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Tactical Leadership Vs. Organizational Leadership Essay

¶ … leadership, in particular the differences between tactical leadership and organizational leadership. Tactical leadership is focused on tactics and tends to be small scale in nature, flexible and decentralized. Organizational leadership tends to be more centralized, with a focus on resource deployment, logistics and support. Where tactical leadership is about what to do, organizational leaders ask how can we do something. Tactical Leadership

The concept of tactical leadership reflects a concern for the immediate time frame. Tactics are developed primarily to serve the current interests, and tactical leaders seek to find ways to resolve problems. This leadership style is not particularly well-suited for long-range planning but can be useful in combat and other mission settings. One of the key traits and benefits of tactical leadership is that it is flexible. Tactical leaders are capable of constant adjustment to tactics on the fly, which is a valuable skill in a rapidly-changing environmental dynamic.

Because of its nature, the tactical leadership style is highly transactional in nature. Tactical leadership know how to map out a series of transactions that will allow them to meet their objectives. There may not be much sense of a bigger vision but the individual mission is accomplished well. In general, the tactical leader is oriented towards execution, and operational excellence as primary traits (Martin, 2011).

Tactical leadership excels in the nuts and bolts of a task. He or she can outline all of the different steps needed to complete a task, isolate the right individuals for each one, what resources are needed and what the timeframe...

Therefore the tactical leader excels at planning and execution of an given mission, and this is the role that they play most often. The tactical leader is often not even interested in the context of what they are doing -- he or she just wants to do it.
Organizational Leadership

The organizational leadership style shares some similarities with tactical leadership. Organizational leaders place emphasis on the organizational side of the role. When facing a challenge, the organizational leader will focus on the roles, the resources and the personnel required for the job. Acquiring these assets is an important part of the organizer's roles. This type of leader again does not have a strong vision but instead excels at finding ways to acquire the needed resources, so that when things are needed they are available. This is a high-end skill especially in combat or in zones were logistics are a key issue.

The organizational leader is capable of leading complex organizations, like brigades, divisions and corps. This stands in contrast to the tactical leader, who usually heads a small group. The organizational leader may not be a visionary, but thinks in the big picture more. There is an emphasis on "the concerns of larger organizations and their staffs and those of their subordinate leaders, units and individuals" (Danikowski, 2000). The ability to organize large groups of resources is something that is necessary for this type of leadership. These leaders will often have higher ranks than the tactical leaders, though the latter can also be effective at the higher levels as well.

Differences and Similarities.

There are a number…

Sources used in this document:
References

Martin, R. (2011). The three levels of leadership. ALN. Retrieved December 3, 2013 from http://www.alnmag.com/articles/2011/06/three-levels-leadership

Danikowski, D. (2000). The challenges of organizational leader development for the army after next. Master of Military Art and Sciences.

Watson, T. (2000).. American centurions: Developing U.S. Army tactical leadership for the 21st century. U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. In possession of the author.
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