Understanding a Complex World: Why an Emphasis on Empathy Could Better Enable Army Leaders to Win

Abstract

This study examines how empathy influences the execution of the Army mission command philosophy. This timely discussion of empathy partly reveals how leaders can be better prepared to win in a future operating environment shaped by the complexity and speed of human interactions. Through the analysis of case-studies involving General Stanley McChrystal and Colonel Michael Steele, this thesis describes how each individual's empathetic mindset resulted in both favorable and unfavorable mission outcomes for their respective organizations. The results of the analysis point to the surprising and important ways that a leader's capacity for empathy impacts everything from shared understanding, team-building, and even accepting risk. This study concludes with a recommendation for an increased emphasis on empathy development within the Army and a list of suggested topics for future research.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 10, 2016
Accession Number
AD1019977

Entities

People

  • Matthew J. Fontaine

Organizations

  • United States Army Command and General Staff College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • C4I
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Army Personnel
  • Case Studies
  • Chemical Weapons
  • Civil War
  • Human Population
  • Iraqi-War
  • Literature Surveys
  • Military History
  • Military Operations
  • Military Organizations
  • Military Personnel
  • National Security
  • Psychology
  • Terrorists
  • United States
  • Urban Areas
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Military Leadership and Professional Education.
  • Systems Analysis and Design