Introduction
Leadership is the basis of the army in any country. However, military leadership differs from leadership in other spheres due to several peculiarities the system possesses. The military has a strictly defined hierarchical structure, the need for socialization, and compliance with the rules by soldiers and officers. That is why it is susceptible to destructive leadership and abuse of power (Fosse et al., 2019). Destructive leadership strategy contributes to the concept of adequate leadership deficiency in the US military today and presents a major problem for the soldiers and the officers.
Main body
The leadership deficiency in the military is caused not only by the cases of abuse of power. The officials’ position and rank define their leading role even in those cases when they are not supposed to assume it (Kark et al., 2016). Hence, not all military leaders, especially those who do not participate in combat actions, may lack experience or actual knowledge of the current situation. The wrong strategy is the major cause of unsuccessful military operations and victims. In addition, the military sphere constantly changes, which leads to the development of tactics and strategy both during the war and at peace. That is why it is necessary to prioritize strategic leadership since it is future-oriented and considers all the possible changes in the sphere (McCauley et al., 2020). Strategic leaders should be wise and experienced enough to foresee the future and not be afraid of the lack of clarity. In addition, they should effectively communicate with the military personnel to gain their trust and respect, which will ensure further support for their decisions.
Conclusion
To conclude, it is necessary to state that the US currently faces a deficiency in military leadership. The rank-oriented system causes destructive leadership, which leads to ineffective command and unsuccessful fighting-leading tactics. Military leadership requires not only high rank and experience, which are essential, but also the education and mental flexibility that will help adapt to changes and be not afraid of uncertainty. All these characteristics contribute to strategic leadership. Hence, strategic leaders may help decrease the degree of military deficiency that currently exists.
References
Fosse, T. H., Skogstad, A., Einarsen, S. V. & Martinussen, M. (2019). Active and passive forms of destructive leadership in a military context: A systematic review and meta-analysis. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 28(5). Web.
Kark, R., Kazari-Presler, T. & Tubi, S. (2016). Paradox and challenge in military leadership. In C. Peus, S. Braun & B. Schyns (Eds.) , Leadership lessons from compelling contexts monographs in leadership and management (pp. 159-187). Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
McCauley, D. H., Sadiyev, S. & Tahirov, R. (2020). More than a “given”: Professionalizing military strategic leadership. Small Wars Journal. Web.