Leadership Lessons from the U.S. Army

As you might imagine, the U.S. Army is very concerned with developing leaders. The U.S. Military Academy at West Point has as its mission to develop “a leader of character.”

How does the Army do this? It focuses on four interrelated elements of effective leadership:

• Technical Skills. Does the leader understand what it takes to accomplish the job? In the Army, this might include understanding different types of technology (e.g., weapons, communication systems, etc.) and operational procedures.
• Tactical Skills. These are the short- and long-term decisions that must be made in order to accomplish goals. In the Army, field training and simulations serve to help officers develop tactical skills.
• Conceptual Skills. These are skills in analysis and creative thinking. For an Army officer, conceptual skills are required to see the whole picture and develop strategy.
• Leadership Skills. These are the skills of leading and managing others, which include interpersonal skills, persuasion, team-building, and the like.

Can these be applied to non-military leaders? Yes. The Army model can actually be used as a guide for the development of any kind of leader. For example, what are the technical skills a particular leader needs to know to perform their job? How about tactical skills? Learning how to get things done in a workplace – understanding and working with the “unspoken rules” — would be one tactical example. Conceptual skills focus on strategy and the over-arching purpose of your team and organization. Of course, leaders of all types need skills in managing people.

One tool that was developed in the Army, and is widely used, is the After Action Review (AAR). This is a structured review, or debriefing, that takes place after a particular event. Routinely used after an incident, or in an exercise, the AAR focuses on what the leader and the team did that facilitated a positive outcome, or led to a negative outcome. These reviews can be formal, involving objective observers or evaluators, or more informal, which typically involves assessment by the leader and team members.

AARs can be a valuable developmental tool for leaders. Research clearly shows that learning to be a better leader develops from analyzing and reflecting on both successes and failures.

Typically, an AAR focuses on 4 questions:

1. What did you expect to happen?
2. What actually happened?
3. What went well and why?
4. How can the process be improved?

The key to a good AAR is being objective and honest in the assessment and getting feedback from both the leader’s and the team members’ perspectives. Reinforce what went well, and figure out strategies to overcome obstacles.