Leadership is one of those few qualities that is an essential condition for any society’s normal functioning. Not everyone has a natural inclination for this feature, but some courses and approaches allow developing such property. Since no enterprise in any field of activity can exist without these skills, leadership qualities are sometimes put at the foundation of a particular structure. This paper aims to examine the foundations of leadership and leadership standards using the example of the army.
This quality manifests itself and is formed in different ways, depending on a considerable number of conditions. The education of a person and the environment is crucial to the analysis. Individual characteristics associated with the personality form a unique leadership style. For example, examining Asian leadership aspects, one can note the distance orientation of power and the culture of collectivism as two fundamental factors (Koo and Choelsoon 697). Thus, a leader from China will be radically different from a commander from, for example, the United States. In this case, only a general cultural difference is considered, which can be aggravated by a particular organization’s special orders.
Therefore, it should be noted that different countries’ armies will inevitably differ in the characteristics of the formation and implementation of leadership qualities. The armed forces of various states, as a rule, are a unique formation, even despite the use of similar types of equipment. Only at first glance, the army’s structure, consisting of the military’s general division into specific units, may seem the same throughout the world. In general, leadership can be expressed as a quality imposed by discipline and rank system that exists to maintain order. Nevertheless, this concept often includes many more subtleties; the differences between the armies are quite significant and are manifested in the approaches used to form leadership. For example, a Korean armed forces study cites three types of leadership: strategic, integration, and knowledgeable (Jin 209). However, all these branches are united by one idea of spiritual unity and cohesion, which is the Korean army’s main intangible combat power.
Likewise, the US Army also has unique characteristics to form and nurture leadership in its ranks. A distinctive feature of the American army is the education of such qualities in a narrow array of officers and commanders and all soldiers. This practice begins literally from the very first days of a soldier entering the service. As part of basic training, the US Army offers combatants courses that include defining leadership expectations and multiple self-development opportunities (Kirchner and Mesut, Exploring Inclusion of Leadership Development 156). In the future, similar training continues throughout the soldier’s service. This approach’s effectiveness can be observed using statistics, according to which veterans of the US Army are much more likely to demonstrate leadership qualities in everyday life and at work.
American soldiers’ leadership education is based on four main approaches, combining both traditional methods and high technology. E-learning is a free opening for self-development, which, moreover, is combined with career opportunities for completing the provided material (Kirchner and Mesut, Military Leadership Development Strategies 359). The second method is to gradually select the soldiers and allow them to take a leadership position, leading their comrades. Third, the army encourages and promotes the exchange of knowledge among soldiers, through which subordinates learn about their supervisors’ responsibilities. Finally, like many other organizations, the US Army actively promotes and educates employees about core values such as discretion and decency.
Thus, each organization has its unique leadership foundations, depending on cultural characteristics and many other factors. Similarly, at a deep level, the army of one country differs from that of another. Speaking of the US Army and taking into account all the strategies, leadership training can be identified as the basis for authority through various programs throughout the service. It is because of this feature that all American veterans show such high leadership qualities in everyday life.
Works Cited
Jin, Jae-Yeoul. “A Study on the ROK Army Leadership for Promoting Jointness.” Korea and Global Affairs, vol. 1, no. 2, 2017, pp. 209-242.
Kirchner, Michael J., and Mesut Akdere. “Exploring Inclusion of Leadership Development into New Employee Orientations: A Proposed Approach from Army Leader Development.” Organization Management Journal, vol. 16, no. 3, 2019, pp. 156-166.
—. “Military Leadership Development Strategies: Implications for Training in Non-Military Organizations.” Industrial and Commercial Training, vol. 49, no. 7, 2017, pp. 357–364.
Koo, Haeyoung, and Choelsoon Park. “Foundation of Leadership in Asia: Leader Characteristics and Leadership Styles Review and Research Agenda.” Asia Pacific Journal of Management, vol. 35, no. 3, 2018, pp. 697-718.