Tactical Leadership Vs Organizational Leadership

There are certain things that you need to know as a leader, one is the difference between tactical leadership verses organizational leadership and why they are both essential. Leadership in the Army brings fourth thoughts of influencing and motivating Soldiers, accomplishment of the mission, delivering purposeful directions. However, when dealing with tactical or organizational leadership, a leader must think about a different role and take into account the period, because the main goal is always the same, and that is to get the mission done and try to improve upon the unit and its capabilities. First, let’s talk about the tactical leadership. Tactical leadership is concerned with the present – short-term decisions and risk management
for immediate gains. At the tactical level, leaders must balance the needs of team members with the needs of the mission or situation, often involving the negotiating and persuasion of followers. It also means creating an environment where they are willing to make sacrifices or contribute to the team because of a felt loyalty to the leader and other team members. Tactical leadership is thus highly transactional.
This is because the leader relies on his or her own charisma to influence other people in their unit. A person who has tactical leadership is a transformational leader who provides inspirational motivation, individualized consideration, intellectual stimulation, and idealized influence. The only factor really within the tactical leader's control is his or her level of idealized influence. Now, we transition to the organizational leaders, or the unsung heroes with each organization. Organizational leaders build the structures and systems that allow achieved objectives and mission accomplishment. They create systems to support the values of the organization and provide leadership to encourage a culture and behavior patterns that reflect these values. Strong leaders guide organizations that value teamwork and group collaboration over individual contributions often. If a group achieves a significant outcome through effective teamwork, then the entire group must be recognized and rewarded, accordingly. Intrinsic rewards, such as greater team recognition, competitive positioning, and more interesting and vital projects can be very effective over the longer
term. Effective organizational leadership must permeate through the entire organization. Moreover, there has to be consistency and coherence amongst these factors of the organizations dynamics. It is not good if one project receives recognition but another project does not. Therefore, inconsistency from one project or team to the next will be counter-productive to the organization just as if a team does not have the proper tools and direction to achieve their assigned tasks. To prevent negative or adverse dynamics within an organization, organizational leaders have the responsibility to lead teams in understanding the strategic and tactical realities. They also must create supports within the infrastructure to allow everyone to move tactically toward the organization's strategic goal; trusting that everyone within the team has a valuable perspective that can contribute to the overall processes. Organizational leaders understand the big picture. They need to understand the business of the organization, as well as its technical and financial characteristics and constraints. Even more, they require an intimate understanding of the advantages and disadvantages that the tactical leadership brings to the organization so that the organizational approaches always end with a successful mission accomplished.