, forexample, would set a writing pace that involved producing onlyone or two pages of prose per day, but they did it every daywithout fail! Even a page or two per day will result in acomplete book within a year. A reading program should follow asimilar pattern. By reading a relatively few pages daily, but ona strict regular basis, much material can be covered within amodest time frame. It is important, however, that a regularperiod for reading, no matter how short, be set aside at ascheduled time. Reading often is more effective if it is done ona day-to-day basis because it is easier to remember the previousreading than after a longer break! The important thing is theregularity and uniformity of the time period. Thirty minutes aday, on a regular basis, perhaps after dinner over a cup ofcoffee, can permit one to read 10-15 pages with goodcomprehension. Even that reading rate results in a book readeach month or so.

15

L,1Books in Non-Written Form

Knowledge expands in geometric fashion, and this is visiblyevidenced by the increasing number of books being published eachyear. With the profusion of books from which to choose, it isincreasingly challenging for individuals to be able to keep upwith the literature, even within a narrow specialty area. For anArmy officer or NCO attempting to pursue a self-education readingprogram that addresses military history, biography,organizational dynamics, leadership, and geopolitics, to mentionbut some topical areas relevant to military career developmentand enhancement, is an almost insurmountable task. Today,staying abreast of the literature in one's professional field

Awl requires both determination and ingenuity. Fortunately, thereare some productive possibilities available to the readerfrustrated by time and schedule constraints.

Reading Books by Ear

A number of new books are recorded on tape soon afterpublication and many individuals have found that they can moreeffectively identify a time segment in a busy schedule that canbe used for "listening" to a book, than they can find theopportunity for reading a book. Some individuals commutesignificant distances back and forth to work. Commuting time isoften "blank" on non-productive time in that, other thanlistening to music on the car radio or engaging in lightconversation with fellow commuters in a car poor situation,little is accomplished. Accordingly, commuting offers anexcellent opportunity for listening to a book. In our hurriedexistence in modern times, spare time is in short supply, and itsproductive use requires careful planning and creative scheduling.The motivated will be able to accomplish this. From thestandpoint of mechanical details, listening to a book may in someinstances take less time than reading it. As a case in point,John Keegan's, The Mask of Command (1987), considered to be avery worthwhile volume for military readers, is 366 pages long.Assuming that in a 30-45 minute period set aside for reading on adaily basis, an individual might comfortably read and comprehend10-15 pages. From three to four weeks would be required tofinish the book. The recorded book requires eleven 1-1/2 hr.

L cassettes. If commuting time each day involves approximately 45minutes of driving time each way (not an unusually long commute),one could listen to a complete tape each day. The book could beheard in its entirety within 11 working days (commuting days).Thus, the time normally consumed in driving to and from work caneffectively be converted into "reading" time. Inasmuch as someindividuals listen to music on a headphone set while walking orjogging for exercise, these times might also be used forlistening to books. There are numerous opportunities in theweek's schedule that might be used for this purpose. In thisregard, some inspiration and insight might be obtained by reading

16

i.

i-

about the life of Frank Gilbreth, the pioneer time and motionengineer, in his biography, Cheaper by the Dozen (Gilbreth andCorey, 1948).

Rgcorded Books Available

As to the variety of books available on tape, Books on Tape,Inc., a leading publisher of recorded books, list more than 2,500titles in their 1993 catalog. This total includes numerousbiographies that would be relevant to the military professionsuch as accounts of the lives of Montgomery, Sherman, Lee,Patton, and George Marshall, to mention but some. Also listed inthe catalog are a large number of books on military history, andmilitary strategy. Some examples here might include, Harry G.Summers, Jr., On Strategy (1982), Basil H. Liddell Hart, Strategy(1967), and Herbert Essame, Patton: A Study in Command (1974),among other military classics. This publishing firm is currentlyadding more than 200 full-length recorded books to their listeach year.

The recorded tapes in the catalog can either be purchased orrented. It might be possible for several individuals to form apool. Each member of the pool could purchase a recorded book andshare it with the others. The tapes are rented for 30 days. Twcpersons could each rent a recorded book, listen to the tapes overa two week period and then trade tapes with their partner.Either approach would reduce the unit cost per recorded volume toa very reasonable level.

Other Sources of Recorded Books

Aside from the publisher previously mentioned, there areother firms that produce recorded books, but there is someoverlap in the titles available. There is another possibilitywith considerable potential, however.

For some years the U.S. Library of Congress has maintained acollection of books that are recorded and/or produced in braillefor blind readers. They have also identified other libraryholdings of books that are printed in braille or recorded. Atthe present, the Library of Congress maintains a listing in theirInternational Union Catalog of 153,570 volumes available inrecorded form or in braille, either in their own holdings or inother libraries. Although these books are intended for blindreaders, it is possible that the U.S. Army (or the Department ofDefense) might be able to make appropriate arrangements to accessthese recorded ibooks for the use of its personnel. Under somefee or royalty agreement it might even be possible to copy therecorded books for purposes of establishing an Army-wide lendinglibrary of books on tape.

17

Other AD~roaches to Expeditious Reading

For some individuals, listening to books will never take theplace of reading the written word. For such persons effectivecomprehension is better achieved through reading. As discussedearlier, however, there are practical limits on the amount ofprinted material that can be read and assimilated within a giventime frame. One way of overcoming this constraint is to readcondensed versions of relevant books.

Recognizing the problem of limited time facing individualswho seek to read a significant number of books, the publishers ofReader's Digest many years ago sought to publish volumes of muchcondensed versions of popular fiction and nonfiction books. Thisapproach proved to be very successful and very popular with thereadin7 public. While there were critics who asserted thatcondensed versions of books lost something of the full flavor ofthe story or exposition a& intended by the author, the greatmajority of readers, however, have found the abridgments to bequite satisfactory and a practical means of reading a largernumber of books than would normally be possible.

The problem is, of course, that the books that would be mostrelevant to the reading agenda of many military professionals arenot available in condensed form. If the Army was persuaded that

Io! self education in the form of individual reading programs did"contribute significantly to leadership development, it might wellbe able to solve that problem. While condensing books is a laborintensive enterprise, it is not that difficult or expensive toaccomplish. It would be possible to contract with publishers forcondensed versions of books deemed important for militaryreaders. With publishers' agreements, there are many editorialservices that could produce abridged books. Perhaps mostpromising, however, is the possibility of contracting with theReader's Digest Association, Inc. to produce volumes of condensedbooks based on titles suggested by the Army itself. There wouldbe a ready market for such a saries of volumes and giver the

( prospect of very large sales, the company might well be willingto produce such a series at no cost to the Army. The Reader'sDigest Association, Inc. could very likely generate enough profitthrough the sale of volumes of condensed military books that theyL • might be induced to produce volumes of condensed books on severaldifferent topics (e.g. biography, military history, militarystrategy and topics, etc.) that would be of interest to themilitary professional. Having large numbers of condensed bookson military topics available would make possible a muchaccelerated reading program and this would, in turn, facilitatethe leadership self-development process.

18

S~18

The Reading Acenda as Basic Structure to Self-development

In order to be educationally profitable in a significantway, in addition to being entertaining, a reading program shouldbe focused and structured. In effect, it should have a directionand purpose. Essentially, this is what a college course,classroom or correspondence, accomplishes in the schedule ofoutside reading assignments. The same direction and purpose canbe attained in a self-development, individualized reading effortin the form of a reading agenda.

The reading agenda is a sort of itinerary, as it were, inthe sense of being a route to learning something or a literarytrip in some topical area of knowledge. A reading agenda shouldbe well planned with the intent of the reader becoming reliablyinformed and conversant with the topic, while maintaining a highlevel of motivation and interest. The reading igenda may berelatively specific in articulating particular items to be reador it may only delineate some narrow range of book titles or typeof book. A truly effective reading agenda may well have a uniqueorientation or perspective in terms of looking at a very specialclass of literature, or looking at the literature in a particulartopical area in a very special way. An innovative agenda canoften be self-motivating for the reader, very "user friendly,"and extremely productive in terms of information transferral.

Reading agendas can assume many configurations but they mustpique the intellectual curiosity of the reader, hold his or herattention over a sustained period of time, and offer thepossibility of new insight and career relevant understanding.Two proposed realing agendas will be detailed as possibilities.

SA New Focus in Self-development Individualized Readin

Traditionally, the self-education component of theleadership development program has tended to focus on thesuccessful application of leadership qualities within variousmilitary contexts in times past. In effect, Army personnel learnfrom the past by examining how different military leadersachieved success in carrying out their missions. This approachhas proved to be instructive and effective. A similar approach

has been employed in some advanced educational situations such asGa--a"- . ...- S in t h .... o "case-study programs.In all such instances, the premise is that the skills ofleadership can be better understood through the intensive studyof success. There are alternate approaches, however, that mightprove to be equally effective, if not more so. Such analternative approach might be coming to understand the skills ofleadership through the intensive study of failure.

19

I -.

The Study of Failureas a Means of Understanding Success

Just as cold is the absence of heat, so too is failure the

absence of success. Both are essentially the two sides of acoin. The outcome can be understood using either approach. Itis interesting to note, however, that the failure paradigm asopposed to the success paradigm, as a means of understanding anoutcome is the preferred instructional orientation in someoccupational settings. One case in point is the field ofmedicine. Although the "wellness" of patients is the ultimategoal of the physician, the curricula of medical schools do notemphasize wellness, but rather focus on the dynamics (i.e., theetiology) of illness. Courses in medihal school often addressdiseases or categories of diseases (e.g., cardiological diseasesand degenerative conditions). Special attention is given to thegenesis of the disease or infirmity, the precipitating factorsinvolved, the situational and contextual elements that facilitatethe disorder, the dynamics of the disease, the exacerbatingcircumstances, the impact of the ailment on behavior, and theindicated ameliorative and remedial interventions. The study ofthe military enterprise would seem to lend itself readily to thefailure instructional paradigm. Military failures may welloutnumber military successes, and the variety of types orcategories of failure are, perhaps, more numerous. The study ofmilitary failure offers the principal advantage of permitting thestudent to see the errors in judgment, the omissions in planning,the sudden critical contingencies, the unanticipated events andcircumstances, the misinterpretations of indicators, and theflawed implementation of plans that may have signiricantlycontributed to the failed outcome of the military mission,battle, or activity. Military success is often more generic andthere is tendency to interpret success in more of a holisticfashion rather than piecemeal. Success is never dissected to thesame degree as failure, and the direct linkages with leadership(or lack of it) may not be as apparent.

Learning about military success by focusing on militaryfailure has, perhaps, two -ompelling advantages. Looking at theetiology of failure and the contributing factors provides a moreintricate insight into the dynamics of outcome inasmuch as theconstituents of failure are often somewhat easier to identify anddocument than are the processual components of success. A secondadvantage lies in the fact that failure, as with all misfortune,has a degree of intrinsic attraction. Accounts of misfortune (ofwhatever nature) warns us of the possible, sensitizes us toavoidance or transcending efforts, and affords a positiveinvidious comparison with our present circumstances.Failure for others represents what could be for us.

The detailed examination of military failure, far fromreflecting a depreciating or deprecating posture, represents themost positive possible approach to task accomplishment. To

20

prepare for a challenging and possibly hazardous trip orundertaking is to become acquainted with the mishaps andmisadventures of others who have experienced the trip, and thento plan defensively to avoid or surmount those dangers. Nomatter what the context--business, science, exploration, orwar--there is no better instructional lesson than the pattern offailure experienced by others. It is not by coincidence thatinstruction guides and manuals for mechanical devices veryfrequently include examples and illustration of thing--, that maygo wrong with the device, especially if it is usedinappropriaLely. Learning is so frequently a matter of trial anderor. Better it be someone else's error!

Rare is the instance of a individual who, having read anaccount of military failure (or any kind of failure for thatmatter), does not mentally construct scenarios of action thatwould have avoided the errors and miscalculations and led tovictory. The study of military failure (indeed, the study ofalmost any type of misadventure) tends to motivate individuals totry to mentally "rewrite" the ending with a more satisfactoryoutcome. There is such a cultural mandate for success in oursociety that we are profoundly distressed in even reading aboutnon-achievement, and often experience frustration when learningabout the failure of others. This sense of frustration motivatesus to contemplate the effective route to success. Thus, thestudy of military failure not only can be instructive in terms ofdemonstrating the mistakes that led to the non--successfuloutcome, but may also often serve as a strong motivationalcontext that encourages the military reader to seek to understandbetter the dynamics of leadership that lead to military success.The study of the role of non-effective or inadequate leadershipin military failure is simply another means of understanding thecontribution of leadership to military success, but in a moreanalytical fashion.

The I*N*F*A*M*O*U*S Reading Ag.enda

Failure is not so much an event as a social process. Itfrequently involves a complex set of actors, factors, andcircumstances. It possesses its own interactive dynamics andsometimes has its own characteristic "etiology." Failureoperates at both the micro-and macro-social level, and thecontributing factors and dynamics are not significantlydissimilar. Success is sometimes viewed within a kind of magicalor mystical context and some individuals have difficulty inrelating to, or identifying with, instances of military successabout which they read. Failure has more of a commonplace andpersonal reference, and many can easily identify with thisoutcome. Ac'ordingly, those who learn about failure tend to beespecially attentive. Furthermore, such persons are likely totake special note of what factors contributed to failure, and

21

what intervention efforts or different courses of action mighthave altered the outcome.

The "I*N*F*A*M*O*U*S" (Insight [into] Failure As a Means OfUnderstanding Success) reading agenda seeks to build on theseadvantages by offering the reader the opportunity to examine theprocess of failure in some detail. This will involve a set ofreadings looking at failure as an outcome in various types ofsocial activities ranging from small group enterprises to largescale undertakings. Among the readings will be many differentexamples of military failure that will be examined both frompractical and theoretical perspectives, witix a special emphasison causal linkages, and the situational and judgmental factorsthat played a significant role in such an outcome.

A particularly appropriate beginning in a reading agendafo".using on military failures might be Military Misfortunes:The Anatomy of Failure In War (Cohen and Gooch, 1990). Thisvolume examines a diverse set of military failures ranging fromthe Britis.h Gallipoli campaign in 1915 to the defeat of the U.S.Eight Army in Korea in 1950. Not only do the authors provide anarrative overview of the battle or campaign, but they alsoinclude an analytical matrix for each situation that graphicallydiagrams the dynamics of the failure within the military commandcontext. ThuE., the book affords both historical and theoreticalperspectives on military failure. Another seminal reading mightbe Perlmutter's (1978) classic article, "Military Incompetenceand Failure: A Historical Comparative and AnalyticalEvaluation". Yet another highly relevant text might be MilitaryIncompetence: Why the American Military Doesn't Win (Gabriel,1986).

Another New Focus in Self-development

The Army self-education impetus has, in the past, tendedprimarily to address leadership in terms of the assessments,judgments, decisions, and actions of military leaders within thecontext of particular battles, campaigns, or missions. Theindividual leader and his leadership behavior is viewed, ineffect, as being "imbedded" in the situation. The leader and thecontext are conceptualized as concomitant factors in the outcomeof the military activity. Among military readers there has beenless effort to see the leader outside of the military situation,or to divorce the leader from all of the contingencies thatplayed a part in the outcome. Military readers have tended todirect their attention more toward the military career, orsegments of the military career, of the leader and to overlook orignore the larger life of the leader.

While this approach has proved to be utilitarian anddurable, there are additional reading perspectives on leadershipthat might also be productive and offer insights that would be

22

highly relevant in today's rapidly changing military context.One new reading perspective might be to explore leadership morein terms of the individual leader than simply the exercise ofleadership in a given military situation. The focus would bemore on the full life of the leader and not just the isolated actor acts of leadership relative to a military crisis. It wouldalso address a wide array of leaders from many institutionalsettings.

Leadership as the PrQduct of Life Experiences

Leaders may be made and not born, but the initialdemonstrations of leadership skills may appear relatively earlyin the lives of some individuals, and the origins of such skillsmay be readily seen in particular youthful experiences and self-efforts. Leadership skills involve complex competencies andinsights and the development of such skills may evolve slowlyover long periods of time. Leadership skills are seldomaccidental, and instead may represent significant expenditures oftime, effort, and energy on the part of the individual. In manyinstances, very unusual efforts may be involved. By exploringthe lives of leaders in detail much may be learned about thegenesis of the skills that they so effectively used at somecritical point in their lives.

L eAdershi as Generic Process

The notion of leadership is to be found imbedded in allmajor social institutional contexts. Thus, one can appropriatelyspeak of industrial or corporate leadership, educationalleadership, political leadership, religious leadership, militaryleadership and, in some instances, even family leadership. Aslightly different term or label may be employed in the variouscontexts, but certainly there is a strand of redundancy in themeaning and function of the concept of leadership.

The generic aim of leadership is success, but there aredisparate end results or products of success from socialinstitution to social institution. Effective leadership in theindustrial setting yields success in the form of production andprofit. Successful leadership in the religious context(espeuially an evangelical religion) trans.lateL ist- iu--cre-asedmembership, the conversion of sizeable members of non-believers,financial security if not affluence, and enthusiastic faith amongthe flock. Military leadership ultimately garners success on thebattlefield and the ability to impose political decision upon anenemy. Whatever the form of success, however, the generaldynamics of leadership constitutes a social process. Whateverthe institutional context, there are certain processualcommonalities in the exercise of leadership, and accordingly,there is something to be learned from the study of leaders of allvarieties.

23

In the course of a military career, many different kinds ofchallenges must be addressed, not just combat challenges. Insome instances, the challenges faced by the offic,.r may moreresemble corporate or political crises than military (commandresponsibility in the Tailhook scandal, for example).Accordingly, the full range of leadership behaviors may berelevant to the military context.

Zli *U*L*L Readina Agenda

There are many historical figures from a variety ofinstitutional settings (i.e., industry, religion, military, etc.)who have demonstrated remarkable leadership behavior in differentkinds of crisis situations. In numerous instances, theseindividuals demonstrated an on-going pattern of leadership formuch of their lives or careers. In effect, their leadershipskills were very much evident in their customary decision makingand task mastery behavior, and also in their ability to influencethe behavior of others. Because of the exemplary nature ofcertain aspects of their lives, they might well serve as rolemodels for persons wishing to develop their own leader-shipskills. Simply reading biographies or autobiographies of famouspeople is not the intent here. Rather the reader's attentionshould be directed to special kinds of biographical accountswhere the author attempts to show the genesis and development ofleadership potential. in the biographee.

The "F*U*L*L, :Focus Upon Leaders' Lives) reading agendawould permit the reader to examine in detail the biographicalexperiences of a selected group of historical personages thatcontributed to their competencies to lead others and successfullyalter the outcomes of critical social events. John F. Kennedy'sbook, Profiles in Courage attempted to do something not unlikethis on a very small scale. This self-study program wouldinclude extensive readings and, where available, movies,videotapes, or other media that provide valid insights concerningthe lives and accomplishments of such people that mighteffectively reinforce the readings. Some examples of the kind ofleaders who might be featured could include General "Chinese"Gordon of the British Army, Martin Luther, and Andrew Carnegie tomention some.

Carnegie is a particularly apt example of businessleadership where the requisite skills began to appear relativelyearly in life. Although he began life as a poor immigrant boy,he lived to build a great steel empire and became a multi-millionaire as a result of his motivation, shrewd businessdecisions, and remarkable corporate leadership. His leadership,however, was base-' on simple principles of interpersonalinfluence and persuasion. As one author (Carnegie, 1937:159)portrays it:

24

•II

Later in life when Carnegie became theowner of a great steel corporation, he wantedtu sell steel railroad rails to thePennsylvania Railroad. The owner of therailroad was J. Edgar Thomson. Carnegiebuilt a large steel mill in the area andnamed it the "J. Edgar Thomson Steel Works."As anticipated, Mr. Thomson was so flatteredthat he ordered the steel rails for hisrailroad from the factory that was named forhim.

His ability to influence others easily in an unobtrusivefashion to carry out his wishes, had been evidenced relativelyearly in life. The same author (Carnegie, 1937:159) relatesthat:

Andrew Carnegie, the nineteenth centuryScottish-American steel tycoon was quiteadept at getting others to do things that hewanted done. Before immigrating to Americahe spent his boyhood getting others to dothings he wanted done. Before immigrating to

America he spent his boyhood in Scotland. Asa boy, he acquired a mother rabbit. Therabbit proved to be very prolific and he soonhad a large litter of baby rabbits and nofood for them. He simply told the other boysin his neighborhood that if they would gatherclover and dandelions to feed the rabbits, hewould name a rabbit for each of them. Thebunnies stayed well supplied with food.

Persons in positions of authority would be well advised tonote and study the leadership skills and strategies of AndrewCarnegie. These skills served Carnegie well and helped himachieve his considerable success in commerce. These same skillsshould prove useful and effective in many contexts including themilitary.

There are even military figures, some of whom are less wellknown or even unknown to most army officers, who were ossesedof extraordinary skills and who demonstrated these skills in veryunusual circumstances or in a very singular fashion. One suchindividual whose life is well worth close examination and canserve as an admirable role model is Homer Lea (Alexander, 1993).Mr. Lea was born in 1876 :ýn Denver, Colorado, to middle-classparents. As a child he either was injured or contracted adisease, which left him disfigured. His spine was deformed tothe point that some called him a hunchback. He never grew beyondfive feet high and never weighed more than 88 pounds. He enduredpain most of his life and experienced blindness on a recurring

25

basis, and had very poor eyesight all of his life. His consumingambition was to be a great general and lead troops in combat.

Through great effort he attended Stanford University. Hebecame an accomplished chess and poker player, and also becamevery proficient at fencing. He was turned down by West Point andby the regular army. Undaunted, he taught himself militarytactics and strategy by studying historical accounts of famouscampaigns and battles. Through a family friend, he learnedChinese. He offered his military services to the Protect theEmperor Society to help return the young ex-emperor Kuang-hsu tothe throne and subsequently traveled to China. The 24 year-old,88 pound, hunchback persuaded the revolutionaries of his militaryexpertise and was commissioned as a lieutenant general in therevolutionary army and took command of a division of volunteers.He later led his troops in battle during the Boxer rebellion.Later he threw in his lot with Sun Yat-sen who made him Chief ofStaff of the army in the new Republic of China. His enduringfame, however, rest on two prophetic books he authored, The Valorof Ignorance and The Day of the Saxon. The former accuratelypredicted the Japanese attacks on Hawaii, the Philippines, andAlaska in World War II. The latter foretold the decline of theBritish empire ana World War II in Europe. The books attractedmilitary readers around the world and are considered asmasterpieces of military prophesy. His ashes rest in honor inTaipei, Taiwan, today. Surely, today's army officers could findinspiration, insight, and keys to leadership in the life of HomerLeal

A Guidance Mechanism tor Self-education

No matter how weJ.l intended or how highly motivated anindividual might be in regard to a self-education readingprogram, it is extremely difficult to stay abreast of newlypublished material in relevant fields. It is equc.lly difficultto assess the relative quality and value of newly publishedliterature prior to reading it. Even the most relevantliterature may sometimes have to be placed in proper context inorder to be fully appreciated, much less prove to be fullyutilitarian. Much literature, while individually informative andinsightful, assumes a much more valuable priority in a readingprogram, if it is linked with appropriate collateral literature.In effect, the value of the integrated whole is much greater thanthe separated parts. There is a considerable body of "fugitive"(obscure sources and/or relatively unfamiliar) but valuableliterature on many topics that would be accessed and read byindividuals if they knew of its existence. Some portions ofbooks and articles may be more valuable than others but potentialreaders may not be aware of this. All of these concerns andothers can be effectively addressed with appropriate guidancethat can be provided in a periodically published syllabus or

literature guide in the form of a journal. An individual about

26

to embark on a automobile trip will likely consult a road map.Before journeying to another country, a traveler may well seek"information about the country in a travel guide. Those whoattempt to assemble a complicated toy welcome the guidance of aset of illustrated instructions. Generations of Americansplanted and harvested their crops according to the weather,climate, and moon-phase guidancre of the Old Farmer's Almanac.A reading agenda represents an intellectual "trip," and is noless deserving of a guide book.

The Functions of a Reading Guide Journal

A properly designed and edited journal as a reading guide,published on a regular basis, could accomplish multiple purposes.

¾ These might include:

1. Suggestions and advice on how to read. With properguidance and instruction, individuals can often read,and assimilate what they read, faster and moreeffectively. Scholars, for example, who acquire suchskills can review a body of literature far more quicklyand thoroughly than the untrained. There are numerousshort-cuts to the acquisition of such skills.

2. A series of topical areas (i.e. military history,foreign affairs, foreign militaries, organizational"science, etc.) could be addressed in each issue interms of recently published books and articles dealing

*. . with these topics. Such books could be criticallyreviewed with recommendation for reading. It isimportant that articles from a wide range of journals"and periodicals be covered as well as books.

3. It would be desirable that annotated bibliographies as

well as groupings of readings from differentdisciplines on a single topic also be included in someissues.

4. The journal could suggest and critically review othermedia forms such as movies, television specials, anddocumentary audio recordings to mention but some.

4'•

5. There are substantial numbers of very informativegeneral and specialized newspapers, periodicals,newsletters, and annual reviews that are published, butare less well known or, perhaps, urknown to many Armypersonnel. The journal can serve to acquaint thereaders with such publications.

6. The journal could invite and encourage responses andreactions to reviews, commentaries, short articles,letters, and other types of material that would

27

• -: -

motivate reader involvement and submission. Articlesfrom readers who had used certain readings to theirprofessional advantage and organizational benefitshould be especially encouraged!

7. One section of the journal should be used for listingpublic speeches, addresses, debates, etc. in thegeneral vicinity of different military installationsthat would be of relevant interest to readers. Forexample, a public address on the situation in Bosniagiven by some media newscaster at a nearby collegecould be listed. Attendance at such events can beinformative and valuable.

8. In a similar fashion, correspondence and night coursesoffered at colleges and universities in the vicinity ofvarious military installations should '., listed.

9. Many military personnel may not know about theexistence of certain libraries and archives in their"area, or even how to use a library in the mosteffective way. The journal should address these'I topics.

10. The journal could also be a means for expandingvocabulary (having a short column on new words, forexample), extending historical and geographicalknowledge, and providing insights on current events.

11. Every issue could contain material specificallyaddressing the topic of leadership (i.e., case studies,historical precedents, or specific advice on theexercise of leadership, for examples).

12. A possible title for the guide or journal might well beResources: Self-development and Military Leadership.While hardcopy publishing is desirable, as a lessexpensive alternative, it might be published as anelectronic journal instead.

Advantages of the Resources Journal

In a previously underdemarcated area of personal inquiry,the Resources journal will provide intellectual reference points.

By listing and reviewing literature (books and articles) relevantto various topics and topical areas, the individual now has some"navigational" indicators. The reader is made aware of theexistence of literature resources pertinent to topics ofinterest, about which he or she might not normally have known.The reader also will have the basis for selectivity andprioritizing inasmuch as he or she will have the opportunity to

L consider the judgment of critical reviews. The reader will bebetter informed about the existence of a wide range of

28

potentially useful periodicals, newspapers, monograph andbulletin series, books, and archives. Also, the individual canbecome more knowledgeable about ways of accessing the informationcontained in such sources. The individual wishing to pursue anambitious program of self-development would now have available a"user-friendly," guidance manual that would be up-dated on an on-going basis.

TheyJlleQie Dimension of Self-development

Learning shares some characteristics with physical exercise.This is, perhaps, not surprising inasmuch as learning is a kindof mental exercise. One shared characteristic is thatindividuals, as a general rule, do not like to exercise or learnalone. Physical fitness instructors say that people who embarkon a physical fitness regimen must have a mirror so that they cansee themselves (as a substitute for other people being involved).People who are most motivated in their physical fitnessactivities are those who participate within the context of aclass. The same is essentially true with persons involved inindividualized learning programs. Sometimes they have difficultymaintaining momentum on their own. To overcome this tendency aneffort should be made to insert a collective or interactiveelement into the self-development pillar.

Toward this end, the circulation of Resources should bevoluntary as opposed to automatic. It should perhaps, be linkedto some type of "membership" in which Army personnel could join aself-development club or society. In so doing, a context ofselectivity based on motivation is established, and a sense ofcollective identity, even if minimal, is created. Although thereare strong benefits attendant to hard copy publishing, there arealso advantages to electronic publishing in the sense ofenhancing computer literacy. In either event there ideally,should be an interactive dimension to the club or society. Thiscould, perhaps, be accomplished by a heavy emphasis on electronicnetworking. On the assumption that many or most Army officershave some degree of computer literacy and also have access to acomputer either at their office or at home, all members of theclub or self-development society should have their "bitnet"address (or whatever electronic network to which they haveaccess) published in Resources. All contributions to the journalshould carry the author's "bitnet" address as well as unitaffiliation. Electronic communication between authors andreaders and among membecs should be encouraged. Members withspecial reading agendas; should advertise this fact in the journaland invite electronic correspondence with other members withsimilar interests. The goal should be to motivate members toshare information about readings, reaction to literature theyhave read, and suggestions for further study (as examples). Suchinformation sharing would tend to promote a sense of groupidentity and help motivate individuals to maintain a satisfactory

29

iii

pace of effort and achievement in their self-development program.Where readers are located in the same geographical area, orstationed at the same post, the journal should encourage actualsmall group meetings that might take the form of "brown-bag"discussion groups, once-a-month "cocktails and conversation" get-togethers to exchange information about mutual reading interests,or joint sponsorship of occasional guest speakers. The groupdimension will promote cohesion, enhance the rewards of"membership", and generate motivation,if not competition.

Alternative Journal Initiatives

Although the inauguration of a separate journal to serve asa reading guide for self-educated leadership development, issomething of an idealized and, thus, preferred arrangement, thereare less expensive alternatives. As a somewhat more modesti itiative, arrangements could possibly be made to institute as 3cial column or section in existing Army or Militaryp riodicals or journals. Examples of such journals might includeMilitary Review, Parameters, or Infantry Journal. There arenumerous Army and Military periodicals and it is possible thatappropriate arrangements could be made to include such a colamnor selection in a number of different periodicals and journals.A variation on this theme is the possibility of developing asupplement publication that could bc attached to, or includedwith, and distributed with one, some, or all of theseperiodicals. It is not known whether or not these periodicalswould charge for including a column, section, or supplement, axidif so, what that cost might be.

The obvious major advantage to this type of a reading guidepublication is that a very large subscription list and anextraordinarily wide distribution would be assured from the verybeginning. The start-up period would be minimized and much lesseffort and expense would be involved in assembling the contentsfor the first and subsequent issues. The resources, financialand human, required to maintain a column or section as an on-going publishing activity would be minimal.

I The disadvantages to a column or section of a journal as an

alternative to a specific journal are equally obvious. A columnor section of a journal could include only a fraction of thematerial that could be accommodated in a full issue of a journal.The orientation and editorial emphasis of a column necessarilyhave to be subordinate to overall editorial posture of the largerjournal. A column or section of a journal, no matter how wellintended or how perfected in presentation, could ever have theimpact of a newly inaugurated journal. A new journal would havethe freedom and capacity to develop in innovative andexperimental ways that might prove to be extraordinarilyinfluential and effective.

30

The existing self-education pillar of the Army's leadershipdevelopment program, with its heavy reliance on individualreading efforts, has proven to be surprisingly productive andversatile. Any learning system, however, should be able toprofit from augmentation efforts that attempt to increasemotivation on the part of participants, and to provide betterstructure and guidanue for their reading and self-studyactivities. The augmentation strategies suggested in thisdiscussion would contribute significantly to both those goals.

Most of the proposed initiatives are simple, relativelyinexpunsive, and easy to implement. They do not displace anyexisting learning efforts or mechanisms, nor do they radicallydepart from the traditional orientation and intention of thepresent program. The proposed reading guide journal would appearto be almost self-evident in its purpose and function. It wouldafford expert advice, purpose, and direction to the reader wherelittle now exist. The two new reading agenda initiatives simplyoffer alternative perspectives on leadership that might well beprovocative to the point of generating renewed enthusiasm andenlightening insight in individuals who may find their presentreading program less than compelling or uninteresting. The tworeading agendas could be featured and detailed in early issues ofthe journal. Other additional reading programs could beintroduced as developed. The use of recorded books should makeit easier for individuals to find time to "read" books bylistening to them being read aloud. Otherwise unproductive timeCan be used for this purpose. Condensed versions of relevantbooks could greatly facilitate a reading program but in order tohave such books made available some effort on the part of theArmy itself would be required. In the instance of all of theinitiatives discussed there is little to be lost, andconsiderable to be gained!

NEW DIRECTIONS IN SEL?-DEVELOPMENT

"We should train navalofficers to be advocates,because the largepeacetime decisions aremade in dialogue, debateand argument."

Admiral William J. Crowe, Jr. Chairman, JointChiefs of Staff, 1985-1989 (Admiral Crowecompleted a doctorate in politics atPrinceton)

31

IL.

The Contemporary Challenge of Leadership Development

The U.S. Army continually seeks to improve its leadershipdevelopment system. This imperative is, perhaps, made moreurgent by the tempo of technological and social changeconfronting the U.S. military today, and the demands of theincreasingly diverse nature of the multiple mission capabilitythat has been assigned to the Army. The process of properlydeveloping leadership potential in Army personnel, traditionally,a problematic task, becomes even more c-allenging in the face ofthe situational context of today's milicary enterprise. It wouldappear that the Army's present leadership self-developmentprogram might be made more effective through some new directionsin argumentation efforts.

The Delineation of Leadership

The problematic quality of leadership may be due to the factthat leadership, due to the diffusement of the concept, has neverbeen particularly well defined. The looseness of the term mightbe inferred from the fact that some researchers have identifiedliterally hundreds of behavioral elements associated withleadership. Korotkin, et &l (1985), for example, articulated inexcess of 200 so-called "job performance dimensions" that arerelated to leadership. The lack of specificity in the conceptualdefinition of leadership is demonstrated in the extraordinarilylarge body of social science literature that addresses leadershipbut with a notable lack of consensus in regard to the precisemeaning of the term. Bass (1990:11), a leading researcher in thefield, reviews and describes 7,500 referencesto research onleadership, in his comprehensive work on the topic, and notes the"profusion of definitions.

In the absence of a definitional consensus, it may beproductive to arbitrarily definc and conceptualize leadership inan operational fashion as a means of exploring ways of making the

A process of leadership development more effective. In thisregard, for purposes of operational definition, byconceptualizing lc.dership (or any behavioral nexus) as a socialrole there ie the advantage of being able to also conceptualizepractical means of attempting to inculcate this behavioral

"K - potential in others. Among other advantages of conceptualizingleadership as a social role is the ability to view leadership assimply a variation of ordinary behavior rather than having toidealize such behavior as extraordinary. In the instance ofordinary behavio , the optimal goal is effectiveness.Extraordinary behavior, tends to be perceived within a glamorizedor glorified context and the expectations of such behavior may beattended with notions of superlative achievement.

13

The notion of effectiveness of role behavior lends itself toattainable outcomes and evaluative measurement. Extraordinarybehavior and superlative results tend to resist accurateassessment, much less quantification. In effect, it is morepragmatic to conceptualize behavioral phenomena in a conventionalfashion that lends itself to socialization, accomplishment, andpractical appraisal. As a simple illustration, it is easier Indmore desirable to teach a soldier to do his job as ordered evenif it means risking his life, than to try to teach him to be"gallant" or "courageous." The results will likely be just asutilitarian, but perhaps more satisfactory in terms of overalloutcome.

Perceptual Adjustments to the Concept of Leadership

The operational conceptualization of leadership as a socialrole requires four perceptual adjustments, but yields a number ofadvantages. The perceptual adjustments required include:

1. Leadership must be viewed as conventional (albeitexemplary) rather than extraordinary behavior. To somedegree, from the standpoint of the U.S. Army andAmerican culture in general (and some other cultures aswell), the concept of leadership essentially solidifiedat soae point in the past, into a traditional, ratheridealized model of exemplary military chieftanship andsuperintendence. In certain contexts the term has beenused to describe some paragon model of authority, notinfrequently linked to courage, moral integrity, andsuccess or accomplishment. In effect, the leader as"hero." This traditional model of leadership has even,on occasion, been based on the assumption thatleadership tended to derive from charismatic authority(the "halo" effect) as exemplified by the "born" leaderor "natural" hero, both of whom can serve as suitablerole models. It is because of this model of leadershipthat members of the military have been encouraged tostudy and emulate great successful and heroic militaryleaders of the past. Regardless of how worthy ofemulation were these historic role models, it isnecessary to move to the conventional behavior model ofleadership if effective means of teaching and trainingleadership skills are to be implemented.

2. Leadership must be viewed as the mastery of complextasks, frequently using others to accomplish thesetasks. In this sense, leadership involves an accurateassessment of the situation, a plan to productivelyaddress it, and the capability of effectivelymotivating others to implement the plan. This ishighly consistent with Army doctrine which states that,"in battle, you must inspire your soldiers to do things

33

- - - --- - - -- -- - - - -

against their natural will-possibly to risk their live-to carry out missions for the greater good of the unit,the Army, and the country' (FM 22-100:1). In short,leadership essentially means using logical means to getother people to do seemingly illogical things!Leadership then relies heavily on social skills.

3. Leadership must be viewed not only as grandiose taskmastery at the level of an enormous military battle butalso as a complex skill operationalized at an everydaylevel of task accomplishment involving interpersonalinteraction. There are many professional individualswho exercise a range of leadership skills on a day-to-day basis. There are persons in numerous vocationalspheres--business persons, physicians, engineers,scientists or architects or designers who are in clear"command" of their craft or trade or artistic endeavor,who, in a sense, set the pace for others in the samefield. Leadership that is exercised on a more routineor practical basis or level can be thought of asgrounded leadership. Unlike the assumptions concerningthe origins of idealized leadership, groundedleadership lends to derive from occupational expertise(superior technical knowledge), forceful and persuusive"management" of subordinates (highly perfectedinterpersonal skills), and situation mastery (highlytransferrable competencies, improvisational skills, andcreative problem solving).

4. Leadership must be viewed a complex competence based ona set of definable roles that can be effectivelyinculcated into individuals. Learning a social role orroles involves mastering certain kinds of skills.Assuming generally average intelligence, aptitude,physical capabilities, and motivation, leadership is

*• teachable and learnable on the part of mostindividuals. It is difficult, if not impossible totransmit leadership skills directly inasmuch as they"represent the cumulative and successful integration of

.4 numerous intermediate skills. It is at this level ofskill development that leadership can be encouraged andnourished. The ability to play a very elaborate socialrole, such as leader in a productive and compelling1fashion, results from the perfection of numeroussubordinate or supporting skills and capabili'ties that,

rrj when appropriately blended, provide the requisite4 i, complex competence.

Leadership as Social Role

A social role is the set of behavioral expectations thatexist for the occupant of a given social status. An individual

34

who -iomes to occupy an authority status in a social structure isexpected to demonstrate leadership (i.e. behave in an exemplaryfashion). Following this mode of conceptualization as a point ofdeparture, a more detailed status and role analysis of thevarious positions of authority in Army organizations should yieldmore specificity concerning the role expectations of suchpositions, and this should provide a more sensitive understandingof the dynamics of the leadership development process, andadditional insights concerning ways in which the process might bemade more effective.

Leadership as a Variable Requirement

In theory, all officers' positions are leadership statusesin Army organizations. Clearly, there are differential degreesof leadership requirements attendant to various types ofpositions. Line positions, in general, call for a more exactingorder of leadership behavior than do staff positions. There arealso variations in expectations of leadership among linepositions as well. Positions that control relatively automousunits may call for a more exacting calibration of leadership thanunits that are more component to larger units. There are alsodifferential expectations of leadership attendant to differentranks. There are even different levels of leadershipexpectations linked to different kinds of units. All suchvariations in leadership expectations may be the source of roleconfusion or role ambiguity.

The variations in leadership expectations attendant todifferent types of positions result more from the diversity ofrole expectation sources than from the dissimilarity of the jobsthemselves. The behavioral expectations constituent to thesocial role that goes with a given status may derive from severalsources. There are formal expectations regarding leadershipbehavior that are linked to superior positions such as acommanding officer. There are also expectations that derive fromcollateral positions, a peer unit leader, for example.Additionally, there are expectations concerning leadershipbehavior that come from subordinates. Such expectations are noless legitimate than those that emanate from a superior position.For every expectation there is a reciprocal expectation; forevery privilege there is a reciprocal responsibility. Statusesand their attendant roles do not generally exist in isolation.Rathe. because of reciprocal linkages with various other statusesand rles, it is possible to think of a leadership position aspart of an elaborate role set. Each role set houses a complexpattern of reciprocal behavioral expectations. A role set is thepotential model of interaction involving the occupationalpractitioner and all of the co-workers with whom one may have tocooperate or work together as a team in the course of pursuingthe vocation. To really understand one's job, one should befamiliar with the role set and the attendant reciprocal

35

jI

expectations. The role set of physician in a hospital isillustrated to provide a visual example of role set (See Figure1). In this role set diagram it will be noted that thephysician, in a hospital context, relates to and interacts withseveral persons -- patient, patient's spouse (or other relative),nurse, and consulting phyqician -- on a presumably frequent andregular basis. These persons make up a kind of "inner circle" inthe role set. The physician also, however, may have to interactwith a variety of other individuals from time to time and,accordingly, also relates to them in a structured fashion. For aphysician to appropriately play his or her professional role, heor she must know how to act (in both a technical and socialmannc-r) toward all of the persons in the role set. Component tothis understanding is being aware of the expectations regarding

the physician held by all of the individuals that make up therole set.

In many, if not most, vocational fields the individual whomoves into any type of occupational status receives veryinadequate training or orientation in regard to the specificinventory of .behavioral expectations he or she will encounter inattempting to play the role. Such briefings as they do receiveoften focus primarily on expectations that derive from superiorpositions. Peer expectations and subordinate expectations arefrequently ignored or minimized. In actual practice, there mayeven be multiple "layers" of expectation sources. Leadershippositions in the Army, with their complex patterns ofexpectations constituent to the elaborate role set that goes withthe status, should appropriately require very comprehensivetraining and familiarization with the specific behavioralrequirements inherent in the role set of their assigned position.

Even before learning about the exact role requirements that

go with a particular position assignment, however, individualsshould become familiar with the role and status paradigm. Theymust especially come to understand in detail the variousbehavioral expectations that are component to the authoritystatus and to the social role of leadership that attends it. Aspart of this understanding, the individual has to be familiarwith the structure of the role set pattern and the way in whichthe role expectations may vary depending on their source. Thematter is complicated by the fact that formal expectations fromdifferent sources may not necessarily be similar or evencongruent. Adding even further to the complexity of behavioralexpectations and role behavior is the presence of informalexpectations also from different sources. Often imbedded in aformal social structure is an informal structure; this informalstructure has its own statuses, roles (behavioral expectations),and normative system. An individual must have familiarity with,and understanding of, all of this as a prerequisite toappropriate leadership role playing when occupying a position ofauthority.

36

_ _ _ _ _

Figure 1.Illustration of a partial role set

(a physician in a hospital setting)

Physical HospitalTherapist Admlnistrator

*-7S1,rglcalResident

Consulting

Nurse Physician

Orderly

Physician

Patient's Pot~antX-ASpouse Te hica

LabTechniolan

AnPethe-

I Me rn Pthologis

37

Advgntage of Conceptualizing Leadership as Social Role

By viewing leadership as a social role, it is much easier torecognize and appreciate the import of linkages between anindividual occupying a social status in an organization andnumeroud other organizational statuses occupied by other persons.Different statuses have different role sets. Part of the processof training people for a job involves teaching them about theirpotential role set. If they properly understand the role set andthe nature of the linkages, then they will be better able to dotheir job properly. In way of military example, the mission ofthe Army is now in the process of significant change. The Armymay be called upon to fight "bush" wars, serve as observers topeace keepers, undertake humanitarian expeditions, protectminority populations in some other countries, or even be involvedin drug interdiction efforts. The social role of the Armyofficer or leader will necessarily change along with Armymission. One of the very best ways to teach individuals abouttheir changing leadership roles is to emphasize changes in theirrole sets and focus on their relationships with others in therole set, particularly new categories of people (e.g., StateDepartment Personnel on humanitarian missions; United NationsStaff personnel or members of foreign militaries on peace keepingassignments; or even DEA officials on drug interdictionexpeditions). Using the social role set as a leadership teachingdc ce is analogous to the actor in a play perfecting his or herown acting part by learning something about every other characterin the play, and how his or her part relates to all the otherparts.

Many researchers have convincingly shown that by usingstatus and social role as units of analysis, or units ofbehavior, it is relatively easy to articulate the parameters of agiven job or position. Accordingly, it is easier to socializethe newcomer, and it is easier for the newcomer to understandwhat is expected and how it is to be accomplished. Status andsocial role analysis is essentially a "user friendly" means ofdescribing a job, learning a job, or performing a job. A goodexample of the facility with which an executive level positioncan be dissected, articulated, or explained in detail can befound in Mintzberg's classic research on managerial work (1973).Figure 2 for example, shows his social role breakdown of thecorporate chief executive position. Using such an approach wouldobviously facilitate teaching or learning about the job inasmuchas the various groupings of responsibilities and tasks could beaddressed and socialized separately.

Viewing jobs or positions through the perspective of socialrole is highly relevant to the Army's use of the concept of tasksas means of defining work. Social roles or rather sub-roles arefrequently a specification or expectation for accomplishing some

38

FIGURE 2

Mintzberg's articulation of the managerial social roles of acorporate chief executive.

CORPORATE CHIEF EXECUTIVE(FORMAL AUTHORITY AND STATUS)

Managerial Roles

Interpersonal Informational Decisional

Figurehead Monitor Entrepreneur

Leader Disseminator Disturbance Handler

Liaison Spokesman Resource AllocatorNegotiator

Derived from: Mintzberg, Henry, The Nature of Mana erialjWor. j.New York: Harper & Row, Publisher, 1973.

I 1 39

K ____ ___

task or related group of tasks. The Army, for example, oftendiscusses assignments and missions in terms of task conditionsand task standards, or satisfactory task performance. Again,referring to Mintzberg's articulation of managerial social rolesin Figure 2, his typ.,logy refers implicitly, if not explicitly,to specific tasks or dssignments (or groups or bundles of tasks).Thus, the social role perspective is a very pragmatic perspectivein the sense that a comprehenaive role analysis of a positiongenerates a relatively definitive array of essential tasks toaccomplish the job. When the role description of a position isfully developed, there -s also a good residual understanding oftraining needs and goals, a clear picture of job objectives, andsome broad standaxds or behavioral guidelines by which jobperformance can be assessed. The notion of status and role issufficiently simple and understandable that it lends itself verywell to self-education. People can learn about their job byreading about iti

Inasmuch as the status and social role paradigm isessentially a theatrical conc'ptualization, it shares many of thecharacteristics of the stage presentation. Parts (jobs) can beeasily understood, they can be easily leartiod, zhey can be easilymodified, and they can be performed by a number of differentactors (individuals) with a high degreie of uniformity. Theyreadily permit the interchangeability of persons, and areessentially the same regardless of location or context.

Finally, the notion of status and role is highly compatiblewith the idea advanced later in this diocussion, of trying toperfect capstones or supernumerary skill by enhancinqintermediate supporting skills. It is doubtful that anindividual can be directly trained to be a great actor oractress. It is possible, however, to train actors and actressesin such a way that they will develop all of the appropriate stageand performance skills necessary to becomei great at acting. Thesame is true for leadership.

*TheSQilRole p SoiatQng~~hjieha ts

Status and roles are widely used as mechanisms ofsocialization. With children, for e.awuple we break up our socialexpectation of them into manageable "bundles" and attempt toinculcate correct behavior into them piecemeal. We teach themthe correct social role for the dinner table, the correct socialrole when attending church, the correct social role when playingwith other children, etc. Ultimately the child, as he or shegrows up, is able to appropriately consolidate and integrate allof the various role segments, and comes to act as a member ofsociety in a total fashion.

Status and role are used as socialization mechanisms foradults. Persons entering an occupation are usually instructed in

40

* --I - ";J -. . .. . - - . --- . . . . . .

the requirements of the job and the expectations bearing on themwhen occupying that occupational status. The newcomer learns therole of the bank teller, or the taxi driver, or the storesalesperson. Again, role instruction may be piecemeal at first,and later consolieated and integrated. In effect, he or she maylearn the job, task by task.

Training individuals for particular occupationbl specialtiesor even for specific tasks within the job using role and statusas the means has usually proved to be an expeditious, effective,and durable means. Some critics, however, have felt that, whilethe role and status approach to training and indoctrination maybe adequate for relatively superficial behavior; training asalesclerk to wait on customers and sell cloth goods, perhapswould not be suitable for training individuals for complex tasksand/or tasks that may call for extraordinary motivation andeffort. The role and status approach would not be suitable forteaching leadership, for example. Research shows that thiscriticism is not valid, however.

Jack Haas, in his research on high steel ironworkers and howthey deal with the danger of the job and the fear of working atthose great heights (1977), found that it was not necessary totry to recruit individuals who had a minimal fear of high places.There were no special personal qualities or attributes needed inorder to be able to do the job. On the contrary, most if not allof the workers were, indeed, fearful of the dangers of workingthe high steel. As the individuals learned the appropriate workrole for high steel ironworkers, and they come to accept, and beaccepted by, the informal workgroup, they also learned not toshow their fear. In a kind of collective "definition of thesituation" they all mutually "disavowed" their fear. The factthat their fellow workers did not display fear made it easier forindividual workers to control their own fear. They did attemptthe situation in terms of trying to minimize the dangers of thejob. This they did by testing fellow workers to be sure theyknew their job and were not a danger to others. They also triedto accommodate bad weather with proper precautions and equipment,and would not cooperate with supervisors who were not sensitiveto dangerous conditions. Properly conforming to the norms of thework role, the ironworkers collectively submerged their fear andwent about their job. Thus, it would appear that role and statustraining can even accomiodate the emotional dimensions of a job.

There is also research evidence that role complianceoperates not only at a superficial level. Once an individual isproperly indoctrinated in terms of his or her work role, he orshe is inclined to follow the behavioral dictates of the role ateven the informal as well as the formal level. Some research(Blake, 1973; Blake and Butler, 1976) has rather compellinglydemonstrated that many individuals will risk their lives or evendie in the process of conforming to the implicit expectations oftheir role, and will do so in a highly idiosyncratic fashion. Inthis research on winners (often posthumously) of the

41

j Congressional Medal of Honor, it was revealed that enlistedwinners of the medal had often engaged in some tyla of courageousbehavior that involved protecting or saving fellow soldiers. Theprimary concern of the medal winner had apparently been regardfor his buddies. This persuasion undoubtedly grew out ofinformal socialization within the group and the attendant smallunit cohesion. The enlisted individual was conforming to theinformal dictate of his soldierly role. On the other hand, theresearch showed that officers who were awarded the CongressionalMedal of Honor had generally engaged in some courageous behaviorthat could be defined as "war winning" or attempting to carry outthe mission. The officers had tried to follow orders andaccomplish the mission. They were displaying leadership orexemplary behavior, and it suggests that the individuals wereattempting to conform to the expectations of their role asofficers and examples to others.

The findings of such research would seem to indicate thatrelying on status and role as mechanisms of socialization evenfor leadership training can be efficacious and dependable. Thechallenge that attends this conceptual approach to training hasto do with communicating the exact role specifications of the jobto the individual who will occupy the status.

..naproprigte Role PlavinQ as geadership Handicap

If the individual is familiar with the status/role paradigmof analysis and if the individual is completely aware of all ofthe role expectations, from all sources, that are attendant tohis or her status position and if the individual has the basiccompetencies to fulfill the various expectations, then effectiveleadership role playing is possible.

There are potential handicaps or challenges to sucheffective leadership role playing, however, operating atdifferent rank levels. At the lower rank levels, the challengeof leadership tends to revolve around three problem areas.Frequently there is a lack of information regarding thespecificity of role responsibilities that are component to a

* given status. Also, sometimes there is an inadequateunderstanding of the nexus of overlapping expectations thatderive from the role set that attends a given status. The major

* type of leadership role challenge facing individuals in the lowerrank levels is that of trying to reconcile satisfactorilyinconsistencies in role expectations. Instead, the individual isfaced with role confusion and ambiguities.

At the middle rank levels, inappropriate roýe playing ismore the result of unawareness of changes in role expectationsthat have occurred and, in some instances, an insensitivity tothe nuance of new role requirements and critical responses fromothers in the role set. Also, flexibility in meeting new role

42

I

expectations is a problem for some individuals. The field gradeofficer who can't seem to grasp the political reality of sexualharassment in the military work place is an example of theformer, and a male officer who cannot satisfactorily acceptfemale officers in certain types of jobs, much less the

possibility of having to tolerate homosexuals in the military,might be an illustration of the latter.

At the senior ranks, handicaps to effective role playing maywell be the product of not having the appropriate "soft" skillsto meet demands of high military rank. The good combat commanderdoes not necessarily make a good Pentagon planner. AlexanderHaig and Gen. Colin Alexander Powell displayed highly perfectedsocial and diplomatic skills in discharging the responsibilitiesof their job, but many high ranking officers may not be able todo so.

Skills and Leadership Development

Skills represent the proficiencies, competencies, andexpertise necessary to perform certain tasks. Inasmuch as tasksare differentially complex, skills also exist at different levelsof intricacy. Skills are cumulative in the sense that someskills build upon other skills. A set of simple skills may formthe basis for more complex skills. Complex skills, in turn maycombine and integrate into capstone or supernumerary skills suchas leadership.

This progression of skill acquisition can perhaps be bettervisualized with a detailed example within a generic skill area asdetailed in Figure 3. In the area of verbal skills, for example,the pre-school child, acquires certain basic verbal skills in theform of learning how to talk, how to pronounce certain words, andin some instances, some limited ability to read and write. Inthe course of formal education, the emphasis is on developmentalverbal skills. The basic skills of speech and writing arefurther perfected. The child's vocabulary is expanded, andspelling, enunciation, and speaking expression are all improved.Formal education during college and professional or graduateschool offers the individual the opportunity to acquire even moresophisticated and more specialized verbal skills. The collegestudent gives oral class reports, engages in classroomdiscussions, and unstructured debate. In certain professionallyoriented, upper level higher education, the student gainsexpertise in various kinds of specialized verbal skills.Learning cross-examination techniques in law school, or learningthe principles of homiletics in a religious seminary would beexamples of this.

43

U 0

:3 E. Ec *I

0 re

0 .. j -

e~g.g.

*1 PQIIWFU 0 a o

40

U- _

LL w~

0 0 W -

4) -N S0~tjAmnvo U, .c

W CLso W c>

0 WE-~

2:a a

E 0 gzC

0~E 0.i

WA

-C

U)~

--aj :_: 1 U

fr jj *0u. o

uZ >u~ ~

U V) (j c . OU :

0.6 g~.-j

-

Beyond the context of formal education, and sometimes ascomponent to college or graduate school, individuals may have theopportunity to further refine or perfect some of theirdevelopmental skills. In the area of verbal competencies, for

SI example, some persons make efforts to develop better voicecontrol, to improve their vocabulary significantly, or to effecta more convincing and compelling presentational style. In doingthis they promote what might be termed facilitative or perfectingskills. Such facilitative skills may still be largely

#.e idisconnected or seemingly without focus unless some catalystmechanism in the form of linking proficiency brings themtogether. Such a linking proficiency should be labeled as abridging skill.

A bridging skill is a competency that aids an individual inlinking or connecting disparate skills into a more applicable orproductive "bundle" of skills. An example here might be anindividual who has developed impressive verbal skills in terms ofvocabulary, voice control, and presentational style. The sameindividual, because of some particular educational or

91 occupational experiences, has also developed some keen abilitiesin reasoning, logic, and information organization. Thesedisparate skills or competencies have no compelling linkage orimmediate application. If, however, the individual takes acourse in Public Debate and then subsequently joins a DebatingTeam, he or she will be able to effectively link or "bridge" theverbal competencies and the proficiencies in reasoning and logic.The individual will now acquire debating skills. The debatingskill serves as a catalyst for the other skills and is,therefore, a "bridging" skill. Debating skill is transferrableand very utilitarian. An individual who takes up sales work, forexample, would find skill in debating to be extremely helpful inconvincing a customer to buy a particular product. Bridgingskills then help to make certain competencies and proficienciesmore useable and, therefore, more valuable.

The integration of various facilitative competencies broughtabout by the focusing effect of a bridging skill results in acompound proficiency or skill. In the instance of the verbalarea, the individual comes to possess a compound facility incommunicative expertise. Multiple compound competencies, inturn, provide the foundation for capstone skills such asleadership or professionalism. Leadership is based on compoundskills and, as the Army has so well documented in its variouspublications, is certainly multi-faceted. Because of thecomplexity of competencies such as leadership, it is difficult ifnot impossible to directly develop this ability. Rather, it mustbe nourished and cultivated through the process of skillaccretion and augmentation. In effect, the capstone skill isdeveloped indirectly by facilitating the development offoundation or supporting competencies.

45

r |'

A good illustration of this process might be that of

medicine. A "brilliant" or "outstanding" physician cannot beSreadily developed in a direct fashion. Rather, medical schools

seek to develop in medical students, the strongest possiblefoundation and supporting skills. The assumption here is thatthe medical student who receives very thorough foundation medicaltraining, wila. have the necessary skills to become anoutstanding, if not brilliant physician, if properly motivated,challenged, and given the appropriate context.

In the case of military leadership, the real potential forstrengthening developmental effort, perhaps, lies in the area ofindirect skill cultivation. As articulated in Figure 3, thereare a variety of activities and competencies that contribute toleadership development. These can be 'enerically conceptualizedas leadorship enhancing skills.

Leadership Enhancina Skills

Skills, proficiencies, competencies, or other forms of* process or task wastery usually do not develop singularly, but

often evolve as linked or related sets of capabilities. Learningto operate a sail-boat or even an automobile, or to play certaingames like golf, may involve acquiring multiple skills almostsimultaneously. In other instances, some individuals find thatthey can improve. reinforce, augment, or perfect certain key

O skills or abilities by taking up or acquiring specific supportivecapabilities. Various kinds of athletes - boxers, or football orbasketball players - for example, have found that their skills asan athlete are improved or invigorated by takinq lip otheractivities and acquiring other supportive skilJ including suchunusual proficiencies as ballet dancing. Competition shootersmay take up weight lifting in order to strengthen their arm

I)' muscles thereby improving their shooting skills. Even certainperforming and intellectual skills may well be improved orfacilitated by the acquisition of various supportive skills. Ingeneral, the major or key competencies that can be strengthenedor facilitated by appropriate supportive activities are thefacilitative skills, the bridging skills, and the compound skillsinasmuch as they are not infrequently multi--faceted whenoperationalized. The supportive competencies can beconceptualized as enhancing skills because they help support,augment, or perfect the other categories of skills and, thus,encourage the development of leadership skills. Some enhancingskills are essentially physical and contribute to manualdexterity. Surgeons, for example, sometimes try to acquireproficiency in various forms of sewing techniques that involvecomplex stitching, or competency in fly-tying, all as a means ofenhancing their operating skills for surgery. Some dentists

* acquire lapidary skills because such skills have a certainrelevance for dentistry. Attorneys sometimes become involved inLittle Theater or other kinds of community theater as a means of

46

"IM

perfecting their speaking ability and their dramaturgical skills,both which have enhancing application for their legal performancein the courtroom. It is even claimed that skill in certain formsof athletics, or certain kinds of games likes chess, haverelevance for other types of vocational skills.

Self-develoDment of Leadership Enhancing Skills

10Learning should be structured but not regimented. This isparticularly so with individual learning or self-developmentbecause structure affords guidance, direction, and pace whereasregimentation can erode motivation and impede selectivediscovery. The concept of facilitative skills and bridgingskills as leadership enhancing skills offers some provocativelearning opportunities, and the possibility of regaining momentumin the tasks of cultivating and amplifying both individual andteam leadership on the part of Army Officers and NCO's. Thecreation of a truly productive program that seeks to encouragethe acquisition and/or refinement of capabilities andproficiencies that will facilitate the exercise of leadershipnecessarily proceeds on the basis of certain axiomaticprinciples. These might include:

1. Learning is infinite! There are always new and usefulthings to learn. There is no such thing as total closure orlimits in learning about anything. Learning is an on-going,life long, continuous process.

2. Learning is cumulative and new knowledge or informationmultiplies at an increasing rate. The expansion of personalknowledge extends behavior (mental and physical)capabilities. Any new knowledge expands an individual'shorizon.

1 3. Learning is generalizable. Knowledge or information derivedfrom one area of behavior has application and utility in

other areas. Even seemingly useless knowledge mayultimately help solve a problem.

4. There is no compelling reasons to believe that militaryleadership is qualitatively different from any other form ofinstitutional leadership-political, industrial, orreligious. Some might argue that military leadership isdifferent because the potential for combat is there with thethreat of death or injury, and that military leadershipnecessarily involves or requires some unique set ofqualities or traits because of this. Many occupationalspecialties, however, may involve danger or the possibilityof death or injury. Such occupations might include lawenforcement, firefighting, or even high steel ironworking asdiscussed earlier. People in these lines of work aresuccessfully socialized to accommodate fear and danger

47

IL

effectively as a component element of the job. As in themilitary, leadership in such occupations involves motivatingsubordinates to carry out their assigned tasks in spite offear and anxiety.

Leadership, like professionalism or diplomacy, is a capstoneskill, a nexus of various competencies and proficiencies that isexercised in the form of a particular behavior mode andresponsive capability, characterized by a patterned dramaturgicalposture and interactive repertoire. As discussed earlier, theeffective exercise of leadership may be encouraged andembellished through the acquisition and use of various bridgingand facilitative skills, collectively known as leadershipenhancing skills.

There is no exhaustive list of leadership enhancing skills.The inventory of such skills tends to change with the militarymission and the concomitant variation in leadership moderequired. In that sense, the list is always under revisionalthough there is some consensus on certain skills. In a recentposition paper, one behavioral scientist (Siebold, 8 April,1993:14) suggested three categories of skills/competencies thatpromote or facilitate the exercise of leadership. While notexplicitly labeling such skills as leadership enhancing skills,it is clear that he perceived these as having that function. Theskill categories suggested included specialized technical skills(computer literacy or foreign language proficiency), personalgeneric skills (planning skills, creative and innovative skills,or metacognition), and interpersonal and unit skills(teaching/counseling skills, team development skills, or systemmanagement skills). Such skills would appear to be utilitarianand would certainly qualify as leadership enhancing skills. Therange of possible leadership enhancing skills is much moreextensive and merits an expanded typology. Such a typologyappears in Table 1.

Inasmuch as capstone skills such as leadership,professionalism, or diplomacy are the end product of a long,complex, and cumulative competency accretion process, it isdifficult, if not impossible, to effectively develop such skillsdirectly. Rather, it may be more productive to approachleadership development indirectly by encouraging the acquisitionand/or perfection of leadership enhancing skills which, in turn,nourish and promote the middle segments of the largerdevelopmental process. The problem then would appear to be theneed to provide opportunities for officers and NCO's to acquireleadership enhancing skills. As these skills aid instrengthening other competencies, the individuals must come tounderstand better how to bring various competencies to bear onspecific types of problems and challenges. In effect, peoplemust learn how to use their skills in the most effective wav.

48

Table 1.Typology of Leadership Enhancement Skills

Enhancement Skill Example of Functions ofCategories Enhancement Enhancement

Skills Skills

Introspective Skilsin logic Clarifying(self examination) reasoning, ethical thought processes,

judgement defining problemsaiding decisionmaking

Specialized Computer TechnicalTechnical literacy, competencies

foreign language expedite andproficiency facilitate

leadershiprole

Interactive Various types Aids inof communication transferringskills information,

conveyingintent, givingorders

Supervisory Various types Helps in(direct management) of interpersonal motivating andskills, emotion directingcontrol subordinates,

counseling,maintainingdiscipline

* Coordinate Various type FacilitatesS(indirect management) of business and organizing and

organizational directingskills people and

resources,managing,organizationalprocesses

Planning Various types Aids inof creative and developinginnovative tactics, strategy,skills, skills and doctrine.in metacognition

49

The initiative of attempting to cultivate leadershipenhancing skills in officers and NCO's is not intended to replaceexisting efforts toward leadership development. Rather itspurpose will be to supplement and support the existing programsof leadership self-development. It will offer opportunities toacquire new competencies and proficiencies that will, in turn,aid individuals in operationalizing their leadership potential.

The 'rM*A*P*L*E*S"1 ADDroach to Leadership DeveloDment

Cultivating leadership enhancing skills will be accomplishedby the establishment of a structured, self motivating ,competence delivery system. This program, to be labeled"M*A*P*L*E*S" (Mastery and Proficiency of Leadership EnhancingSkills), assembles a varied array of learning opportunities andsituations, and presents them to the individual. These learningopportunities and situations are, by design, diverse both interms of structure and content. Some are highly formalized andthe individual is essentially a passive student. Others involvea strong self initiative. The relevance of some of theselearning situations is quite obvious while in others the linkagewith leadership development is somewhat more indirect. Some ofthe activities to be mastered are intended, among other things,as confidence building exercises and broadening experiences,which will obliquely contribute to leadership potential.

The system is unique for several reasons. It addressesleadership self-development indirectly by promoting leadershipenhancing skills. Also, it relies on a highly varied array ofactivities to be mastered in way of acquiring these leadershipenhancing skills. Finally, rather than "packaging" particularsets of activities into rigidly structured learning units, theactivities are offered in a completely open or unstructuredfashion, thus, permitting the individual to pick and choose as heor she is attracted to a given activity or situation. This arrayof learning opportunities and situations constitutes a"cafeteria" or "menu" offering. Inasmuch as the Army, in effect,will be responsible for the original set of offerings, theinitial "menu" will be proactive. The actual selection oflearning challenges will represent a reactive "menu." Theoffering may, accordingly, have to be modified from time to timedepending on the popularity or lack of popularity of specificlearning opportunities, and also on the effectiveness, or lack ofit, of various opportunities in terms of enhancing leadershippotential.

Although the program is essentially a compilation of manydiverse activities that, when mastered, will represent leadershipenhancing competencies, in order to build self-motivation intothe system, some element of symbolic accomplishment will need tobe provided for mastering the different skills. Ideally, thereshould also be a competitive dimension to the system and, in that

50

-!

sense, it could be structured as a game. As a "game,"M*A*P*L*E*S offers two types of competition. One type would beself-competition with the individual seeking to meet certainstandards in mastering various activities and requirementsoffered in the menu. The mastery of some activities willmotivate the individual to push on and attempt to master otherskills, much as the hobbyist seeks to continually obtain newcollectibles, or to attain new levels or forms ofaccomplishments. The second variety of competition isinterpersonal. The very nature of "M*A*P*L*E*S" tends to lenditself to good natured status rivalry in terms of an individualattempting to master more activities than his or her friends(e.g. the better golf score, the bigger fish, or more culinaryfame as a patio barbecue cook for parties).

In order to provide a competitive element of the secondvariety, some form of symbolic achievement would need to beattached to the mastery of particular activities. Because theactivities are quite varied in difficulty, there would have to bevariable symbolic values for each, perhaps a given number ofpoints. The various learning opportunities and situationsoffered in connection with a particular leadership enhancementskill would carry differen-tial numerical point values, dependingon the amount of time, effort, and initiative that the individualmight have to expend to master the skill, and also based on thedifficulty of the leadership challenge.

The presumed mastery of a given leadership enhancing skillmight be set at a particular numerical point level. This, inturn, could be attained by pursuing a set of attendant learningopportunities thereby earning a total of points equal to thetotal determined to represent mastery of a skill. The mastery ofthe skill might be symbolically recognized by the award of asmall cloisonne or enameled disc. The award disc could beattached to a wall plaque. The plaque could be given when anindividual "enrolls" in a M*A*P*L*E*S Program. The accumulationof points would have benefits beyond symbolic value. It would beone measure of effort and accomplishment that might be taken intoaccount on annual efficiency reports. It might also be thatindividuals who accumulated a large number of points could beL reward&-' in some real fashion. Possibly, individuals who havebeen very active in the program could be appropriately recognizedat suitable unit banquets or social affairs. Rewards of a "real"nature would be dependant on the ingenuity of unit commanders,but, certainly, there are numerous possibilities that could beexplored.

The specific form of symbolic value structure applied to thesystem as discussed above is simply an illustration and is notnecessarily a suggested arrangement! The exact form of symbolicvalue structure to be used with M*A*P*L*E*S should be left to thediscretion and imagination of the Commander or senior leader

51

employing the M*A*P*L*E*S system as an additional mechanism ofleadership self-development. This would be a test of their ownleadership potential. There are innumerable ways in which thesystem could be used. It represents a framework and the seniorleaders may wish to use it in different ways or to embellish itas they see fit.

This program bears a strong superficial resemblance to theMerit Badge Program of the Boy Scouts in its structure, but thelearnZing opportunities and situations are considerably morasophisticated. This competence delivery system will be self-motivated and the motivation will be sufficiently enthusiastic soas to provide appropriate momentum to an individual's self-development agenda. The enthusiasm will derive from variousfeatures of the system:

(a.) The system is structured essentially as a game, iscompetitive, and should, therefore, be "fun."

(b.) The various learning opportunities and situations areselected for inclusion in the program because they arerelatively demanding and will be perceived as "challenging."

(c.) Many of the opportunities are unusual, if not arcane, andthe novelty would serve to make them attractive, if notcompelling.

(d.) Because there is a kind of "practicality" to many of thelearning opportunities, they may well have a kind of naturalappeal for Army personnel, who would seem to have a inherentaffinity for useful competencies.

(e.) Ther2 is a group or interactive dimension to many of thelearning opportunities and this may serve as a motivation inand of itself.

These advantages can, perhaps, be better visualized byconsidering one particularly critical compound skill that is verymuch a constituent element in leadership behavior and examining afew examples of learning opportunities and situations that mightbe offered through the M*A*P*L*E*S Program.

verbal CommunicationEven a cursory examination of history will serve to

illustrate the fact that many great leaders were also skilledcommunicators. In the past, many individuals, William JenningsBryan, Clarence Darrow, and Winston Churchill, to mention a few,attained great prominence in their respective fields partially

Ui because of their oratorical skills. More recently, it should berecalled that Ronald Reagan, often called the "greatcommunicator," was quite successful in getting things

52

L-- _,_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

accomplished while President. Oratorical and other types ofverbal communication skills have proved to be extremelyfunctional for all sorts of people in different vocationalcircumstances.

Throughout history, verbal communication skills have beenemployed by religious leaders to great success. Earlier in thecentury, the famous evangelist, Billy Sunday, an ex-hard-drinking, ex-baseball player who was converted and became apreacher for the Y.M.C.A., had great speaking skills. It wassaid that his sermons "were as entertaining as a circus"(Carnegie, 1937:133-136). During his career, at one time oranother, 80 million people came to hear him and it is allegedthat more than 1,000,000 individuals were "saved" because of him.More recently, of course, Billy Graham has preached to millionsofAmericans to great effect. There are hundreds of other famous orinfamous ministers, televangelists, and cult leaders who exertgreat influence (and sometimes power) through their verbalcommunication skills. Preaching skills, like most skills, can becultivated. Teaching preaching skills is called homiletics andthis subject is taught at some colleges.

People in sales work, at all levels, benefit from effectiveverbal skills. This is true whether it is a 12-year-old femaleselling Girl Scout cookies door-to-door, or a national salesrepresentative for a Fortune 500 corporation closing a$10,000,000 sale. Politicians and statesmen are often wellserved by their verbal communication skills. Sometimes theopposite can be just as true. President Woodrow Wilson was knownas being a brilliant intellectual, but he failed at many things.He was an attorney, but he never conducted a case by himself. Hetried to teach himself public speaking, but was unsuccessful. Helacked tact, and according to some critics, "never learned tohandle people" (Carnegie, 1937:143-146). He failed to persuadethe U.S. Senate to accept the League of Nations, and he died abroken man. His difficulties appear to have derived from twoprincipal sources, he did not possess effective interpersonalskills or effective verbal communication skills.

Successful comedians depend heavily oa properly timed,[ clearly articulated verbal delivery. Actors and actresses must

be able to communicate verbally eaotion• and-- meaningU i .... 1.Ldialogue. Physicians rely heavily on verbal communication skillsto elicit appropriate information from their patients, to be ableto correctly transmit diagnostic information, to effect proper"bedside manner," and to be able to reassure patients and

instruct them accurately concerning their prescribed medicalregimen. Even law enforcement officers need effective verbalcommunication skills for such purposes as interrogating suspects,questioning witnesses, and using a commanding and forceful voicein giving orders and directives to individuals in the course of

A their work.

53

rVerbal Skille Via M*A*P*L*E*S

The following "menu" of learning situations and contextsoffer some engaging opportunities for learning new verbalcommunication skills. Today, there is an effort to helpindividuals to develop highly specialized verbal skills of manyvarieties. Here in the Washington, D.C., area, for example, oneuniversity offers either credit courses, or short workshops onthe following specialized kinds of verbal communication:

Parliamentary ProcedureNegotiationsCollective BargainingMedia ConferencesPublic SpeakingArgumentation and DebateVoice and DictionInterviewing PanelPresentationsEffective ParticipationBusiness and Professional SpeakingPerformance Group DiscussionTheaterVoice for the TheaterStage DialecticsSpeech CommunicationSight and SoundSmall Group CommunicationForensic Practice

There may well be a number of other verbal communicationrelated courses and/or short workshops to be found in the

N offerings of this university.

There are, of course, numerous other specialized forms ofverbal communication such as interviewing, cross examination,story telling and interrogation to mention a few. All requirespecial and unique skills. Presumably, an Army Officer at onetime or another might have occasion to need a number of differentverbal communication forms.

"%--_" 1 all ^2 th-ese courses orsimlrcore a ,&IASI %J.5 "....L.L. i.r~ .LJ. .J Lu..l.ar co.urses at. otherL

universities) might well be incorporated into the M*A*P*L*E*Sprogram. If elements of the M*A*P*L*E*S "menu" involvednumerical points, then each course or sets of course might earn aprespecified number of points.

M*A*P*L*E*S, however, should ideally rely more heavily onnon-college activities as opposed to formal courses or workshops.As illustrations, a few possible activities are listed simply toconvey the notion intended (including points):

54

1. Verbal Skills in Religious Style (verbal communication ofthis variety tries to create mood, and influences theemotions of the listeners)

(a) Take a college course in homiletics (50 points).

(b) Attend at least 10 services conducted for different

religious faiths or denominations, and/or differentsocio-economic levels. Keep notes on differentialspeaking styles (50 points).

(c) Seek permission from your minister, priest, or rabbi(or any minister, priest, or rabbi of any place ofworship) to give a guest sermon in your church orsynagogue (50 points).

(d) Attend at least 10 funerals at different churches andfuneral homes and keep notes of speaking style ineulogies (25 points).

2. The Verbal Transmission of Information (This type of verbalcommunication seeks to convey facts and information. Itseeks to convince the listener).

(a) Take a college course in public speaking (50 points).

(b) Take a non-credit course in public speaking from acommercial center or clinic (25 points).

(c) Join the Toastmasters International Club andparticipate for one year, including giving a minimum oftwo banquet speeches (50 points).

(d) Attend an auctioneeri• g school (100 points).

(e) Learn Square Dance Calling (short course, from a tutor,etc.,) and call at least five square dances (25points).

(f) Volunteer at your officers' club (or NCO club) orchurch to call the Bingo game on Bingo night (if infact there is one). Call Bingo on five differentnights (25 points),

These are only samples. Ideally the list for each compoundskill should be expanded to 50-60 activities.

The Implementation of M*A*P*L*E*S

Other possible activities that might be included in a MAPLESprogram in another skill category area might range fromparticipation in a civil War reenactment program to serving as a

55

6W

- I -

ýi Leader of a Boy Scout Troop, and from taking a major theatricalpart in a community Little Theater production to taking severaldays of leave time, traveling to Southern Pennsylvania andvolunteering to be part of a Amish barn raising effort (awonderful opportunity to observe the social dynamics of exemplaryteamwork and leadership). It might we' 1 be productive to use thepeople who would participate in a M*A*P*L*E*S program as thesource of learning activities and situations. Committees couldcompete in developing menus of opportunities. This would be anexcellent exercise in creativity and planning itself.

Leadership as Product of Developing Leadership in Others

As mentioned earlier in the discussion, the Army charges itsleaders with the responsibilities of assisting subordinates withtheir own leadership development, both formal, through schoolsand mentored on-the-job training, and informal, through theencouragement of self-education efforts. In connection with on-the-job training, commanding officers should develop in-unitprograms for leadership development in subordinates.Concomitantly, the leader should strive to develop leadershipteams because Army doctrine now stresses the importance ofcollective leadership in mainlining continuity and momentum ofunit mission and effort in combat.

There is a certain amount of overlap among theseresponsibilities and the creation of innovative and compellingtraining programs for developing team leadership will oftenresult in significant improvement in the leadership skills ofsubordinates. There is a certain amount of residual benefit forall personnel involved in the training, including buildinginitiative, confidence, and self-motivation even in the lowestranking members of the unit. Furthermore, the senior leader alsoshould benefit significantly in terms of his or her ownleadership potential. A well designed and innovative trainingexercise that invites enthusiasm and energetic participation onthe part of subordinates promotes teamwork, group cohesion, andunit effectiveness among members of the unit, and also encouragesself-initiative and spontaneity. The ability to improvisc among"subordinate leaders is bound to challenge the imagination of thecommanders, and will enhance leadership skills as the exercise is"perfected and implemented. The only limits are those imposed bythe creative potential of the senior leader.

As a means of illustrating simple and easy to implementtraining exercises that generate unit teamwork and/orspontaneity, problem solving capability, and leadership, twoexamples of possible exercises are described. Keeping in mindcurrent economic constraints and the attendant need to be costeffective, these training exercises involve only modest cost todevelop. The consideration of expediency and ease of

.1 56

OI

implementation have also been taken into account in the

proposals.

Specific Recommendations for Leadership Development Proarams

The first proposal, the C*O*M*P*E*T*E program, is a nearly"seamless" mechanism for promoting group cohesion and teamwork,that engenders a wide variety of leadership enhancing skills asresidual products. It would be very inexpensive to implement andhas potential for generating ideas for other group activitiesthat could be included in the program.

The second proposal, the C*R*I*S*I*S program is designed asa simple, theatrical "game" training exercise that promotes quickproblem assessment, spontaneity, introspection, initiative, andlogical thinking. It should encourage the development ofleadership enhancing skills, and is an ideal exercise for a smallgroup of NCO's or junior officers.

RPrcosal for a Program to Promote and Facilitate Teamwork

Few processes are of more critical importance to theaccomplishment of military missions than that of teamwork.Teamwork is important at all levels of organization ranging fromthat required to operate a crew served weapon to the necessityfor inter-unit coordination in carrying out combat operations.Unit teamwork is the very foundation of military organizationaldynamics and the degree of teamwork that can be achieved is oftendirectly reflected in the efficiency with which a military unitcarries out its mission. Teamwork does more than promoteorganizational efficiency, however. It also tends to promoteproficiency, confidence, and morale on the part of theindividuals who make up the group or the unit. Teamwork promotesfamiliarity with operating procedures, reinforces discipline, andcontributes to unit cohesion. Unit teamwork also encourages andfacilitates the cultivation of leadership among subordinateswhich, in turn, aids significantly in the development ofleadership teams.

Teamwork has traditionally been fostered through thepractice of group training exercises which were repeated manytimes until all activities were quite routine, and the groups hadacquired an intimate familiarity with all aspects of the task,and also achieved a high degree of efficiency in performing it.Unit cohesion was presumed to be a residence product.

I ISuch a mechanism for building teamwork is not without

dysfunction, however. The redundancy of repeating some technicalor tactical exercise over and over can easily inure members ofthe unit to the exercise and its goal. This type of practicepromotes a kind of mechanical facility with the task rather thanencouraging an extemporaneous capability in the unit's personnel.

57

The redundancy of a rote tactical exercise does not inspirecreativity nor significantly advance versatility. No skillsbeyond the principal nexus of tasks involved in the exercise arecultivated, and initiative is more stifled than nourished.Military unit teamwork is not necessarily only nurtured by havingthe unit participate in military exercises or activities.Indeed, unit participation in group activities totally divorcedfrom the military may well be more productive in some instancesin that the potential for individual growth and group emendationmay be greater. The major criterion in selecting a mechanism topromote teamwork should be the question of how effective is themechanism in terms of results, the cultivation of residualskills, and individual motivation. The proposed mechanism is anon-military exercise that would appear to handily meet thelisted criteria.

The C*O*M*P*E*T*E Program

C*O*M*P*E*T*E (Collective Opportunities to Motivate andPerfect Enlisted Teamwork Effort) is an intrinsically motivatinggroup activity that serves as a cohesion building, teamworkintensive, leadership enhancing, multi-skill, learning system.The COMPETE Program utilizes the general structures of certainconventional group activities from civilian culture, with certainmodifications, as a vehicle for encouraging military unitteamwork and amplifying leadership skill. A wide variety ofgroup activities requiring concerted group effort are included,ranging from construction projects to entertainment presentationsto community enterprises. For purpose of illustration, theemployment of a theatrical production will be discussed. (Again,the theatrical production is only one of a group of collaborativeactivities.)

The theatrical production is an almost ideal group activityfor practicing and enhancing teamwork, and for promotingleadership skills. Among the strengths and advantages of such atraining mechanism are:

1. A theater production can accommodate almost any numberparticipants. (Plays can range from one man shows toi epic presentations involving literally hundreds ofIndividuals.)

2. Theater productions are generally quite complex intheir execution and, accordingly, can be an extremelychallenging exercise for unit personnel.

3. The skill requirements for participation areinordinately variable spanning jobs as cimple as stagehand, as creative as set designer, and a: manageriallydemanding as production director.

58

2

4. Most theatrical production have numerous "middlemanagement" supervisory positione such as stagemanager, lighting director, assistant director, casting

; director, etc,, and, thus, there is an ample number ofleadership statuses.

5. Participants in theatrical productions generally findthe effort to be extremely challenging, but alsoextraordinarily rewarding. Persons involved in thetheater are usually very highly motivated.

6. Because of the critical emphases on timing andillusion, theatrical production requires maximumteamwork, coordination, and articulated precision onthe one hand, and tolerates minimal errors, mistakes,and inferior effort on the other. This is especiallythe case among the supervisory group.L

7. Involvement in theater productions encourages andstrengthens verbal skills and dramaturgical skills, notonly among those individuals with acting parts, butalso among those in support positions inasmuch as theyare intimate observers.

rI

8. Theatrical productions are prone to crises andemergencies (including, sometimes near disasters),which in turn calls for spontaneity, initiative,ingenuity, creativity, and quick thinking and decisionmaking).

9. Because of the creative nature of the theatrical"product" there is frequently great pride in asuccessful production, on the part of all participants.Such pride prona ,tes bonding, unit cohesion, selfconfidence, and confidence in the group. This may beespecially the case if different units are competingwith their theatrical productions.

i0. Participation in a theatrical production is often a10 very intense experience and individuals who areinvolved find that the experience has a very catharticquality and, in many instances, feel very close to theother participants.

Beyond the more obvious advantages there are also severalresidual benefits. These include:

1i. A theatrical production involves all kinds of skillsand also incorporate a variety of knowledge either inthe content of the play of ini the production process or

both. Participants not infrequently acquire some of

59

the skills and knowledgs in a kind of serendipitousfashion.

2. Most plays, by Isign, have some moral, ethical, orphilosophical element or issue and the participantstend to learn something from the play regarding suchissues or dilemmas.

3. Participation in a theatrical production in anycapacity, not infrequently piques the curiosity ofthose involved and motivates them to seek to satisfythat curiosity. In some instances, the individuals

involved received inspiration from their participationand thic inspiration induced them to take on greaterchallenges in other contexts.

To involve periodically a military unit in a C*O*MHP*E*T*Eactivity provides them with the opportunity to take on a groupchallenge and work together in a highly concerted and coordinatedfashion, often with enthusiastic motivation. All of the membersof the unit hive their teamwork skills improved and may acquiretotally new Lkills or strengthen old skills. Those individualsin supervisory positions can exercise their leadership skills andsee the results in a very visible fashion. M7L..y otherindividuals with no supervisory responsibilities may have achance to demonstrate initiative, crcativity, and versatilityand, by extension, develop leadership skills.

The selection of a theatrical production as one of thevehicles used in C*O*M*P*E*T*E should not be viewed as simplyputting on a play! The training exercise will be structured in afar more co.4plex and challenging fashion. By design, the playwill incorporate a wide variety of last minute changes anddifferent scenarios for certain scenes and actions. Throughmanipulative efforts, crises and emergencies will be artificiallyintroduced into the production process, requiring spur-of-the-moment decisions on the part of different managerial persons.Individuals, and especially supervisory persons, will bereassigned to other responsibilities on a last minute or rushbasis. Problems will have to be solved in a spontaneous manner.All of this will significantly elevate the experience to muchmore of a leadership challenge and should encourage versatility,initiative, and ingenuity.

There will be critics who say that civilian theater haslittle relevance to military training. This complaint can beaddressed by the simple expedient of using plays with a militarycontent or context such as The Cage, The Caine Mutiny CourtMarshall, The Trial of Captain Wirtz, or The Court Martial ofBilly Mitchell. As mentioned earlier, many plays, and certainly

* ithe "military" plays mentioned here have strong moral, ethical,or philosophical elements or controversy imbedded in them. This

60

,A

provides an excellent foil for a serious examination of ethicalissues as mandated by Army Doctrine. In FM 22-100, it isemphasized that, "The ethical development of self andsubordinates is a key component of leader development" (p.vii).

Involvement in theatrical productions is certainly not aliento the Army. In an issue of Pentagram (DeGregory, June 11, 1993:22-23) earlier in the summer, there was an account ofpreparations for the Annual Production of the Spirit of Americaat the Capital Center ("the annual patriotic telling of the

Army's history") using an Army cast and production crew. In amore recent issue of Pentagram (Ealons, August 20, 1993: 5) thereis a article about preparation for the summer's production of2wilight Tattoo, which inc'3rporates some dramatic sequences intothe marching drill and musical presentations.

Finally, it should be noted that after a theatrical

might be performed for soma worthy community group such as

nursing home residents or disadvantaged youth, thereby,| accomplishing a public relations goal.

To implement the C*O*M*P*E*T*E program, it would benecessary to identify and appropriately modify various groupactivities such as theatrical productions, for use as teamworktraining exercises. This could be done at very moderate cost ona small contract basis. Then designated officers in large unitsor at a base level could attend a short workshop and receive anorientation to the Program and instructions on itsimplementation.

C*R*I*S*I*S: A Quick Assessment and Decision-making Game

The exercise of leadership often calls for quick decisions.Such decisions should be well-reasoned, if not well-informed.When confronting a crisis or emergency, the leader must rapidly,sometimes almost instantaneously, assess the situation, evaluatewhatever information is available, develop an inventory ofoptional responses or actions, and make a decision based on whatis perceived to be the most effective option in terms ofachieving a satisfactory outcome. Successfully mastering thisprocess is a competence that must be cultivated, often over along period of time, based on experience, practice, and insightskills.

Practice, even based on simulation, can be helpful to theindividual, in terms of perfecting assessment and decision makingskills. C*R*I*S*I*S (Critical Reaction Indicating SuitableIntervention Scenario) is a simulation game that provides suchpractice. It has the further benefit of affording immediatecritical feedback, and generating alternate situationalassessments and decisions for comparison and analysis. Ingenerating alternate reactions and responses, this exercise

61

compellingly makes the point that, in response to a crisissituation, there is often no absolutely correct solution orresponse. There may be multiple responses that would beappropriate and various responses that could well be valid andeffective. It is desirable to be aware of differentialperspectives of a critical or emergency situation and to be ableto examine different approaches to confronting the problem.

The mechanics of C*R*I*S*I*S are relatively simple. A stageor small auditorium is the most preferred setting, but a largeroom, empty at one end and with audience chairs or seating at theother end is quite satisfactory. An alternative arrangementwould be to have the seating surround an open area serving as astage, a kind of miniature in the round. The game is essentiallya small cast sociodrama. If necessary, it could operate withonly one actor - the subject, provided remote loud-speakerequipment is available. A lighting layout that provides for anoverhead spotlight over the action, and a darkened stage outsidethe spotlight with a darkened audience area is particularlydesirable.

Ihe Dynamics of C*R*I*S*I*S

The individuals involved in the exercise rotate as thesubject "actor." There is a bed in the middle of the stage witha telephone on a night table beside it. The subject simulatesgoing to bed. The entire room is darkened. After an interval,the telephone rings several times and then the subject answersit. The spotlight illuminates the immediate area around the bed,while the rest of the stage, and the audience area remainsdarkened.

The subject sitting up in bed listens on the telephone. Theremote loud-speaker permits the audience the hear what thetelephone caller is saying. The message communicated by thecaller always revolves around a danger or threat, or someimminent emergency situation. The subject listener has only a

short time period (60 seconds) to develop an appropriate responseor plan of action. There is a large inventory of crisis messagesand the caller !lects one randomly. A typical message might beAsomething like:

Hello, Bill! This is your neighbor BruceJones. I got out of bed to get a glass ofwater and when I looked out the window I sawbright lights in your son's upstairs bedroom.It looks like flames. I think that there isa fire in that room. You had better dosomething, and quick!

The subject now must quickly assess the situation and arrive at aplan of action. He has various options. He can call 911 andthen go upstairs to investigate personally. He can yell out foreveryone in the house to wake up and get out quickly because of

62

loan

fire. He can rush upstairs to see for himself if, in fact, thereis actually a fire. He can quickly grasp a blanket from his bed,go into his bathroom and wet the blanket in the shower, and thengo up to fight the fire. He can run outside and look up at thebedroom window to see if flames are visible, and not necessarilyhave to wale up his son upstairs if there are no flames. Thereare also other possible scenarios from which the subject maychoose a solution. He makes his decision and announces hisintended plan. The theatrical part of the exercise unit is nowover. The audience lights go on and every member (or apredetermined number) gives a critique of the decision and, ifthey disagree with the plan of action, tell what they would doand give reasons why!

The subject can repeat the exercise with different telephonecrisis messages. If desired, actors other than the subject mightbe integrated into the plot to make the crisis more complex andmore challenging. If desired all of the emergencies or crisescan be of a military variety. Each subject reacts to apredetermined number of crises (10-15, perhaps), and then someoneelse takes their place.

While this crisis simulation mechanism is quite simple itserves a number of purposes including:

1. Individuals are put into a situation where they areconfronted with a surprise simulated crisis, and haveonly a brief interval to develop an appropriatereaction. Thus, the individual learns to thinkquickly.

2. The surprise simulated crises are of such a nature thatthere is not one particular indicated response, butmany valid reaction plans. The individual must,

accordingly, mentally review various options, consider4 advantages and disadvantages and make a decision.

A 3. Once a decision is made the individual must thenconfront critique and criticism, and if thepreponderance of sentiment among the members of theaudience indicates an alternative decision, then thesubject must defend his or her decision and rebut thealternatives.

4. In confronting various alternative response to thecrisis situations, the individuals become increasinglyaware that any crisis alls for a careful (but prompt)examination and appraisal of all possible responses andthe consequences of proceeding with one as opposed tothe other. They come to understand that no option iswithout disadvantage or advantage. LeadershipL•! necessarily involves picking and choosing.

I" 63

While subordinate commanders should be encouraged to designtheir own leadership development training exercises, it ispossible to provide some structure and direction to such efforts.A senior commander might challenge his or her subordinatecommanders to create models of leadership promoting exercises orprograms, and then have the various models or exercises evaluatedby a group of judges. The exercises deemed to be mostpotentially effective could be included in an anthology orhandbook of leadership development training exercises which couldbe used by the entire larger unit. The competitive nature ofthis enterprise should motivate the subordinate commanders to tryand produce the best possible training exercises in the hopesthat their entry would be accepted for inclusion in theanthology. The fact that all of the exercises contained in theanthology would be the product of members of the larger unitshould promote unit pride and identification, and this would be amotivational factor fo7 those who participate in the trainingexercises.

Summary

The impact of on.-going technological and social change onthe Army today is making the process of leadership developmentmore imperative. In this regard, some new directions inaugmentation efforts might make the self-development pillar ofthe program more effective.

A basic problem in leadership development mau be due to thefact that the concept of leadership has never been well defined.If leadership could be operationally defined as a social role,then it would be possible to conceptualize practical means ofattempting to inculcate this behavioral potential in others.Inasmuch an the optimal goal in role behavior is effectiveness,such a conceptualization lends itself to attainable outcomes andevaluative measurement.

Conceptualizing leadership as a social role means that itmust be viewed as conventional behavior, as the mastery ofcomplex tasks frequently using others to accomplish these tasks,as a complex skill often operating at an everyday level of taskaccomplished involving interpersonal interaction, and as acomplex competence that can be effectively inculcated intoindividuals.

Because statuses, with their attendant social roles, areoften linked to various other statuses and social roles in areciprocal fashion, the resulting potential model of interactionor role set is a very utilitarian mechanism for Iearning theexpectation concerning a given job or position. It is alsohelpful in sensitizing individuals to the import of linkages withothers in the work unit. Status and social roles are conceptsthat facilitate learning the parameters of a job, and

64

runderstanding the tasks that are essential for accomplishing it.The social role is an effective socialization mechanism, and evenemotional control can be learned using it. In socializing asindividual using social role, role compliance at the informallevel who occurs.

Effective role playing depends on acquiring the necessaryskills and competencies to meet the expectations that areconstituent to the role. In the case of the leadership role, itmay be difficult to learn the necessary skills directly, but itis quite possible to learn the intermediate supporting skillsthat enhance the ability to play the supernumerary leadershiprole. In this regard, skills have a cumulative character in thatsome skills build on other skills. A set of simple skills mayform the basis for more complex skills. Complex skills, in turnmay combine and integrate into capstone or supernumerary skillssuch as leadership.

Leadership enhancing skills then become criticalcompetencies in playing a leadership role. Such skills can beacquired through self-development efforts. To expedite andfacilitate such an enterprise, the establishment of a structured,self-motivating, competence delivery system labeled M*A*P*L*E*Swas described in detail. The operation of the system wasillustrated by describing how it might help in developing complexverbal communication skills that would aid in effectiveleadership role playing. Finally, it was pointed out thatleadership self-development can also be promoted through theprocess of creating in-unit programs for leadership developmentin subordinates. Two such teamwork enhancing and leadershippromoting training exercises, labeled C*O*M*P*E*T*E*, andC*R*I*S*I*S were described in detail and their utilityarticulated.

Conclusions

Self-education is a highly utilitarian means of maintainingvarious competencies, staying abreast of the expansion ofknowledge in a given field, and pursuing new directions ofintellectual inquiry. Professionals in many fields rely on self-education as a mechanism to "keep up" with advances in theirdiscipline or specialty area. There are limits, however, on whatcan be accomplished in this matter in terms of the acquisition ofnew information and knowledge. There are some augmentationmeasures that can be initiated that could facilitate and enhanceself-development. Such measures are necessarily modest, but ifproperly implemented they can produce impressive results. Anumber of such measures have been proposed and detailed in thisreport. Most of the suggested initiatives are not particularlyexpensive and should be quite cost effective. Their adoptionP might well engender yet other new approaches to making self-

development more effective and the process could gain new

65

momaentum. Even accretionary efforts can often yield asurprisingly beneficial ou~.tcom~e.

"P-1

vý 66

[ -, °

REFERENCES

Alexander, T. (1993). 'Ambitious little romancer'- or visionarygenius? Smithsonian, 24, 102-115.

IBase, B. (1990). Bass & StnQdill's handbook of leadership:Thgory. research. and managerial applications (3rd ed.).New York: The Free Press.

* Blake, J. A., & Butler, S. (1976). The medal of honor, combatorientations and latent role structure in the United States

I military. The SocioloQical Quarterly, 17, 561-567.

'I Blake, J. A. (1973). The congressional medal of honor in threewars. Pacific Sociolocgical Review, 16, 166-176.

Carnegie, D. (1937). Five minute biographies. New York:Greenberg Publisher.

Cohen, E., & Gooch, J. (1990). Military misfortunes: Theanatomy of failure in war. New York: The Free Press.

DeGregory, J. B. (1993). "'Spirit' is hard work, preparation,too!" Pentagram, (Friday, June 11), 22-23.

Department of the Army. (1990, July). Military leadership.Field Manual (FM 22-100). Washington, DC.

Ealons, Pvt. 2 C. A. (1993). "Twilight tattoo draws talent fromMDW-area installations: Pageant gives soldiers shot atacting," Pentagram, (August 20, 1993), 5.

Essame, H. (1974). Patton: A study in command. New York:Scribner.

Gabriel, R. A. (1986). Military incompetence: Why the Americanmilitary doesn't win. New York: Faryar, Straus, andGiroux.

Gilbreth, Jr., F. B., & Gilbreth, C. E. (1948). Cheaper by thedozen. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company.

l Haas, J. (1977). Learning real feelings: A study of high steelironworkers' reactions to fear and danger. Sociology ofWork and Occupations, 4, 147-170.

Hart, B. H. L. (1967). Strategy (2nd ed ). New York: Praeger.

.1 Keegan, J. (1987). The mask of command. London, England:Jonathan Cape, Ltd.

67

• -!

Kennedy, J. F. (1983). Profiles in courage. New York: HarperCollins.

Korotkin, A. L., Mumford, M. D., Yarkin-Levin, K., Wallis, M. R.,and Fleishman, E. A. (1984). Taxonomic efforts in thedescription of leadership behavior: A general approach(Final Report, vol. 4). Bethesda, MD: Advanced ResearchResources Organization.

Lea, H. (1909). The valor of ignorance. New York: Harper.

Lea, H. (1912). The day of the Saxon. New York: Harper.

Mintzberg, H. (1973). The nature of managerial work. New York.

Perlmutter, A. (1978, September). Military incompetence andfailure: A historical comparative and analyticalevaluation. Journal of Strateqic Studies, 1:2.

Porter, E. H. (1962, May-June). The parable of the spindle.Harvard Business Review, XL, 58-66.

Siebold, G. L. (1993). Plan for a program on leadership (Draft),Unpublished Position Paper (April 8). Alexandria, VA:U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and SocialSciences.

Summers, Jr., H. G. (1982). On strategy: A critical analysis ofthe Vietnam war. Novato, CA: Presidio Press.

6.1

68

Siz '-r."_