U2C1L1: Elements of Leadership Flashcards
Leadership
The process of influencing people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation to accomplish the mission and improve the organization.
Purpose
The reason for why something is done.
Direction
Instructions or knowledge to complete a task.
Motivation
The act of inspiring others to accomplish something.
Innate
Inborn; existed or having existed since birth.
Contingency
Dependence on chance or on a condition being met.
Autocratic
A style of leadership where leaders make decisions alone.
Democratic
A style of leadership where leaders consult with followers who are allowed to participate in decision-making.
Laissez-faire
A style of leadership where leaders do not interfere or do not provide direction.
Competencies
Skills, abilities
What are different leadership opportunities that you can experience?
- Senior position in the Cadet chain of command, other than what you currently hold, for a designated period of time
- Team leader for a drill event
- Community service project leader
What does the Leadership Development Program do and what are its components?
a) It trains, counsels, and evaluates you (evaluation lets you/staff know when or how you have been successful).
b) Training, Evaluation, Counseling, Retraining, Re-evaluating.
What does a good leader provide?
- Purpose (the reason to act or achieve a certain outcome)
- Direction (How to accomplish a certain mission by assigning based on skill level; also gives challenge and freedom to change plans)
- Motivation (the will to accomplish something/influence; some need it more than others)
What does the Army Leadership Requirements Model focus on?
It focuses on what a leader is (attributes) and what a leader does (competencies). It also uses the contingency approach (most modern).
What are the leadership attributes and their components?
- Character (army values, empathy, warrior ethos/service ethos, discipline)
- Presence (military and professional bearing, fitness, confidence, resilience)
- Intellect (mental agility, sound judgment, innovation, interpersonal tact, expertise)
What are the leadership competencies and their components?
- Leads (leads others, builds trust, extends influence beyond the chain of command, leads by example, communicates)
- Develops (creates a positive environment/fosters esprit de corps, prepares self, develops others, stewards the profession)
- Achieves (gets results)
What do the leadership attributes mean?
- Character (values or identity)
- Presence (how a leader is perceived)
- Intellect (mental/social faculties used)
What are the three general leadership eras?
- Born (1800s-1940s)
- Behaviors (1940s-1970s)
- Contingency (1960s-present)
What is the born leaders approach?
- It said you either had the qualities or you didn’t (innate)
- But research proved it depended on the situation
What is the behavior approach?
- It said behaviors can be taught and certain leaders had certain behaviors (discovered in 1950s at OSULS that there are two primary leadership behaviors)
- The two primary leadership behaviors were relationship (making work pleasant & listening to other’s ideas) and structure (sharing work procedures & making work assignments
- Kurt Lewin created three behaviors in 1938 which were Autocratic (work alone), Democratic (leaders consult followers), and Laissez-faire (leaders provide no direction)
- There were still questions like: Does effective leadership result only from the leader’s traits and behaviors? How are traits and behaviors influenced by the type of task and the type of work group?
What is the contingency approach?
- Your behavior depends on the situation
- There exists no single best way to lead
- Situational factors determine the most effective style and behaviors
- Leadership behaviors can be taught and learned
