AGILE LEADER CONCEPT OVERVIEW

AMEDD C&S CAPTAINS CAREER COURSE

OUTLINE

General Reimer Concept TRADOC Concept US Army War College Concept Iraq Crucible Concept Agile Leader Concept Strategic Leader Competencies Questions References

GENERAL REIMER CONCEPT – 1999 “The premium on tomorrow’s battlefield will

be the ability to quickly analyze a situation and come up with innovative solutions. The speeds at which events occur and their complexity will require leaders with agile minds who can think through a problem logically, come up with a viable course of action, and translate that concept into clear, simple language to subordinates.”

General Dennis J. Reimer, 33rd U.S. Army Chief of Staff, 1995-1999

TRADOC CONCEPT – 22 March 2005

Informing the Leader

• Self-awareness

• Critical Thinking

• Creative Thinking

Empowering the Unit

• Unit climate

• Decision making

• Building teams

• Climate assessment

Influencing Others

• Scanning the environment

• Cultural awareness

• Negotiation

WAR COLLEGE CONCEPT – 2005 “In the volatile, uncertain, complex, and

ambiguous environment we face for the foreseeable future, if we were to choose one advantage over our adversaries, it would certainly be this: to be superior in the art of learning and adaption.”

“Adapt or Die: The Imperative for a Culture of Innovation in the United States Army”, BG David A. Fastabend and Mr. Robert H. Simpson

THE SECURITY ENVIRONMENT

VULNERABILITY

LIKELIHOOD

IRREGULAR HI

GHER

CATASTROPHIC

Irregular challenges from the adoption or employment of unconventional methods by non-state and state actors to counter stronger state opponents – terrorism, insurgency, civil war, etc.

Catastrophic challenges involving the surreptitious acquisition, possession, and possible terrorist or rogue employment of WMD or methods producing WMD-like effects.

Seeking to erode U.S. power Seeking to paralyze U.S. power

Ethnic War; Guerilla; Insurgency; Terror

WMD: Rogue, Terrorist; Homeland Missile Attacks

LOWER HIGHER

TRADITIONAL LOWER

DISRUPTIVE

Traditional challenges posed by states employing legacy and advanced military capabilities and recognizable military forces, in long-established, well-known forms of military competition and conflict.

Disruptive future challenges emanating from competitors developing, possessing, and employing breakthrough technological capabilities intended to supplant our advantages in particular operational demands.

Seeking to challenge U.S. power Seeking to marginalize U.S. power

Legacy Nuclear Forces: Uniformed Militaries

Cyber-War; Directed Energy; Genetic Weapons; Nano Weapons

Crucible Experience and Adaptive Capacity

Crucible Experience: both an opportunity and a test with a defining moment that unleashes abilities, forces crucial choices, and sharpens focus; teaches a person who he or she is

Adaptive Capacity: allows leaders to respond quickly and intelligently to constant change; ability to identify and seize opportunities and allows leaders to act and then evaluate results instead of attempting to collect and analyze all data before acting

AGILE LEADER DEFINED

FM 6-22 defines mental agility as a flexibility of mind, a tendency to anticipate or adapt to uncertain or changing situations. Agility involves breaking from mental sets or habitual thought patterns, to improvise when faced with conceptual impasses, and to quickly apply multiple perspectives to consider new approaches or solutions.

STRATEGIC LEADER COMPETENCIES Identity Mental Agility Cross-Cultural Savvy Interpersonal Maturity World-Class Warrior Professional Astuteness

STRATEGIC LEADER COMPETENCIES Identity Mental Agility Cross-Cultural Savvy Interpersonal Maturity World-Class Warrior Professional Astuteness

STRATEGIC LEADER COMPETENCIES Identity Mental Agility Cross-Cultural Savvy Interpersonal Maturity World-Class Warrior Professional Astuteness

STRATEGIC LEADER COMPETENCIES Identity Mental Agility Cross-Cultural Savvy Interpersonal Maturity World-Class Warrior Professional Astuteness

STRATEGIC LEADER COMPETENCIES Identity Mental Agility Cross-Cultural Savvy Interpersonal Maturity World-Class Warrior Professional Astuteness

STRATEGIC LEADER COMPETENCIES Identity Mental Agility Cross-Cultural Savvy Interpersonal Maturity World-Class Warrior Professional Astuteness

STRATEGIC LEADER COMPETENCIES Identity Mental Agility Cross-Cultural Savvy Interpersonal Maturity World-Class Warrior Professional Astuteness

ANY QUESTIONS?

Agile Leader Concept Overview

REFERENCES Agile Leaders, Agile Institutions: Educating for Adaptive

and Innovative Leaders for Today and Tomorrow, LTC Christopher P. Gehler, US Army, August 2005

Barriers to Achieving Mentally Agile Junior Leaders, COL Marlon D. Blocker, US Army, 21 January 2009

Developing Adaptive Leaders: The Crucible Experience of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Dr. Leonard Wong, July 2004

Strategic Leadership Competencies, Dr. Leonard Wong, Stephen Gerras, William Kidd, Robert Pricone, Richard Swengros, September 2003

TRADOC Concept Paper – Agile Leader in Captains Professional Military Education, 17 January 2006

REFERENCE LINK

Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, www.StrategicStudiesInstitute.army.mil