Military Ops
Military-Led Reconstruction and Fiedler's Contingency Theory
In light of the unfolding instability, violence and difficulty that characterized the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States military must reexamine its approach to the strategic invasion, occupation, reconstruction and power-handover that have evolved into a war-making template for the nation. Accordingly, the research conducted hereafter considers the need for a change in leadership orientation, using Fiedler's Contingency Theory as the lens for the literature review thereafter. The Findings drawn from the review of literature are presented in this account and, generally, provided confirmation of the pertinence of Fiedler's contingency theory to modern military strategy as well as the pertinence of Fiedler's Least-Preferred Coworker checklist to defining ideal military leadership. The reported findings connecting Fiedler's ideas with strategic and empirical documentation on applied military policy contribute to a number of policy recommendations. In particular, these policy recommendations revolve around two major dimensions of military leadership; generating sufficient cultural sensitivity to achieve a collaborative environment and providing contingency leadership capable of function in the unstable context of a power transition as well as in its aftermath.
Introduction
If we are to take any meaningful lessons from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, these must revolve around the various difficulties and even failures where achieving cultural respect and understanding are concerned. With the imperative to bring about civil advancement, democratic representation and fair market behaviors in these slivers of the developing sphere, the United States would impose a considerable task upon its military leadership without necessarily supplying it the resources, knowledge and leadership orientation to achieve said task. The result has been a pair of persistent quagmires that have cost a great deal of life and have rattled the developing sphere's confidence in the United States to lead developing nations forward in a positive, progressive and non-exploitive manner. As the research and discussion hereafter will demonstrate, a new leadership orientation is required if the United States anticipates achieving any level of lasting success in pursuing the invasion/occupation/reconstruction global military strategy.
With a focus on certain dimensions of Fiedler's Contingency Theory, the discussion will articulate the need for culturally-conscious Contingency Leadership. Moreover, by employing the fundamental precepts of Fiedler's contingency theory as it pertains to the military setting, as well as by regarding the criticisms lodged by scholars with contrary viewpoints, it is possible to determine the most advantageous leadership style for military leaders to employ both on base and in battle. This, in turn, should produce recommendations for a more positive and constructive orientation in helping transition nations from occupation to rebuilding and, eventually, to self-determination.
Primary Issues
The focus of most research content leading up to this overarching discussion have focused on the role played by leadership in shaping military outcomes. This is a concept which drives the sources consulted, the findings presented and the resulting policy recommendations offered in the resolution. It is also the basis for the issues upon which these sections will focus. As we have learned as a collective nation through the experiences of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, transitioning from occupation to reconstruction is the most difficult and lasting phase of most conflicts. This reality is only further complicated by the role played by cultural misunderstanding in confounding collaborative reconstruction. Poor conduct by both U.S. military personnel and members of the local communities may stand in the way of true and permanent progress.
Both the transition dimension and the culture dimension of reconstruction present a wide range of largely unpredictable factors. This is especially true when, as is often the case, this process immediately follows or even overlaps with a conflict. This points to several issues of importance to the subject. Specific among them, are the issues of:
Strategic Planning
Task-Orientation
Inter-agency Cooperation
Cultural Respect
These issues provide the conceptual basis for the arguments endorsing Contingency Leadership as the primary mode of leadership orientation in a reconstruction endeavor.
Theoretical Background
The theoretical background for this discussion is significantly informed by the works of Fred Edward Fiedler's (1963) A Contingency Model of Leadership Effectiveness. This examines the role of the surrounding environment in informing leadership style, decisions and strategies. Further, it provides a framework for the present discussion, offering instruments such as the Least-Preferred Coworker (LPC) scale through which to evaluate the desired orientation of a Contingency Leader. As additional sources consulted on the subject demonstrate, when inserted into military-leadership discussions, Fiedler's theories perform quite well.
For instance, the text by Yardley &...
Leadership On the surface, Military Leadership and Virtual Leadership seem like polar opposites. Military leadership is old, entrenched, and traditional with little flexibility in terms of normative behavior. On the other hand, virtual leadership is new, highly flexible, and sometimes signals a flat organizational hierarchy. Military leadership cannot exhibit a flat organizational hierarchy, because effective military leadership depends on the ascription to established structure and chain of command. In spite of
It is only by addressing the challenge at multiple levels, including the system level, that we can build a force with the needed psychological strength to withstand the varied stressors of current and future complex operations." [footnoteRef:2] [2: Paul Bartone et al. "To Build Resilience: Leader Influence on Mental Hardiness. Defense Horizons, November 2009, 69.] Understanding others in an empathetic manner will no doubt serve a military leader well in
Military Leadership Looking at my own cooperative work in a hospital as a leader for an intensive care unit, I can see how I use all three types of leadership that have been covered in the lessons on the American experience of the Vietnam War: strategic thinking, tactical planning, and logistics. In fact, not only do I incorporate all three of those skill sets in my daily work in a mission-driven
Moreover, true leadership is integral to coping with the struggles of life effectively or at all. Developing leadership is essential for the success of individuals or organization and their ability to implement successful leadership strategy, building talent, and develop future leaders. Leader development is a process that requires a variety of development experiences and the ability for leaders to learn from their experience, which is part of the skill
Military Leadership Over the centuries, leadership has played a major role, in the survival, success and endurance of any Army. However, in our history there exist clear examples that show lack of leadership. Developments in the conceptual and physical components have influenced campaigns and battles significantly. They have brought about great changes in the way these battles are conducted, but conflict, and particularly land conflict, remains a human endeavour. At all
Training Most Important Area Of Training For Modern Military Leadershi Resiliency: The single most important area of training for modern military leadership? The military life is invariably a stressful one and service in the modern military brings unique psychological and physical stresses to troops. According to Bartone & Armstrong (2009), the most important character that must be fostered in contemporary training is that of resilience. "Research over the past 25 years has
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now