Servant Leadership: Does the Army do it?

2015-07-07T10:46:38-04:00

http://taskandpurpose.com/army-lost-art-leadership/

I'm not sure if someone has already posted this article or not. After reading through it, I had to stop and think about what I've learned about leadership in more than ten years in uniform, what I learned while completing my masters degree in leadership from Norwich University, and what I have actually seen in the Army. Sadly, I think I agree with the author, although he over simplifies the problem. There are many types of leaders, some good, some bad, and servant leadership is only one style. Academically, and in my personal experience, one of the most effective, but still only one. When the Army transitioned to all volunteer, coercive styles of leadership should have died, we all know they didn't, and servant leadership, in my opinion, should have come to the fore. Did it? Should it, or should we as leaders rely on another style, positional for example? I'm interested to hear some other leaders' thoughts?

Response by SGT Ben Keen made Jul 7 at 2015 10:59 AM

2015-07-07T10:59:42-04:00

I have to agree with you LTC Private RallyPoint Member. I think sometimes leaders, including myself, get lost in our own branding of ourselves. I agree with the author as well that is you can shave your head bald and max out your PT test but that doesn't mean you are ready to be a leader. Leadership is not an easy task. Not everyone is meant to fill that role. We hear the phrase "toxic leadership" echoed time and time again. Well how do you think those toxic leaders got there? Who do you think trained them? Other toxic leaders. Servant Leadership is not an easy path to follow. Humans by our very nature are weird to look out for ourselves first than others later. Just fly some where, during the pre-flight safety brief you are told to put your O2 mask on first before helping others. Sure I get it, you need air as well but then the father side of me kids in and my mind goes to if my son or daughter is struggling, I'm going to square them away first before me. The same can be said about Soldiers as a leader.

You hear the phrase, "lead from the front". The infantry is known for their "follow me" attitude, all great and wonderful things but there are times when the best leader sits back and watches his/her troops be successful. Yes lead from the front, be that example for your troops to look up to but sometimes leading from the front means putting others first.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Jul 7 at 2015 12:49 PM

2015-07-07T12:49:48-04:00

I had no qualms being a conduit for soldiers' personal and professional growth. In fact I watched their growth much as a parent watched children. It is also imperative that I prepared soldiers and NCO's for success. It makes everyone look good. Another responsibility is to shield the soldiers from unnecessary harm.

Response by LTC Stephen F. made Jul 7 at 2015 2:19 PM

2015-07-07T14:19:29-04:00

LTC Private RallyPoint Member thank you for asking a provocative question. In my experience in both training and leadership I think the answer has been yes [1974 - 2008].
I tried to be a servant leader at all times. While a young infantry officer I would never direct the soldiers in my unit to do anything that I would not be willing to do myself. In several cases I led the way especially when explosives were involved - duds, misfires, etc.
I learned to be a servant leader as a cadet at the United States Military Academy. I had been abused by others at times within military training and discipline. I made it a point not to do to others the wrongs that had been done to me. I learned that some of the tough experiences in BCT, AIT and at USMA were designed to make us better soldiers and leaders. I learned to look for the purpose in some of the things that seemed like punishment.
Later after I became a Christian, I recognized that Christ is the ultimate servant leader and that as a Christian, He is my example for how to treat others. Do unto others as you would like to be treated is a great way to to reduce tension in situations.
Later in my career I had to stand up in defense of some of my soldiers and NCOs at times to my seniors over administrative and in some cases legal actions. In some cases I had to conduct Article 15 proceedings for soldiers in my unit. That was challenging and I always tried to be fair and administer justice as fairly as possible.
[Disclaimer - Before I became a Christian I was in trouble routinely: I have been the subject of a company grade article 15 [1975], a commandants board at the United States Military Academy Preparatory School [1975], a Brigade Board at the United States Military Academy [1976] and a General grade article 15 [1982]
MAJ Ken Landgren, CW5 Charlie Poulton

Response by 1SG Cameron M. Wesson made Jul 7 at 2015 11:29 PM

2015-07-07T23:29:34-04:00

http://ncojournal.dodlive.mil/2013/10/04/the-nco-army-leader-servant-leader/

I wrote this article a couple of years ago... But its what I've been practicing and teaching for 25 plus years. Its not dead... just not practiced as often as it should.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 8 at 2015 9:34 AM

2015-07-08T09:34:07-04:00

LTC Private RallyPoint Member ...I read this article yesterday and agree with it, but I also believe that it runs deeper than haircuts and PT tests.

In my experience, I believe appearing "good on paper" has become the standard. Leaders who exceed the expectations (and should, by the way) are held in higher regard than the leader who has Soldiers that are exceeding the standard, even if this "high-speed leader" actually couldn't lead troops out of a wet paper bag. I have witnessed this first hand on numerous occasions.

Another issue is that servant leadership is almost non-existent. The higher the echelon in the command, the more this holds true. Too many senior leaders are exercising what I call "Do as I Say, Not as I do" leadership. My beef is how so many Soldiers get left by the wayside as these leaders continue to rise in the ranks.

Response by SPC David S. made Jul 8 at 2015 11:49 AM

2015-07-08T11:49:18-04:00

The Integrated Psychological theory of leadership is a great approach as it addresses the the limitations of older established leadership theories by adding an understanding of the psychological conditions at play. Honestly I prefer the authentic leadership approach vs the servant as the servant ideology tries to reshape the individuals character and personality to a set of characteristics. While this is a noble thought this is a long run process. With authentic you are who you are and with that understanding of self awareness the individual modifies their leadership approach accordingly. However in either case the individual needs to be cognizant of self and how their "wake" is perceived externally. I do see the benefits in the servant concept of reshaping the individual as over time leadership becomes more natural and inherent. I just feel it will take years to achieve this. I think it might be necessary to work towards this goal in conjunction with practicing an authentic leadership approach where the servant leader overtime will emerge. Applying this in the context of the military I think is complicated by the external pressures applied on the individual of "making rank". At the root this runs in conflict with the servant mindset where the individual is force to focus on self in order to sustain their military/civilian careers. Also in rewarding with more power, autonomy and financial gains the focus on self is reinforced and with such the ego once again gets in the way of personal development.

Response by SFC William Swartz Jr made Jul 8 at 2015 12:47 PM

2015-07-08T12:47:28-04:00

Short answer, no the Army doesn't do it. There are far more individuals out for themselves, to set themselves up for success than there are those that are about ensuring that their Soldiers are set up for success. Some reach a point where they are more concerned with personal appearance and how fast someone runs their 2-mile run, than how their Soldiers actually perform the "jobs" that they are paid to do. Far too often senior leaders only really care about their Soldiers when one steps on themselves and makes the organization look bad in the eyes of their higher headquarters. I wholeheartedly agree with the authors assessment about leaders who seem to concentrate solely on appearance and pt score...I was a tanker for 26-years, always hated running, from day-1, so I was never what would have or is classified as a pt-stud and personally I was ok with that. While I was never a pt-stud, I always passed my pt test, but when it came to my job, I WAS a tanking-stud; I never failed to qualify my tank during tank gunnery on the first run, I never Q-2'd, and I could maneuver my platoon and ensure that we were squared away for beans, bullets and gas, the main job of a tank PSG. But I was always viewed as less than stellar, even though, my platoon as a whole passed the pt test, qualified all tanks during gunnery, and never had a "problem" child, merely because I couldn't run a 14-minute 2-miles or score a 270 or better. I never understood how I as a PSG was always expected to mentor and train my Soldiers, which I did to the utmost of my ability, but never was given the same mentorship from MY higher-ups, to set me up for success. Was a far different Army that I enlisted into back in 1987 than the one I retired from 2 years ago. Back then 1SGs/SGMs/CSMs mentored and looked out for their PSGs/SFCs regardless of where they ranked on the pt scale, they ensured that the people waiting in the wings to succeed them were trained, qualified and could lead, not look good on paper or run a sub-13 minute 20mile pt run. I hope for my son's sake that he gets better leadership when he PCSs away from Ft. Riley because he seems to have experienced that of which we are writing and for a young SPC that just reenlisted earlier this year, he is now doubting his decision about making the Army a career, and with the proper leadership and mentoring, the Army has itself a young Soldier that would make a good leader.

Response by SSG Mike Angelo made Jul 8 at 2015 1:17 PM

2015-07-08T13:17:15-04:00

Yes, as a whole...US military Servant Leadership was born from the American spirit. IMHO. It is a traditional style forged from both peace and war and studied and researched by society's scholars as well as industry, political and church leaders. It came from home and was nurtured and developed over time.

I believe that military leadership is an art of influencing... unique as compared to our free and open American society. Personal leadership and professional leadership may differ in style and approach, the military style(s) would also reflect the led, lead and situation.

I give the author credit for the article, however may not reflect the whole organization. There is a growing and maturation process in both managing and leading any organization. The author may appear to be off-grid, as in Leadership Grid, and with coaching, mentoring and professional development, he may make a turn-around and grow in a positive manner.

Response by COL Jeff Morris made Mar 6 at 2017 7:42 PM

2017-03-06T19:42:12-05:00

The Army is a large organization. There are certainly leaders that practice a servant leader approach, but not as many as should be. The key to servant leadership is not only that you care for your team members as individuals, but that they know it. For your direct reports, that requires a relationship. In a relationship, you are going to know the things that matter to your team member. Ask yourself, do I know the name of the spouse/significant other of every direct reporting member? Do you know how many children they have (and age, gender, name)? If we can agree that their family is probably the most important thing to them - if we do not know the basic facts about them, then how are we going to have a relationship with them. I admit that there were times when I had a large number of direct reports and I had to study this information on a nightly basis for long time to learn it. I also freely admit that when doing a promotion, reenlistment, or other event with a skip-report, I only committed this information to short term memory. The funny thing is that after discussing the honoree for a few minutes, that knowledge often slipped into long term memory and I could recall it later when I saw them on the job. But, being a servant leader does not mean you cannot hold people accountable for their mission and it does not meant that there will always be the time to explain the whole picture to every member of the team. But in my admittedly blessed (it is acceptable to read that as lucky) career, I found that the time spent building relationships up front paid huge dividends down the road.

Response by SFC David Reid, M.S, PHR, SHRM-CP, DTM made Aug 4 at 2019 4:56 PM

2019-08-04T16:56:36-04:00

I dont think so.