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Military Leadership
Introduction
Leadership is one whos leads people, the notional meaning, that we know today in the business
and the political sense draws heavily from military leadership. In fact there are no such areas
including business, sports, politics and etc that have not been in a way or the other influenced
by military leadership. And at the forefront of all military literature is the Art of War by Sun Tzu,
the greatest philosopher of his time had conlcuded entire art of warfare in his thirteen chapters.
This treatise on military warfare finds applications in such diverse fields and therefore it is to the
best interest of an organisation to keep abreast of military leadership and more importantly draw
lessons out of it.
War is not confined to human behaviour alone but also to a great extent on the prevailing situations.
Many primates and ants in fact display such behaviour where groups of the same species fight another
group usually for control of resources (AntColonies.net, 2004). The ants are able to recognise friend or
foe based on the differences between the intensity of the odour between the two warring groups.
However this similarity between humans and ants or other species is overshadowed by a huge
amount of dissimilarity in the level of engagement and destructive power. Humans have
developed over time and gained control over their surroundings. The destructive power of war
has increased many folds and humans have gained the ability to methodically strategize over
war. At this stage Military Leadership is of paramount importance because it is the only way to
cater to a multitude of challenges that face every army. The armed forces must be kept
disciplined. Various disciplines/functions of the armed forces must be coordinated. The armed
forces personnel are often as in the case of India multi cultural which itself poses a challenge.
The leadership style used in the Armed Forces is mostly transformational in nature rather than
a transactional one. This may be seen as contrary to the popular assumptions that the Armed
Forces having a rigid and authoritarian hierarchical structure, is likely to have a mostly
transactional leader is interested in looking out for himself / herself. He / She primarily use
rewards and punishments to control his / her subordinates. Although the Armed Forces is
perceived to use a reward and punishment scheme, it remains to be seen what can possibly be
a suitable reward or a punishment for Armed Forces personnel. When serving in crisis
conditions where leadership influences the physical well being or survival of both the leader
and the led—in extreme contexts—transactional sources of motivation (e.g. pay, rewards, or
threat of punishment) become insufficient. After all, why should a person be motivated by
rewards when he might not live to enjoy them? Why would a person fear administrative
punishment when compliance might lead to injury or death? (Kolditz, 2009). No amount of
reward can compensate for his / her life and no amount of punishment can. Therefore, the
The leader of the team in the Armed Forces assumes responsibility for the development and
growth within the ranks. The leader is responsible for the life and welfare of the team members
both in war or peace. The team members are also responsible for one another. It cares for the
members’ families, especially when the servicemen are deployed. This develops a high level of
trust and confidence among the team. Such a level of trust and integrity can rarely be seen in
There is high also a level specialization within the Armed Forces and these specialized
functional teams are tightly integrated with one another. There is, as a result, a high amount of
In all services, military leadership qualities are formed in a progressive and sequential series of
carefully planned training, educational, and experiential events—far more time-consuming and
expensive than similar training in industry or government (Kolditz, 2009). Military leaders tend
There exists elaborate feedback mechanism in the Armed Forces, through which each and
every aspect of the subordinate’s position is fed back to the higher authorities. This
information is used in planning out missions or the individual’s growth. In fact planning forms
an important part of military leadership. It is indispensable. The leaders must plan every
operation in minute details, and therefore knows his team members (including each and every
one’s strengths and weaknesses), the terrain and the environment extremely well. This makes
the leader extremely observant and alert. When I had gone to interview the said participants of
the AFP, I couldn’t help noticing how everything was neat, prim and proper, unlike many of the
Dorms of the PGP participants. This speaks volumes on the lifestyle of the Armed Forces
Something that no other organization can hope to replicate is that military leadership is based
on a concept of duty, service, and self-sacrifice. Military leaders take responsibility for every
order they give, maintain the highest ethical and moral standards, and care for their
subordinates. Business leaders on the other hand usually place their well being higher than the
Military leaders are meticulously selected on the basis of their knowledge, aptitude and
attitude towards the Services and also attributes of devotion to duty and deep sense of
commitment. The 'Never Say Die' spirit amongst these officers tested under the most trying
circumstances in high risk environment scenario of three dimensional battlefields of land, sea
and air, stretches them to the limit of human endeavour. (Chatterji, 2010)
Conclusion
Military leadership has been an inspiration for other leadership forms and will continue to
inspire us in the future. There are many leadership lessons to be learnt from military leadership
One must provide a certain amount of authority while delegating responsibility. While one
cannot expect to delegate 100% authority as in the military services, a higher level of authority
delegated will ensure that the subordinate will be able to complete the task. This will also be a
signal of trust (positive stroke) for the subordinate that can potentially reduce the distance
between the leader and the subordinate. Therefore responsibility and authority must go hand
in hand.
Team Bonding
A good leader must ensure that the team bonds well. A team that bonds well is any day
preferable to another that does not. A team that bonds well and works together as a team can
Planning
A good leader must put planning high on his/her agenda. A leader cannot lead his/her followers
into total uncertainty. There have been many instances in the business world where products
have been launched without adequate market research and planning. Most of them have
bombed in the market, risking their jobs and the jobs of their subordinates.
A good leader must promote morality, ethics, honesty and integrity among the followers. To do
so, he/she must lead by example and follow the same principles as his/her followers.
A good leader knows his/her followers and understands their strengths and weaknesses. This
enables affective allocation of resources and work, so that the final output as a whole is the
best in every respect. It also enables the leader and the concerned follower to plan on
Take Responsibility
A good leader assumes responsibility for the welfare of the followers. He/She also assumes
responsibility for the decisions in the team. This inspires confidence in the followers.
A good leader shares his/her goals with the team members. This ensures that the team is up to
the task and has certain expectations about the final outcome of the endeavor. While the task
is shared or delegated it also enables the subordinates to plan better instead of shooting in the
dark.
As in the military services, a team in the corporate world is expected to be multi cultural and
multi functional. It is up to the leader to synergize among these teams and develop an
In conclusion, we must recognize the fact that the Armed Forces as an organisation does not
have to worry about finances. This however, in no way diminishes the relevance of the lessons
1. AntColonies.net. (2004). How ants carry on war. Retrieved 2 26, 2010, from
AntColonies.net: http://www.antcolonies.net/howantscarryonwar.html
2. Chatterji, M. G. (2010). From the DGR's Desk. Retrieved 03 2010, 04, from Armed Forces
3. Kolditz, C. T. (2009, 02 06). Why the Military Produces Great Leaders. Retrieved 03 02,
leadership/2009/02/why-the-military-produces-grea.html