The Army chain of command delegates leadership roles in an attempt to create the most effective work environment. There are three levels of leadership: direct, organizational, and strategic. All three levels play a pivotal role in a well-functioning, capable, and lethal Army. The Army has designed these different levels of leadership for a purpose. It is to allow for sufficient educational growth, and appropriate communication through the ranks. Growth in leadership positions comes from attending schools required by the Army, and gaining real life experience. Proper communication allows leaders to focus on their tasks, while knowing the other leaders and soldiers will get the job done in other areas. The Army expects its leaders to set the best example for soldiers to follow in an effort to help the Army grow and succeed.
Direct leadership is face-to-face, interactive with the soldiers, and focuses on accomplishing their specific part of the mission. This consists of the individual unit leadership. They are the ones who can relate most with the soldiers because they are the ones working with them day in and day out. Those relationships foster a healthy, happy, and operational unit. Brigade and battalion commanders make up the group of organizational leadership. This level of leadership requires decision making that affects multiple units. With a much broader followership, the organizational leaders do this with the assistance of the direct leadership. Strategic leadership is a team of organizations, like the US Army Training and Doctrine of Command or the Department of Defense, that create the vision for the mission. They specify the big picture that the other levels will have to adhere to and try to accomplish (US Sergeant Majors Academy, 2018).
The higher up in leadership a soldier goes, the more responsibility they get. They will rely on the soldiers below them to carry out the assigned tasks. This involves communication and trust throughout the levels of leadership. Trust creates a comfortable work environment that makes soldiers more apt to perform well (ADP 6-22). Soldiers who trust their leadership are more likely to come to them with questions and problems. This builds a type of communication that can be personal or mission based. Either way, the different levels are working together to form the best possible outcome. When there is an open line of communication, soldiers and their leadership are in the best position to succeed. Organizations fail when the work environment is hostile, and the leadership is not willing to listen and take care of their workforce.
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Most soldiers do not have the leadership skills needed to be a successful leader in the Army when they first join. The Army molds them into the leaders they need them to be. They attend multiple schools and conduct online training to learn how to be the reliable leaders that the Army needs for success. By having these classes, it allows soldiers time to gain experience before taking on more responsibilities. This is to ensure that soldiers have enough time to become tactically proficient in their field. It also allows them the time to put the leadership skills they have learned to use. Soldiers should be able to look up to their leaders for guidance. These two types of continuation training are required at every level of leadership, regardless of rank. The Army mandates this to make sure they are putting the most qualified soldiers in positions of leadership.
Good leaders build even better soldiers. Understanding the chain of command and levels of leadership helps accomplish this goal. Through trial and error, the Army made this system to help soldiers communicate efficiently with their leadership. This communication through the levels allows the lowest soldier to accomplish the task, without interference from the higher up. It also allows the highest level of leadership to handle the bigger issues because they can rely on their soldiers to get the job done. More importantly, the soldiers can rely on and trust their leaders to take care of them. This is all possible because of the requirements that the Army put in place to obtain a leadership position. By having good leaders, all levels can exceed in doing their jobs. Meaning a well-trained Army leadership produces the most effective work environment for their soldiers.
References
- Department of the Army. ADP 6-22 Army Leadership. (2012).
- US Sergeant Majors Academy. (2018). The Army Leadership Requirement Model.
- Retreived from https://blc.ncoes.army.mil/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_1905_1&content_id=_492781_1
