Table of Contents

Preface     iii
Figures     ix
Tables     xi
Summary     xiii
Acknowledgments     xxi
Glossary     xxiii
Introduction     1
Background     1
Focus and Content of This Report     2
Sources and Methods     4
Military Leadership: From the General to the Specific     5
The Army Construct: Be-Know-Do     6
Persona: What the Leader Should "Be"     7
Knowledge and Skill: What the Leader Should "Know" and "Do"     8
Other Perspectives on Leadership     8
Military Professionalism     8
Skills Needed for a Changing Environment     11
The Structure Above the Foundation: Skills for Operational Command     15
Focus on Decision Making in Battle Command     15
Models of Decision Making     16
Summing Up: Decision Making in Today's Environment     21
Key Leader Competencies for the Contemporary Operating Environment     25
Features of the Environment     26
Wide Variety of Potential Threats     27
Increased Unconventional Threats     28
Enhanced Enemy Capabilities in Regional Conflict     29
Wide Range of Terrain Types     29
Increased Stability and Peacekeeping Operations     30
Increased Use of Information Technology and Networks     30
Leader Skills     31
Understanding the Enemy Situation     32
Understanding the Physical Environment     33
Understanding Own Capabilities and Requirements     34
Understanding Social and Cultural Features of the Environment     37
Scenario Analysis     39
Understanding the Enemy Situation     40
Understanding the Physical Environment     42
Understanding Own Capabilities and Requirements     43
Understanding Social and Cultural Features of the Environment     45
Summing Up: Challenges for Leader Development     47
Upper Panel     49
Middle Panel     50
Lower Panel     50
Implications     51
Experience Gained Through Operational Assignments     53
Analyzing Experience of Junior Officers     53
Types of Positions     54
Four Categories of Positions     54
Battalion Commanders' Background     56
TOE Versus TDA: Army Requirements for Operational and Institutional Positions     59
Modeling Officer Careers Through Key Positions     62
Number of Positions for Armor Officers     62
The Development Paradigm: Career Segments     63
Sequences of Assignments     65
Rules Governing Selection for Positions     67
Analysis Results     69
Base Case: Emphasis on Operational Background     69
A Comparison Case: The "Legacy" System     73
Developing Experience in "New" Units     75
Maximizing Repetitive New-Unit Experience     78
Increasing the Number of New Units     80
Requiring More Senior Grades for New-Unit Leadership     81
Implications     83
Achievable Levels of Operational Experience     83
Providing More Opportunities to Gain Operational Experience     84
Balancing Breadth and Depth     87
Specific Operational Skills     88
Proliferation of Skill Requirements     88
Prioritizing Skills and Selecting Development Venues     89
Using the Army's Institutions for Leverage     92
Intellectual and Cognitive Abilities     93
Recognitional Decision Making     94
Education: A Key Venue for Developing Decision-Making Abilities     94
Steps to Enhance Decision Skills     95
Breadth of Cultural Knowledge and Perspective     97
Perspective Beyond the Army     97
Making Enough Time for Broadening Experiences     99
Conclusions and Recommendations     103
Implications     103
Specific Operational Skills 7     103
Intellectual and Cognitive Abilities     105
Breadth of Knowledge and Perspective     107
Recommendations     108
Summing Up: The Need to Blend Broad Practical Experience With Intellectual Development     109
Modeling Assignments and Experience     111
References     123