PREPARING STRATEGIC LEADERS
AT THE U.S. ARMY WAR COLLEGE
CDR Traci Keegan Department of Command, Leadership, and Management
GUIDING PRINCIPLE
by intelligent and adequate preparation to repel aggression...
To study and confer on the great problems of national
defense, military science, and responsible command”
“Not to promote war but to preserve peace
Elihu Root, 1903
UNITED STATES ARMY WAR COLLEGE
USAWC MISSION UNITED STATES ARMY WAR COLLEGE
USAWC develops, inspires and serves strategic leaders
for the wise and effective application of national power,
in a joint, interagency, intergovernmental, and
multinational environment, emphasizing development
and employment of land power.
Educates select military, civilian, and international leaders
Supports worldwide practitioners
Conducts research, and publishes to inform thought
Supports the Army’s strategic communication efforts
Provides comprehensive well-being education and support
USAWC VISION UNITED STATES ARMY WAR COLLEGE
The world’s best institution for developing
strategic leaders and thought – the international
institution of choice.
“While the experiences in the fight are richly rewarding and are
producing some of the most tactically proficient warfighters we’ve ever
had in our ranks, these experiences are also incomplete. The War
College is an opportunity to pull our minds out of the tactical
framework and draws us up to the strategic level of war. [For this
reason,] the War College is … immensely important. It alone provides
us the means for developing and sharpening our ability to imagine …
especially disruptive challenges, and to think of ways of preparing
leaders to confront these seemingly unthinkable events.”
---GEN Martin E. Dempsey
CSA
WHY THEY COME HERE
3 Defense Senior Leadership & Development Program
13 Department of the Army
2 Department of State
3 Defense Intelligence Agency
2 National Security Agency
1 Department of Homeland Security
1 Veterans Affairs
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Army 210
Air Force 32
Marine 18 Navy 15 Civilians 25
International 67
Total – 368
Coast Guard 1
WHO ARE THEY
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International Fellows
RESIDENT CLASS OF 2012
Afghanistan
Algeria
Australia
Bangladesh
Bosnia
Botswana
Brazil
Bulgaria
Burundi
Canada
Chile
Colombia
Croatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Egypt
Malawi
Malaysia
Mali
Mexico
Mongolia
Montenegro
Morocco
Nepal
Netherlands
Nigeria
Norway
Pakistan (2)
Philippines
Poland
Romania
Rwanda
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Serbia
Slovenia
South Africa
Spain
Sri Lanka
Suriname
Sweden
Taiwan
Thailand
Turkey
Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
Yemen
Zambia
El Salvador
Ethiopia
Germany
Honduras
India
Indonesia
Israel
Italy
Japan
Jordan
Kenya
Korea
Kuwait
Lebanon
Lithuania
Macedonia
The USAWC Experience Focuses on Transforming an Incoming Professional Who Has…
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• Had relatively limited and well-defined responsibilities.
• Worked in a structured environment of tasks, conditions &
standards.
• Dealt primarily with problems for which there was usually one
best solution. (science)
• Been an executor of policy.
• Succeeded based on capacity to apply skills.
• Focused primarily on the present and near term.
• Set a strong personal example.
• Had primarily a single-service and unilateral orientation.
• Communicated both verbally and in writing in a concise and
direct manner.
• Been physically, intellectually and morally fit.
Into a USAWC Graduate Who Will…
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• Hold positions of broad scope and great responsibility.
• Work in highly complex, ambiguous environments.
• Deal with problems which have no clear-cut solutions. (art)
• Be an executive who innovates and initiates policy.
• Succeed based on spirit of cooperation and capacity to
conceptualize.
• Assess the future and envision for the long term while
executing the present.
• Set an ethical climate.
• Be involved in joint, interagency, intergovernmental, and
multinational organizations and issues.
• Communicate complex concepts effectively and
persuasively, both verbally and in writing.
• Continue to be physically, intellectually and morally fit.
“It became clear to me that
at the age of 58 I would
have to learn new tricks
that were not taught in the
military manuals or on the
battlefield. In this position
I am a political soldier and
will have to put my training in
rapping-out orders and making snap decisions on the back
burner, and have to learn the arts of persuasion and guile. I
must become an expert in a whole new set of skills.”
GEN George C. Marshall
Strategic Leadership
So what is
Strategic Leadership?
The process used by a leader to effect the achievement
of a desirable and clearly understood vision by influencing the
organizational culture, allocating resources, directing through
policy and directive, and building consensus within a volatile,
uncertain, complex, and ambiguous global environment which is
marked by opportunities and threats.
Strategic Leadership
• Conceptual: Critical thinking skills, visioning,
problem management
Strategic Leader Competencies
• Technical: Systems understanding, Joint and
Combined relationships; political and social
competence; and professional competence in area
of expertise
• Interpersonal: Communication, consensus-
building, negotiation, and cross cultural competence
Provide vision
Shape organizational culture
Build relationships
Represent the organization
Lead and manage change
Stewardship
Strategic Leader Tasks
Keenly aware of a complex & changing environment
Competent in consensus, team building, & peer leadership
Transforms the political & conceptual into the practical & concrete
Leverages technology, especially information
Shapes the organizational / institutional culture
Builds a values-based organization
Provides for the future/vision; leads and manages change
Essential Characteristics
How is it
different?
Strategic Environment
Political
Military Volatile
Ecological Uncertain
Economic Complex
Sociological Ambiguous
Psychological “…the greater arena…” “…global…marked by
opportunities, possibilities,
and threats”
“A Changing Landscape”
Tactical Leadership
Strategic Leadership
Organizational Leadership
The Three Levels of
Leadership
Face to face – Direct leadership
Unit and team work
Action and task oriented
Execution
Motivation
Unit Cohesion
Tactical Leadership
Chain of command – less direct leadership
Focuses Internally
Sustains and maintains
Plans and gives direction
Interprets and influences Climate
Organizational Leadership
Strategic Leadership
• Indirect Leadership
• Influencing culture
• Representing the organization
• Leading change
• Stewarding the enterprise
Loyalty
Duty
Respect
Selfless Service
Honor
Personal Courage
Organizational Leadership
Strategic Leadership
Direct Leadership
LEADS DEVELOPS ACHIEVES
Global/Regional National/Societal Perspective
Predominantly "Improving/ Building" in nature
Predominantly "Operating/ Maintaining" in nature
Organizational/Systems and Processes Perspectives
Climate Policies Direction
Culture Values Purpose
Cohesion Procedures Motivation
Army Values And Ethics
Actions Positive Climate Prepares Self Develops Others
Individual/Small Group Task Oriented Perspective
Predominantly "Influencing and Interpersonal" in nature
Attributes:
Competencies Identity Presence Intellectual
Leads Others Extends Influence Leads by Example Communicates
Increased Uncertainty
and Complexity
Reduced Uncertainty
and Complexity
COMPANY
Trust, Dignity and Respect for Others
PRES & SEC DEF
The Army Leadership
Framework
Gets Results
FM 6-22 Army Leadership. App A
Operational Reality
“It’s a Flat World, after all.” Thomas Friedman
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• Leader development “roadmap”
is key
– Institutional: Schools
– Organizational: Assignments
– Self Development: Continuous Learning
Developing Strategic Leaders
…How we do it
How do we
facilitate it here?
Guiding Philosophies
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• Seminar-based, collaborative learning
• Adult learning focus
– Enabling
– Understanding
• Student focused, learning centric
• It’s about thinking about how to think
• Inquiry driven
– Focus less on the “what” or “how” and more on the “why?” and “so what?”
– It’s as much about asking the right questions, as it is knowing the right answers
Resident Program
National
Security
Policy and
Strategy
Strategic
Leadership
Theory of
War and
Strategy
Strategic
Thinking
Defense
Enterprise
Management
Electives
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SPECIAL
PROGRAMS
COMPLEMENTARY
PROGRAMS
Student Social Activities
Noontime Lectures
Student Athletic Program
Conversational Arabic
Commandant’s Lecture Series
Eisenhower College Program
National Security Policy Program
Advanced Strategic Art Program
APFRI Executive Health and
Leadership Feedback Program
Military History Program
Military Family Program
CORE CURRICULUM
STRATEGY RESEARCH PROJECT
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Theater
Strategy and
Campaigning
Str
ateg
ic D
ecis
ion
-Mak
ing
Exe
rcis
e
Sp
rin
g R
eces
s
Win
ter
Rec
ess
Nat
ion
al S
ecu
rity
Sem
inar
Institutional Learning Objectives
• Distinguish the uniqueness of strategic-level leadership and apply competencies required by strategic leaders.
• Use strategic thought processes to evaluate the national security challenges and opportunities facing the United States in the 21st Century.
• Evaluate the theory of war and strategy.
• Evaluate DoD, joint, interagency, intergovernmental, multinational, and NGO processes and relationships, including Army contributions to the nation in peace and war.
• Evaluate the role of landpower in joint, interagency, intergovernmental, and multinational operations.
• Synthesize theater strategies, estimates, and campaign plans to employ military power in a unified, joint, interagency, intergovernmental, and multinational environment.
• Synthesize critical elements, enablers, and processes that define the strategic environment in peace and war.
• Study and confer on the American military profession and guide its future direction.
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--A recent graduate
Confirmation
If I could relay one point … that I have
witnessed, felt, and experienced, it is that too many
of us (I’m talking the Colonels that literally run this
place) can’t think strategically….it slows down the
processes or effective strategic operations and
it gets in the way of the operational commander….
Being able to think strategically is the currency of
our trade. The simple fact is that those who can
think strategic are carrying the water over here.
Those that can’t get in the way.
What are your...
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