PREPARING STRATEGIC LEADERS AT THE U.S....

PREPARING STRATEGIC LEADERS

AT THE U.S. ARMY WAR COLLEGE

CDR Traci Keegan Department of Command, Leadership, and Management

GUIDING PRINCIPLE

by intelligent and adequate preparation to repel aggression...

To study and confer on the great problems of national

defense, military science, and responsible command”

“Not to promote war but to preserve peace

Elihu Root, 1903

UNITED STATES ARMY WAR COLLEGE

USAWC MISSION UNITED STATES ARMY WAR COLLEGE

USAWC develops, inspires and serves strategic leaders

for the wise and effective application of national power,

in a joint, interagency, intergovernmental, and

multinational environment, emphasizing development

and employment of land power.

Educates select military, civilian, and international leaders

Supports worldwide practitioners

Conducts research, and publishes to inform thought

Supports the Army’s strategic communication efforts

Provides comprehensive well-being education and support

USAWC VISION UNITED STATES ARMY WAR COLLEGE

The world’s best institution for developing

strategic leaders and thought – the international

institution of choice.

“While the experiences in the fight are richly rewarding and are

producing some of the most tactically proficient warfighters we’ve ever

had in our ranks, these experiences are also incomplete. The War

College is an opportunity to pull our minds out of the tactical

framework and draws us up to the strategic level of war. [For this

reason,] the War College is … immensely important. It alone provides

us the means for developing and sharpening our ability to imagine …

especially disruptive challenges, and to think of ways of preparing

leaders to confront these seemingly unthinkable events.”

---GEN Martin E. Dempsey

CSA

WHY THEY COME HERE

3 Defense Senior Leadership & Development Program

13 Department of the Army

2 Department of State

3 Defense Intelligence Agency

2 National Security Agency

1 Department of Homeland Security

1 Veterans Affairs

6

Army 210

Air Force 32

Marine 18 Navy 15 Civilians 25

International 67

Total – 368

Coast Guard 1

WHO ARE THEY

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International Fellows

RESIDENT CLASS OF 2012

Afghanistan

Algeria

Australia

Bangladesh

Bosnia

Botswana

Brazil

Bulgaria

Burundi

Canada

Chile

Colombia

Croatia

Czech Republic

Denmark

Egypt

Malawi

Malaysia

Mali

Mexico

Mongolia

Montenegro

Morocco

Nepal

Netherlands

Nigeria

Norway

Pakistan (2)

Philippines

Poland

Romania

Rwanda

Saudi Arabia

Senegal

Serbia

Slovenia

South Africa

Spain

Sri Lanka

Suriname

Sweden

Taiwan

Thailand

Turkey

Uganda

Ukraine

United Arab Emirates

United Kingdom

Yemen

Zambia

El Salvador

Ethiopia

Germany

Honduras

India

Indonesia

Israel

Italy

Japan

Jordan

Kenya

Korea

Kuwait

Lebanon

Lithuania

Macedonia

The USAWC Experience Focuses on Transforming an Incoming Professional Who Has…

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• Had relatively limited and well-defined responsibilities.

• Worked in a structured environment of tasks, conditions &

standards.

• Dealt primarily with problems for which there was usually one

best solution. (science)

• Been an executor of policy.

• Succeeded based on capacity to apply skills.

• Focused primarily on the present and near term.

• Set a strong personal example.

• Had primarily a single-service and unilateral orientation.

• Communicated both verbally and in writing in a concise and

direct manner.

• Been physically, intellectually and morally fit.

Into a USAWC Graduate Who Will…

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• Hold positions of broad scope and great responsibility.

• Work in highly complex, ambiguous environments.

• Deal with problems which have no clear-cut solutions. (art)

• Be an executive who innovates and initiates policy.

• Succeed based on spirit of cooperation and capacity to

conceptualize.

• Assess the future and envision for the long term while

executing the present.

• Set an ethical climate.

• Be involved in joint, interagency, intergovernmental, and

multinational organizations and issues.

• Communicate complex concepts effectively and

persuasively, both verbally and in writing.

• Continue to be physically, intellectually and morally fit.

“It became clear to me that

at the age of 58 I would

have to learn new tricks

that were not taught in the

military manuals or on the

battlefield. In this position

I am a political soldier and

will have to put my training in

rapping-out orders and making snap decisions on the back

burner, and have to learn the arts of persuasion and guile. I

must become an expert in a whole new set of skills.”

GEN George C. Marshall

Strategic Leadership

So what is

Strategic Leadership?

The process used by a leader to effect the achievement

of a desirable and clearly understood vision by influencing the

organizational culture, allocating resources, directing through

policy and directive, and building consensus within a volatile,

uncertain, complex, and ambiguous global environment which is

marked by opportunities and threats.


• Conceptual: Critical thinking skills, visioning,

problem management

Strategic Leader Competencies

• Technical: Systems understanding, Joint and

Combined relationships; political and social

competence; and professional competence in area

of expertise

• Interpersonal: Communication, consensus-

building, negotiation, and cross cultural competence

Provide vision

Shape organizational culture

Build relationships

Represent the organization

Lead and manage change

Stewardship

Strategic Leader Tasks

Keenly aware of a complex & changing environment

Competent in consensus, team building, & peer leadership

Transforms the political & conceptual into the practical & concrete

Leverages technology, especially information

Shapes the organizational / institutional culture

Builds a values-based organization

Provides for the future/vision; leads and manages change

Essential Characteristics

How is it

different?

Strategic Environment

Political

Military Volatile

Ecological Uncertain

Economic Complex

Sociological Ambiguous

Psychological “…the greater arena…” “…global…marked by

opportunities, possibilities,

and threats”

“A Changing Landscape”

Tactical Leadership


Organizational Leadership

The Three Levels of

Leadership

Face to face – Direct leadership

Unit and team work

Action and task oriented

Execution

Motivation

Unit Cohesion

Tactical Leadership

Chain of command – less direct leadership

Focuses Internally

Sustains and maintains

Plans and gives direction

Interprets and influences Climate



• Indirect Leadership

• Influencing culture

• Representing the organization

• Leading change

• Stewarding the enterprise

Loyalty

Duty

Respect

Selfless Service

Honor

Personal Courage



Direct Leadership

LEADS DEVELOPS ACHIEVES

Global/Regional National/Societal Perspective

Predominantly "Improving/ Building" in nature

Predominantly "Operating/ Maintaining" in nature

Organizational/Systems and Processes Perspectives

Climate Policies Direction

Culture Values Purpose

Cohesion Procedures Motivation

Army Values And Ethics

Actions Positive Climate Prepares Self Develops Others

Individual/Small Group Task Oriented Perspective

Predominantly "Influencing and Interpersonal" in nature

Attributes:

Competencies Identity Presence Intellectual

Leads Others Extends Influence Leads by Example Communicates

Increased Uncertainty

and Complexity

Reduced Uncertainty

and Complexity

COMPANY

Trust, Dignity and Respect for Others

PRES & SEC DEF

The Army Leadership

Framework

Gets Results

FM 6-22 Army Leadership. App A

Operational Reality

“It’s a Flat World, after all.” Thomas Friedman

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• Leader development “roadmap”

is key

– Institutional: Schools

– Organizational: Assignments

– Self Development: Continuous Learning

Developing Strategic Leaders

…How we do it

How do we

facilitate it here?

Guiding Philosophies

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• Seminar-based, collaborative learning

• Adult learning focus

– Enabling

– Understanding

• Student focused, learning centric

• It’s about thinking about how to think

• Inquiry driven

– Focus less on the “what” or “how” and more on the “why?” and “so what?”

– It’s as much about asking the right questions, as it is knowing the right answers

Resident Program

National

Security

Policy and

Strategy

Strategic

Leadership

Theory of

War and

Strategy

Strategic

Thinking

Defense

Enterprise

Management

Electives

O

R

I

E

N

T

A

T

I

O

N

C

O

U

R

S

E

S

SPECIAL

PROGRAMS

COMPLEMENTARY

PROGRAMS

Student Social Activities

Noontime Lectures

Student Athletic Program

Conversational Arabic

Commandant’s Lecture Series

Eisenhower College Program

National Security Policy Program

Advanced Strategic Art Program

APFRI Executive Health and

Leadership Feedback Program

Military History Program

Military Family Program

CORE CURRICULUM

STRATEGY RESEARCH PROJECT

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Theater

Strategy and

Campaigning

Str

ateg

ic D

ecis

ion

-Mak

ing

Exe

rcis

e

Sp

rin

g R

eces

s

Win

ter

Rec

ess

Nat

ion

al S

ecu

rity

Sem

inar

Institutional Learning Objectives

• Distinguish the uniqueness of strategic-level leadership and apply competencies required by strategic leaders.

• Use strategic thought processes to evaluate the national security challenges and opportunities facing the United States in the 21st Century.

• Evaluate the theory of war and strategy.

• Evaluate DoD, joint, interagency, intergovernmental, multinational, and NGO processes and relationships, including Army contributions to the nation in peace and war.

• Evaluate the role of landpower in joint, interagency, intergovernmental, and multinational operations.

• Synthesize theater strategies, estimates, and campaign plans to employ military power in a unified, joint, interagency, intergovernmental, and multinational environment.

• Synthesize critical elements, enablers, and processes that define the strategic environment in peace and war.

• Study and confer on the American military profession and guide its future direction.

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--A recent graduate

Confirmation

If I could relay one point … that I have

witnessed, felt, and experienced, it is that too many

of us (I’m talking the Colonels that literally run this

place) can’t think strategically….it slows down the

processes or effective strategic operations and

it gets in the way of the operational commander….

Being able to think strategically is the currency of

our trade. The simple fact is that those who can

think strategic are carrying the water over here.

Those that can’t get in the way.

What are your...

PREPARING STRATEGIC LEADERS AT THE U.S....

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