Command Philosophy: The Secret of Organizational Leadership
Abstract
Recent studies confirm that the Army officer corps holds widely varying views of the quality of leadership and composition of command climates. Every commander today seeks a healthy, positive command climate and a cohesive unit. Command climate is a state or resulting condition existing from shared feelings and perceptions among soldiers about their unit, about their leaders, and about their unit's programs and policies. This condition is created by the commander's vision and leadership style. The key to a positive command climate is the credibility of the commander, established through trust, communications, loyalty, and confidence. Tools to build a consistently supportive climate are available to the Army--from history and from social sciences. Besides modifications in leader selection, the long-term development and formulation of a systematic approach to climate building provides another means for improving dramatically combat readiness. The cost is really not high. A philosophy of command (or leadership) widely articulated and for addressing key organizational issues offers an effective management tool creating the positive aspects of a command climate. This study will provide a review of the concept of command climate and its linkage to command philosophy; discuss the relationship of command climate and 'organizational leadership;' outline a model based on what can be learned from practice, and finally, draw some conclusions extracted from the research. The study will also provide some recommendations. Lastly, the study will provide future leaders with some insights on how to shape their organizational climates. Positive, healthy command climates help make combat- ready units.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 1989
- Accession Number
- ADA208015
Entities
People
- Larry J. Smith
Organizations
- United States Army War College