Different Styles of Leadership Being in the Army for almost 12 years something that I have learned is that there is a manual for everything, leadership is one of them. The manual used for this is field manual 6-22, Army Leadership: Competent, Confident, and Agile, which focuses on many various leadership tools and stories of past leadership within the military. One thing that it has supporting many things within military is three developmental stages. In these stages it expresses what subordinates and leaders need to do to succeed. Stage one is formational which is the beginning stage in this process and the leaders goals are to integrate the subordinate in the unit start growth building skills. The second stage is enrichment where leaders focus on subordinate’s growth …show more content…
through accomplishments in teamwork involving personal and professional growth. The last stage is sustainment where the leader focuses on sustaining great teamwork and molds the subordinates in becoming leaders themselves. Putting this into context and how this assist in a project that I participated in , and how I became a leader that hand to build a team that work together and cohesively. On my fourth deployment to Afghanistan something that I focused on was becoming a stronger leader and focusing on this was important because we were running gun truck missions to support the locals and military convoys through Kabul, and Jalalabad. We were based out of Bagram Air Base and we would go throughout the night for these convoys. You would have to react at a moment’s notice and stay calm doing so. Something that I was a leader and worked as a team with my truck and projects on was the preparation for these convoys and when to react and how. We were the scout truck so every mission required training and it was important to realize everything going on. These were our special projects to us because we focused on people’s expressions, land changes, and various changes within every community on the route. We did rounds of training and set up lanes to determine what to call and how to call it. We did over 300 missions during that deployment in Afghanistan and something that led to our success was our training and the leadership provide. We went a whole year without being touched on our convoys because I focused on the training. These were projects to use because no one mission was the same because everyday something changed. Therefore leadership was important, and the three phases preparing for the deployment was how we were successful. Skills necessary for effective project managers are; communication, organizational skills, team-building skills, leadership skills, coping skills, technology skills (Smith & Imbrie, 2007).
Thompson expressed four activities in project management which are; “1. Setting Direction, 2. Getting Commitment, 3. Execution, and 4. Setting a Personal Direction.” All of these can be expressed through the deployment I was on and how they were used in gun truck missions. Project management is very important and can be expressed in many different ways, but successfully it is important to grow even as the
PM.
Style of Leadership that is important Something that leaders do daily is communicate, and it is the most important thing to do as a leader. In this it is important to understand that every leadership style is something to learn from. Being direct as a leader is a good style, but you are not open to listen you want it your way and that is it. Failure is possible because you are closed minded. Indirect by counseling, and expressing things, and taking feedback is important, but it is important that the communication is right. Coach, mentor, and teach is the styles that I really am inspired by in leadership. It helps you communicate correctly, and focus on team building. The military leadership express that you should be able to teach, coach and mentor as a leader. These are the great qualities and styles to have.
Express how these styles work as a PM When I look at the missions during the deployment I was advised to teach the soldiers on my gun truck team the skills and tools needed to be successful. The coaching and mentoring were the hours put toward the training and the endless amount of hours needed to be successful. It help them grow professionally, and personally. This is also an area where you get educational experiences through cultural diversity. Expressing every step and what can be learned shows great leadership styles and qualities.
Conclusion
Learning in the military is that the importance of leadership comes from focusing on teamwork and willing to be a strong leader for every soldier, and assisting them grow through their knowledge of various leadership styles. During any mission or daily operations, leadership is expressed, and it doesn’t just have to be a gun truck mission. The focus should be wanting and willing to grow in all areas as a PM, a military leader, or subordinate to the work around us.
References
Smith, K.A., & Imbrie, P.K. (2007). Teamwork and project management. (3rd ed.) Boston, MA:
McGraw-Hill. ISBN 978-0-07-310367-9.
Thompson, L.A. (2009, March). Leadership model for professionals. Strategic Finance, 90(9), 25. Retrieved from the ProQuest Database in the Online Library.
Department of the Army. (2006, October). Field Manual 6-22; Army Leadership: Competent, Confident, and Agile.
Retrieved from http://armypubs.army.mil/doctrine/DR_pubs/dr_a/pdf/fm6_22.pdf