Leaders are responsible for the unity and disciplined ability that enable soldiers to successfully train for, fight, and win in the battlefields. The army leaders have been given a greater responsibility by the nation and its people to reach excellence every day. Leader competencies in the army are actions that leaders are expected to do (Evans, S. B. M. ,2019).
Army leaders are expected to lead others, develop themselves, develop their subordinates and the organization, as well as accomplish army mission in conflicts field. Competent leadership is built by refining personal attributes and values and gaining more knowledge in the profession. Moving from one leadership position to another in an organization brings out different complexities and shades in the competencies of leadership.
Leader competency in the army takes into account four categories. The first two focus on those you are leading and the intensity of authority and influence with them, lead and influence outside the chain of command. The last two focuses on the ways the leader conveys influence, leading by example and communication. Leading others involves much on influencing by compliance-based influence or commitment-based influence (Kirchner, 2017). Influencing others as a leader by compliance is based on the authority of the leader, giving orders to its followers and gain compliance after the assignment. Commitment creates influence among your followers that are long-lasting since the follower develops a sense of control and self-worth and changes the attitude and behavior.
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Extending influence beyond the chain of command involves influencing others when the leader has no rank which requires you like the influencer to adapt to cultural sensitivities of a situation and your environments. For example, when conducting peace operations, understanding the interactions between the people and their leaders is necessary (Kirchner, 2017). To extend influence without a rank needs competency in understanding the means and limits of influence, building trust in the outer lines of military command authority, and developing harmony and conflict resolution.
Leading by example requires that one be aware of how the plans and guidance are executed. True leadership means leading from the front and transforming the plans into actions as this will develop a soldier’s trust and confidence in your leadership. Leading by example in the army means that the organization and subordinates needs come before your interests (Akdere, 2019). Leading by example requires a leader to have confidence and composure even during challenging times. To able to lead as an example in the army, a leader should maintain a positive outlook when the situation changes, remain pivotal even when mistakes have been discovered, and be able to encourage others when they want to give up.
Leadership competency requires good communication skills, the ability to transmit information. Passing information requires that you have self-awareness in the info and that you can communicate the information (Akdere, 2019). Competent leadership means connecting cultural sensitivities, giving recommendations, and realizing consensus.
Good army leaders endeavour to leave an organization better than they found and expect other leaders in the army to have a similar strive. A good army leader, should prepare highly trained soldiers to take positions with better leadership responsibility for future assignments. Therefore, to be a competent leader in developing others, one should be able to create a positive environment, pursues self-improvement, and put more effort into developing individual assistants as well as building strong teams. By supporting personal growth, counseling, coaching, and monitoring soldiers, the development of the soldiers is encouraged.
Accomplishing missions in the army means achieving the set objectives. To meet the objectives as a leader, means providing clear priorities and directions as well as giving terms and conditions on what to be done and how to do them. Feedback should always be used on a regular basis by leaders to guide on how work should be done (Evans,2019). In order to achieve success in the missions, leaders should plan, prepare, and then execute. Missions that were executed and went successful, a competent leader uses them to identify the strengths and correct the weaknesses in the team as well as individual performance.
Leadership competency depends on how a leader consistently maintains the team’s motivation. Motivation among the soldiers is gained by recognizing and rewarding their good performance. When soldiers and civilians are rewarded in front of their superiors it gives them a sense of worth and also feels their contributions are recognized (Ananthan, 2018).
As a leader, improving organizational performance is part of your objective, subordinate ideas should be encouraged. Leaders should ask how tasks can be performed better, identify ways to improve the team, and expect the need for change and action.
In conclusion, competent leaders develop leadership skills in others by providing support, creating a positive environment, and encouraging self-improvement.
Supporting leader means he or she monitor, coaches, educates, and fosters the growth of its followers (Ananthan, 2018). Competent army leaders make the nation, the Army, and themselves proud. By providing direction, developing others, planning, and executing missions, army leaders grow a leadership team that will lead even in the coming future and encourages the success of army missions. At least at the end of the day, a competent leader should be able to look at his efforts and sees an excellent team that is consistent.
Work Citations
- Evans, S. B. M. (2019). 2. Outcomes and Learning Objectives: a. Leadership: 1) Embody the 21st Century Soldier Competencies. Instructor.
- Kirchner, M., & Akdere, M. (2017). Military leadership development strategies: implications for training in non-military organizations. Industrial and Commercial Training.
- Kirchner, M. J., & Akdere, M. (2019). Exploring Inclusion of Leadership Development into New Employee Orientations: A Proposed Approach from Army Leader Development. Organization Management Journal, 16(3), 156-166.
- Ananthan, S., Haslinda, A., & Jegak, U. (2018). Leadership Skills Requirements for Military Cadets. Advances in Natural and Applied Sciences, 12(3), 66-71.
- Evans, S. B. M. (2019). 2. Outcomes and Learning Objectives: a. Leadership: 1) Embody the 21st Century Soldier Competencies. Instructor.
