Military Review English Edition November December 2016 | Page 85
STRATEGIC LEADERS
Core Capabilities
Differentiating Leadership Behaviors
Strength of character
Physical and emotional resilience
Commitment to self-development
Intellectual agility
Tactical and operational mastery
Extraordinary
technical
competence
Compelling
conveyor of
information
Adapts to
individual and
group dynamics
Passion for
teaching and
mentoring
Teacher
Thinks in time,
resources, and
space
Gifted at
systems
development
Critical thinker
and presenter of
information
Excellent
coalition
builder
Organizer
Exceptional
tactical/operational proficiency
Passion for
command and
leading soldiers
Student of
history and
warfare
Demonstrates
impeccable
judgment
Commander
Gifted oral
communicator
of shared vision
Natural ability
to operate
interagency
Comfortable
operating outside
military circles
Distills complex
situations into
simple terms
Communicator
(Graphic from authors)
Figure. Strategic Traits Map
clarity, and the continued expansion of social media is
likely to foreclose some options for national decision
makers. This coming period of inevitable turbulence
demands strategic leaders whose intellectual sabers are
sharp, but sharpening those sabers requires a course refinement. Powell expressed the difficulty associated with
developing our future strategic leaders:
The contemporary problem is complex. We
have been at a tactical level for fourteen years
with repeated non-broadening tours. Less
schooling, less time to think and debate. Less
time to read.2
As Powell suggests, the development of strategic leaders begins with an officer’s own personal and enduring
commitment to self-development. Understanding complexity only comes with such a commitment to ongoing
personal study.
The operational environment is becoming increasingly complicated, while our defense budget is becoming
increasingly tight. As the global outlook portends a proliferation of military challenges, the future success of our
Army and our nation rests in the hands of our (yet-to-be
developed) next generation of strategic leaders.
Importance of Intellectual Agility
In order to respond to the threats we are facing
today and remain prepared for those of tomorrow, we
must identify and develop extraordinary talent. The
best military advice now requires a deep understanding of all instruments of power and an ability to communicate persuasively with civilian leaders. It requires
intellectual agility.
MILITARY REVIEW November-December 2016
The foundational strategic trait of intellectual agility
is worth defining for these purposes. An officer who is
not confined to what he or she was previously taught but
possesses sufficient breadth of experience and a natural
ability to adjust quickly and comfortably to circumstances and conditions is intellectually agile. We suggest that
such agility begins with tactical and operational mastery.
Indeed, it is a prerequisite for higher-level military leadership. Our future strategic leaders must have the ability
to transition quickly and seamlessly between tactical
concerns and strategic issues.
Ready or not, senior officers are thrust into these roles
at a stage in their careers where the cost of failure is unacceptably high. In-depth discussions and due consideration of methods to manage these situations are essential,
before intellectual agility becomes a zero-sum game and
the cost of getting it wrong includes either American
blood and treasure or damage to our national reputation.
The accumulated experiences of colonels and general
officers assigned complex missions are the connective
tissue in the body of expeditionary contingency operations. Those collective experiences have taught senior
leaders over a quarter century or more how to plan and
carry out nearly any operation, with an understanding
that mission-specific expertise can be surged but organizational acumen cannot. This is poignantly expressed
by three West Point professors who directly address the
importance of intellectual capital:
As technology and industry dominated the
wars of the twentieth century, intellectual
human capital will likely decide many of the
world’s future security issues. Army officers
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