Post 4

 

     Yea to number three follower, Rachel! 

      Two full weeks are complete in ILE.  We have so much reading.  Seriously, it is not uncommon to have over 70 pages of dual-columned articles each evening.  Like an attorney, I am reading all of them.  I have read  Foundations, Strategy, History, and Leadership articles.  The best article I have read is Daniel Goleman’s Leadership That Gets Results from the March-April 2000 of Harvard Business Review.  That article gave me some excellent insights about being a leader who really leads.  I do not want to just be one that manages and makes decisions, but I also want to also lead. 
 

   After I graduate ILE, I need to move from the decisive style to a more multi-focused flexible style.  I am in the “convergence zone” and am looking forward to being an organizational leader.  I did employ flexible techniques at different times, but I was too nice—too much coaching and not enough coerciveness.  There was a subordinate that needed coerciveness as a leadership style, yet I failed this Soldier, the rest of the Division, and me by not leading in the coercive style with the Soldier.  Now I know I can use this technique at the same time as being a good leader. 

      The best leaders that have the best work environment, performance, and happiest employees have mastered all the styles of being a leader.  The most important being authoritative, democratic, affiliative, and coaching.  I hope to do just that. 

required note:  MAJ Tara McCallum, Student, Command and General Staff College, Fort Belvoir, VA.  "The views expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Army, Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government."