APPLYING MILITARY HISTORY TO LEADER DEVELOPMENT

PREPARED FOR LLF CHICAGO

BY HAL NELSON

LEARNING LEADER LESSONSON OLD BATTLEFIELDS

A PERMANENT “JUMP” Improvement

In leadership capacity—

For Anyone, at any level

What can this guy tell us??

• The Army Dimension—Fixing the Army after Vietnam; Advising Senior Army Leaders for 30 years [Ongoing]

• The Academic Dimension—Stepping back from the job to learn and grow

• Bottom Line: Leader skills can be learned

What We Are NOT Doing

• Equating corporate challenges to battlefield situations

• Trying to learn military history for its own sake

What we ARE doing

• Trying to learn FROM military history

• Focusing on leaders who acted in battles that shaped our nation, with special emphasis on the 1st Infantry Division

• Applying a model that fits most leaders in large, complex organizations

The Three Domains of the Leader

• Manage Complex Processes

• Build Teams

• Shape the Future

The Most Common Variant

• Excessive Emphasis on managing operations

• Insularity and competition

• Today’s imperatives overshadow tomorrow’s possibilities

GENERAL EISENHOWER MANAGED COMPLEXITY

• SIMULTANEOUS AIRBORNE AND AMPHIBIOUS OPERATIONS

• FORCES FROM MANY NATIONS

• AMBIGUOUS FRENCH “GOVERNMENT” SITUATION

• COMPETITION FOR SCARCE RESOURCES

IKE BUILT TEAMS

• HE MADE THE MOST OF THE HAND HE HAD BEEN DEALT

• HE TRANSCENDED PAROCHIALISM

• HE UNDERSTOOD “TEAM OF TEAMS”

• HE WAS A GREAT COACH

IKE SHAPED THE FUTURE

• HE INSPIRED TOP PERFORMANCE

• HE INFLUENCED STRATEGIC DECISIONS

• HE SET APPROPRIATE GOALS

• HE PRIORITIZED TO ACHIEVE GOALS

The “Levels” of War

• Strategic—Determines ends, develops ways to achieve those ends, generates needed means [President Roosevelt, GEN Marshall]

• Operational—Selects military objectives, devises campaigns, applies resources [GEN Eisenhower]

• Tactical—Battle captains develop and execute detailed plans [GEN Montgomery, Bradley]

What is Strategy?

‘Ends’: Objectives

‘Ways’: Courses of Action

‘Means’: Resources ($$, Manpower, Industrial Capacity, Raw Materials)

‘Strategists’ identify, maximize, prioritize, and allocate means to implement courses of action to achieve ends.

Echelons of Action

• Strategic—Wars

• Operational—Campaigns

• Tactical--Battles

Basic Approach to Leadership LearningOn the “Staff Ride”

• The settings have enormous power

• Preparatory materials are appealing

• All learning capabilities [senses] are used

• Leader decisions—and consequences-- are clear

• Leader energies and interactions are addressed

• Emphasis on learning: What does it mean?

The “Staff Ride” has deep roots in our history

• The Armed Forces began to use staff rides to develop leaders around 1900

• The Army rediscovered the method in the 1980’s

• Staff rides for corporate leaders have been popular for more than 20 years

Seminars and classroom workImprove dialog about leader challenges

• Historians can discuss topics ranging beyond the battlefield

• Other experts can introduce new material

• Everyone can share their efforts to apply what they learn

Surveying an actual battlefield from a Leader’s perspective is evocative

• We examine the flow of events, the interaction of competitors, and the quality of decisions

• We ponder our own abilities to lead, decide, command, communicate, and build trust

Studying maps, plans, after-action reports helps us examine

decisions and consequences

Walking “sacred ground” leaves indelible impressions

• We can think about commitment, courage and values

• We can analyze communication and decisions in stressful conditions

• We can challenge our own pre-conceived notions

Other key sites provide additionalInsights into Leader Decisions

Being in the same position (landing on the beach, climbing Little Round top) and applying some imagination puts leader decisions and options into context. Vivid proximity sets the conditions for transporting lessons to today.

The Army continues to work Leader Issues

• Recent study of Division Commanders in Iraq War

• “Behaviors that create a command climate that supports operational excellence and motivates competent people to continue military service”

What Makes a Good Leader?

• Adapts quickly to new situations

• Keeps cool under pressure

• Clearly explains missions, standards, priorities

• Sees the big picture; gives context

• Can handle “bad news”

• Gets out--visits troops• Sets high ethical tone• Knows how to

delegate• Makes tough, sound

decisions on time• Builds and supports

teamwork• Reasonably

optimistic, positive and encouraging

Today’s Military Leaders Face Tough Challenges

• Continuing Struggle in Afghanistan

• Gridlock in Washington

• Isolation from the People

• Ill-Defined Threat

• Dwindling Resources

Key Considerations for the Leader

• Anticipate Obstacles

• Optimize Opportunities

• Compensate for Vulnerabilities

• Transform Advantages into Accomplishments

Suggestions for Further Reading

• William G. Robertson, The Staff Ride (Washington, DC,1988)

• M.J. Luvaas, Len Fullenkamp & Harold Nelson, The US Army War College Guide to the Battle of Gettysburg (Lawrence, 2012)

• Michael Shaara, The Killer Angels (NY, 1974)• James Scott Wheeler, The Big Red One:

America’s Legendary 1st Infantry Division from World War I to Desert Storm (Lawrence, 2007)