by A Former Special Forces Officer
“Leadership is intangible, and therefore no weapon ever designed can replace it.”
General Omar N. Bradley
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Leadership, specifically military leadership (or the lack thereof) is a common discussion point in our household.
We have three sons currently serving on active duty in the military, two in the Army, and one in the Marine Corps. All three of them hold junior NCO ranks now, two are Army Sergeants, the other is a Marine Corporal. In these ranks, they have the dubious honor of overseeing people, being privy to more senior leader’s decision-making, and still are in a low enough position to get hit by the proverbial “scheiße” when it rolls downhill.
During one of our many BOGSATs (A Bunch of Guys Sitting Around Talking- a term I learned from the Marines!) I often hear them lamenting about some recent leadership failure they experienced. From standing out in the hot sun in formation for hours while some senior leader drones on, to superiors “chewing out” a subordinate in front of his peers, to leaders wasting the time of their personnel by not keeping them informed about when, where and what they are to do for the duty day… simple and basic leadership principles seem to be forgotten or ignored.
While listening to them vent, I know that much of what they are experiencing is “part and parcel” with being in the military and was no different than when I was in uniform decades before, but as I empathized with them, I began to think about leadership development, my own experiences as a leader and whether leaders are truly made or born?
Mostly my thoughts centered on whether the military was developing the type of leaders needed for the future, especially small unit leaders, which seem to hold the cornerstone to the success of so many future battlefield scenarios. I think about the importance of junior leaders in the small-unit actions being fought in Ukraine. I think about Army and Marine Corps doctrine that places significant emphasis on small units operating independently, expecting maximum initiative and innovative problem-solving at the junior NCO level. Are we producing those leaders? Are my boys those types of leaders?
“Some leaders just seem to get it,” my boys will say. You can have two leaders with the same leadership training, rank, and position, with commensurate experience, and yet, one will be an effective and capable leader and the other a “certified psycho” as one of them puts it. This begs the question, is it leadership development that is lacking or is it a lack of individual leadership traits that makes the difference? Can leadership be learned, if so, is it being done effectively?
As times are changing, the need for leaders who can chart a course through difficulty has become a national craving. Indeed, at every turn, we encounter examples of inadequate leaders, individuals ill-prepared to act in their roles as leaders. One’s power, popularity, wealth, or even genius do not inherently guarantee effective leadership. What is increasingly apparent is a dearth of leadership learning in many of those who ascend to positions of power.
The question as to whether leadership can be “learned” is an age-old one. Since mankind first began to organize family units into tribes, certain individuals have always emerged from the pack to positions of prominence, individuals with a natural proclivity to lead. It has been said that leadership is an innate quality, that one is either born a leader or a follower and that leadership is often viewed as more of a personality trait than a learned behavior, one involving a combination of dynamic personality, physical presence, and charisma.[1]
It is true that often a natural leader emerges from a group, and followers will naturally rally behind such a dynamic leader. Alexander the Great or General George S. Patton fit this pattern of leadership, as do numerous other famous figures.[2] However, those individuals are few and far between, with most leaders achieving success through a graduated and multifaceted leadership development process.
Can leadership be taught? Most would answer the question as yes, the fundamentals of leadership can be taught. To use a sports analogy, teaching leadership is akin to learning the rules of the game, providing the basic skills necessary to play the game with some degree of proficiency. But, mastering the game requires much more. It requires additional “exertion” to improve at the game. From my own experience of observing leaders, the “learning” of leadership appeared to be a process involving three fundamental elements: leadership education, coaching and mentoring, and the application of leadership through practical experience. Each element plays a vital role in the creation of capable and competent leaders, at all levels.
To answer the question of whether leadership can be learned, it is important to arrive at a definition of leadership. There are literally a multitude of definitions of leadership in the field of leadership study, but the one definition that resonates most clearly is one I memorized as a young cadet years ago. Leadership is defined as the “art of directing and influencing people is such a way, as to obtain their willing obedience, confidence, and respect, in order to accomplish the mission.” As General Anthony Zinni, former Commander of United States Central Command said in his insightful book on leadership, Leading the Charge, “Leadership is not mysterious. At its core it is very simple: It is the ability to get people to do what we want them to do.”[3] Thus, leadership, as defined, involves human interactions at its base level. It requires understanding of oneself, an understanding and responding to those led, and is achieved through the application, an “art” learned through self-development.
The building of a solid foundation is the natural order of progression in the process of learning leadership. A leader must have a fundamental understanding of the tenants and principles of leadership to “get in the game” and this can be achieved through leadership education. There are examples of leaders throughout history who did not come naturally to leadership and gained from the process of leadership education. Some examples would include pivotal leaders such as Abraham Lincoln, Harry S. Truman, Sam Walton of Wal-Mart, and General Ulysses S. Grant.[4] These men were not born leaders but worked to become leaders through training, hard work, vision, and purpose of effort. They assumed leadership through effort and effective goal setting and are examples of what are called “learned leaders.” They rose to the occasion and took action to achieve their goals of becoming effective leaders.[5]
Education in leadership is the foundation upon which the basis for “learned” leadership can be achieved. According to many experts, the ability of leadership to be taught is as contingent on the student and the teacher.[6] Steven Stumpf, Director of the Center for Leadership and Relationships, at Villanova University, writes “Book knowledge is only a small part of effective leadership learning — just as reading a tennis book is only a small part of being an exceptional tennis player. Leadership is a “performance sport.” Leadership requires both thinking and doing — to the satisfaction of many others with diverse expectations.”[7] Leadership education provides the “thinking” component to this paradigm and provides the necessary foundation upon which learned leadership can be achieved.
To learn to become a leader, having the basic skills of the game provides only the underpinning. To truly begin to master the “doing” part of leadership requires coaching and mentoring from those who have been successful leaders.
Effective leadership is based on experience, and the imparting of that experience is a crucial component of the process of leadership development. The imparting of this knowledge must be done, and that transfer of knowledge must encourage risk-taking, initiative and foster an adaptive learning environment. Imparting the “lessons learned” from experienced leaders is only one part of the coaching and mentoring equation, however. Understanding and building a relationship with those that are to be led is the other part of the equation.
Counseling, coaching, and mentoring are based on a deep understanding of who people are, and what formed them, as well as on a relationship of mutual trust and respect.[8] This “human element” of leadership begins with the coaching/mentoring relationship and exemplifies that leadership is in fact a relational compact between those who lead and those who are led. It reflects, and therefore requires, a leader to possess a combination of knowledge, values, and experiences. Leadership learning requires an understanding of human behavior.
Just as we are not born inherently good parents, we learn to be good parents through our experiences and through our interactions with our children.[9] Kim Camero, Professor of Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management at the University of Michigan Business School writes “many great leaders are not those that appear on the covers of Time and Fortune. They have learned to achieve spectacular results in their own circumstances. Think of parents. Can people learn to become better parents, or are we just born competent or not? Everyone would agree that effective parenting can be learned and improved. So can effective leadership.”[10]
Coaching and mentoring from practitioners of leadership allow students to learn from the successes (and more importantly) from the mistakes of mentors. They also learn the importance of relationships and the collaborative aspect between leaders and followers. Experience, real or vicarious, and the skill to draw lessons from that experience, gives leader development its relevance; it is the real art of making leaders.[11]
Finally, once the lessons from formalized leadership education and the benefits of coaching and mentoring have become internalized, learning to become a leader requires the application of that learning through the act of leading. This is an area where I believe today’s military struggles most, allowing their junior leaders to lead.
In the 1980s, United States Army described its leader development method as the “Be-Know-Do” process. This process is a progressive blend of character building (Be), education (Know), and experience (Do). It recognizes that leaders develop over time.[12] Becoming an effective leader requires taking on the responsibilities of being a leader, the “Do” in the Army’s Leadership “Be-Know-Do” process. It is a continuous learning process, in which “Do”-the experience of leading, is the heart of the process.[13] The practice of leading is what counts; it is what is drawn from that experience that allows leadership education to be comprehensive.
By assuming the mantle of leadership, the nexus of leadership education and coaching and mentoring are achieved, providing a broad learning process that truly transforms the leader from novice to expert. However, allowing young leaders to lead involves risk, and all too often, more senior leaders are unwilling to allow subordinates room to grow and make mistakes. For those of you who have held leadership positions in the military, we know it is all too often a zero-defect organization despite its claims otherwise. Rarely are leaders placed in a riskless environment where they can learn and grow from honest mistakes without suffering some repercussions. The result is a pervasive, directive, micromanagement culture at the mid-level leadership that stymies the very type of leadership development needed at the junior levels.
As the definition of leadership implies, leadership is the “art” of obtaining willing obedience, confidence, and respect. Being in a leadership position therefore should not be confused with being a leader. As Steve Stumpf writes “There is a difference between a leadership position (a position of power and authority) and leading. If one has no ‘free will’ followers, they are not a ‘leader’ in the sense we mean in management. When a person in a position of authority tells someone subordinate to them to do something — or else — that person is not leading. We should reserve the term leadership to something other than directing or coercing.” [14] Leadership must go beyond cognition to actions, communications, inspiring others, and being a role model. Leaders must possess the desire to lead, a genuine learning orientation, and a desire to lead.[15] Simply being in a leadership position is not enough, without the desire to lead, one can possess the basic skills taught through leadership education, gain coaching and mentoring, and experience, but still not achieve full potential as a leader.
Learned leadership is more than just a professional skill or ability one takes on when in a position of responsibility, it is a course of development that an individual undertakes, a “calling” that requires a particular kind of education and devotion. Leadership learning must teach leaders, managers, and executives how to anticipate what is on their horizon and how to mobilize their organization to shape the future.[16] There is no individual template for successful leadership. The tenants for learning leadership for the future center around rapidly adapting to changing times and technologies, broader requirements for knowledge and understanding, shared leadership within the organization, communications within the organization and the larger public, and being able to lead during times of crisis and change.[17]
Can leadership be learned? Yes, it can, but it takes time and investment. Just as you cannot give the keys, a license, and owner’s manual to a new driver and expect them to be a good driver, you cannot give a promotion, position or authority to a new leader and expect them to be a successful leader. Make that investment in your junior leaders now, and that effort will pay off tenfold. Good leaders will beget future good leaders.
Fostering of individual character and leadership traits through effective mentoring, combined with experience in leadership positions of increasing responsibility is a time-proven formula that will continue to produce leaders needed to confront the challenges of the 21st century. Regardless of the changing dimensions of our increasingly complex world, successful leaders will continue to be made if the learning process described is followed. The fundamentals of “learned” leadership remain constant regardless of the “brave new worlds” we are entering.
[1] Brad Mohr, “Leadership, Genetic or Learned,” Program Manager Magazine (January-February 2000): 76-77.
[2]Brad Mohr, 76.
[3] Anthony Zinni, Leading the Charge, (New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2009), 41.
[4] Brad Mohr, “Leadership, Genetic or Learned,” Program Manager Magazine (January-February 2000): 76.
[5] Brad Mohr, 76.
[6] Jonathan P. Doh, “Can Leadership be Taught? Perspectives from Management Educators” (Interview and Commentary submitted to the Academy of Management learning and Education, Villanova University, 2001), 9, www.62.homepage.villanova.edu/jonathan.doh/leadership.15doc.
[7] Steven Stumpf. Interview by Jonathan P. Doh, “Can Leadership be Taught? Perspectives from Management Educators” (Interview and Commentary submitted to the Academy of Management learning and Education, Villanova University, 2001), 9. www.62.homepage.villanova.edu/jonathan.doh/leadership.15doc.
[8] Anthony Zinni, Leading the Charge, (New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2009), 108.
[9] Jonathan P. Doh, “Can Leadership be Taught? Perspectives from Management Educators” (Interview and Commentary submitted to the Academy of Management learning and Education, Villanova University, 2001), 9, www.62.homepage.villanova.edu/jonathan.doh/leadership.15doc
[10]Kim S. Cameron. Interview by Jonathan P. Doh, “Can Leadership be Taught? Perspectives from Management Educators” (Interview and Commentary submitted to the Academy of Management learning and Education, Villanova University, 2001), 6. www.62.homepage.villanova.edu/jonathan.doh/leadership.15doc
[11] Anthony Zinni, Leading the Charge, (New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2009), 53.
[12] Anthony Zinni, 55.
[13] Anthony Zinni, 55.
[14] Steven Stumpf. Interview by Jonathan P. Doh, “Can Leadership be Taught? Perspectives from Management Educators” (Interview and Commentary submitted to the Academy of Management learning and Education, Villanova University, 2001), 9, www.62.homepage.villanova.edu/jonathan.doh/leadership.15doc
[15] Jonathan P. Doh, “Can Leadership be Taught? Perspectives from Management Educators” (Interview and Commentary submitted to the Academy of Management learning and Education, Villanova University, 2001), 9, www.62.homepage.villanova.edu/jonathan.doh/leadership.15doc
[16] Jonathan P. Doh, 24.
[17] Anthony Zinni, Leading the Charge, (New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2009), 60-61.
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