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What do you think Army leaders? Is this a true representation of what has heppened to my Army, or is it an opinion?
"Army “leaders” have grown too comfortable choosing the easy wrong over the hard right."
"Army “leaders” have grown too comfortable choosing the easy wrong over the hard right."
The Army Has Lost The Art Of Leadership
Posted from taskandpurpose.comPosted in these groups: 
Leader
Responsibility
Leader Responsibility
Posted 9 y ago
Responses: 2
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Keith, I think the world...not just the military, let alone, the Army, has lost the Art of Leadership. That's due to too many factors to list, but there's three I think you'd agree with me on:
1. No respect for traditions-As a society, we question everything, and all too often, find out there's a "reason" to question. We used to uphold an image of propriety, consistency and strength...now, everything is subject to change, and leadership is struggling to find a basis for their authority alongside a desperate attempt to give their people something...anything to look up to.
2. No autonomy, only paperwork- Leaders today, military, or civil, have too many "hoops" to jump through to effect positive influence on their people. We've a whole generation (or two) of personnel who think not in terms of respect...but consequence, not honor...but enforcement. Leaders can't (or won't) step outside of their published limits, which everyone knows well enough to manipulate.
3. No unified sense of mission or purpose- Some will disagree (perhaps strongly), but it seems to me that service members, as well as their leadership, no longer know what in the hell we're actually fighting for. The "enemy" is a loosely defined entity residing inside of other entities...none of whom we seem capable of achieving anything more than "containment" over. The principles we are sworn to defend are no longer concrete , but "abstracts" that can be defined at a whim by a combination of public opinion and prevailing politics. We're divided along every line imaginable, with nothing seeming strong enough to unify us completely but fear.
Frankly, it's impossible to "lead" when you can't first inspire. We've taken rather simple concepts like "duty", "loyalty" and "honor" and complicated them into rhetorical questions without answers.
We can fix it, but we have to fix ourselves first. We've got to stop "selling" the idea that military service is about the benefits package...and start instilling a sense of pride in belonging. We've got to stop leading to the "least common denominator", and start rewarding initiative again. We need to foster a sense that regardless of which way the winds blow, a nation is ultimately defended by it's soldiers...not it's laws.
1. No respect for traditions-As a society, we question everything, and all too often, find out there's a "reason" to question. We used to uphold an image of propriety, consistency and strength...now, everything is subject to change, and leadership is struggling to find a basis for their authority alongside a desperate attempt to give their people something...anything to look up to.
2. No autonomy, only paperwork- Leaders today, military, or civil, have too many "hoops" to jump through to effect positive influence on their people. We've a whole generation (or two) of personnel who think not in terms of respect...but consequence, not honor...but enforcement. Leaders can't (or won't) step outside of their published limits, which everyone knows well enough to manipulate.
3. No unified sense of mission or purpose- Some will disagree (perhaps strongly), but it seems to me that service members, as well as their leadership, no longer know what in the hell we're actually fighting for. The "enemy" is a loosely defined entity residing inside of other entities...none of whom we seem capable of achieving anything more than "containment" over. The principles we are sworn to defend are no longer concrete , but "abstracts" that can be defined at a whim by a combination of public opinion and prevailing politics. We're divided along every line imaginable, with nothing seeming strong enough to unify us completely but fear.
Frankly, it's impossible to "lead" when you can't first inspire. We've taken rather simple concepts like "duty", "loyalty" and "honor" and complicated them into rhetorical questions without answers.
We can fix it, but we have to fix ourselves first. We've got to stop "selling" the idea that military service is about the benefits package...and start instilling a sense of pride in belonging. We've got to stop leading to the "least common denominator", and start rewarding initiative again. We need to foster a sense that regardless of which way the winds blow, a nation is ultimately defended by it's soldiers...not it's laws.
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SrA Matthew Knight
Agreed, it is far from only the Army having lost the art of leadership. Too many people just want to be bosses and see themselves rise up rather than be a leader and mentor and help other rise along the way. Quite unfortunate that this is the way things are.
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Of course. Too many try to keep up with political correctness, let alone politics.
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