A Leadership Crisis: The U.S. Navy's Need for Vertical Development
Abstract
Given the heightening complexity of the world and the challenge of transforming officers mental capacities, the Navy must make the most of every opportunity to gain and sustain an intellectual overmatch with its adversaries. This conjuncture requires a leader development strategy that can mentally prepare naval officers for a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) world. One area of study yielding profound insight into cognitive growth over the past four decades is vertical development. While most conventional leadership programs emphasize information, skills, or competencies known as horizontal development these approaches do not equip leaders for situations beyond their current worldview ones that are ambiguous and complex. In contrast, vertical development expands ones aptitude to grasp, identify, and react to a span of viewpoints, sentiments, and ways of thinking magnifying cognitive capacity by moving an individual up the orders of consciousness staircase. The Navy's current approach to leader development is deficient, and it must integrate vertical elements in its programs for three reasons. First, the Navy's present strategy for leader development is heavily immersed in horizontal elements, limiting the number of officers who can lead in complex environments. Second, the few existing opportunities for vertical development are initiated too late in an officer's career, minimizing the amount of time for nurturing mental complexity. Finally, the Navy's persisting progression model does not make full use of its biggest asset the diverse perspectives of its service members, which are critical to expanding mental complexity. Thus, the current model hampers the Navy's ability to address the leadership crisis and prepare its wardroom for a VUCA world. Unfortunately, time is not on the Navy's side, so it must make every minute count by incorporating these practices at every level of Navy leadership.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 12, 2021
- Accession Number
- AD1144132
Entities
People
- Mark A. Nicholson
Organizations
- Naval War College