Military Leadership Philosophy Analysis

Leadership is a key element of the military chain of command and structure. Throughout history, many leadership philosophies and theories have evolved in an attempt to improve an organization’s ability to accomplish its mission. Over the course of my military career, I have witnessed a wide variety of these practices. Recently, I spoke with my squadron commander about his perspective on leadership. The first topic discussed will be my own leadership philosophy. I’ll explain what traits I find important and why. Secondly, I will summarize my interview with my commander, listing his leadership philosophy and how it was applied during a challenging time in his career. Lastly, an analysis and comparison of the two philosophies will be presented.

Colonel J. William DeMarco gives a great example in his article Leadership Philosophy 101: Who are you? He states that “Your philosophy starts from within you; it draws on your history and your experience combined with values, traits, beliefs, and your own personal style. At the same time, your philosophy should meet others’ needs.” He also quotes Colonel Mark Mattison as saying, “A leadership philosophy is simply the beliefs, values, and principles that are the foundation of what you believe and how you will lead.” Combining these concepts with my own convictions and experiences led to the development of my personal leadership philosophy. My philosophy can be best summarized with the phrase “if you define the mission and take care of your people. Your people will take care of the mission. Be accountable both above and below yourself.” This philosophy was not born overnight, but was the product of many years of experience and reflection on prior leaders I had interacted with

I began my interview by simply asking the commander “Which issue have you found to be the most challenging in your career?” He responded that even though issues such as assessing disciplinary actions and unit budget constraints had been quite tasking, it was dealing with the personal matters of unit members that was most challenging. This was especially troubling to address when the individual’s affairs posed potential complications to the unit’s mission success capabilities. He iterated an example of a unit member who had to deal with a divorce while the squadron was preparing for an upcoming, overseas deployment. The challenge for my commander in this particular situation was to determine which had precedence, the member’s personal affairs or the mission. He stated to me that one of his guiding principles to leadership is that “the mission comes first, and mission success depends on your people to be mentally, physically, and technically prepared.” In order to resolve this matter, my commander decided to first talk to the individual who was dealing with a divorce. By listening, my commander was able to better understand the scope to which the divorce was impacting the individual, both personally and professionally. Having spent time working on a command staff before, my commander was privy to examples of how